The 747 belongs to the past for other reasons too. It was the product of extraordinary enterprise and risk, requiring extreme commitment, not to say foolhardy bravery, from the management of a public company. At one point in its development during the late 60s, costs were racking up at $5m a day. The first airline customers suffered confidence-sapping delays because of problems with delivery of the (in any case unreliable) Pratt & Whitney engines. There are archive photos showing completed, but engineless, 747s lined-up to the horizon in customer livery at Everett, which were cumulatively worth more than the company itself. A record of $1.2 billion bank debt was established.
