50 years of the Boeing 747: How the ‘queen of the skies’ reigned over air travel

On Sept. 30, 1968, the first Boeing 747 rolled out of its custom-built assembly plant in Everett, Washington. From the beginning, everything about the plane once known as the “queen of the skies” was big.

The 747 takes off on its maiden voyage. AP Photo

By Janet Bednarek, University of Dayton