Museum Honors Jumbo Jet's Role in Aviation History

Luxury jets are not altogether uncommon. Neither are advanced military aircraft.

The uniquely versatile 747, however, is one of the rare instances of a plane where you can actually put back martinis sitting in the lap of luxury in one instance, and then use advanced laser guided missile defense systems the next.

On Saturday, the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos paid homage to the iconic “Jumbo Jet,” an aviation rock star that since first setting flight in1969 has changed the course air travel, and whose uses range from the mundane to the exotic.

The hour-long event was presented by aviation historian Faride Khalaf.

“For someone who’s been flying on these planes for so many years it’s amazing to see all these stories about how many variations there were and all the history and all the special uses it got put to,” said Rohit Khare, a Menlo Park man who brought his four-months-old daughter Zoya to the event.

The uses have included transporting advanced telescopes, space shuttles, along with millions of commercial passengers.

“It kind of changed the way we fly, being able to go internationally and carry a lot of people,” said Willie Turner, the museum’s Vice President of Operations.

“It was one of the really big wide bodies that’s enabled us to do that; and it has been proven to be such a safe and strong workhorse aircraft.”

Khalaf demonstrated some of the Jumbo Jet’s uses during a slide show.

Matthew Quiran, an 8-year-old Redeemer Lutheran of Redwood City student, said the 747’s ability to carry a 747 was impressive.

“It was cool how it could carry so much weight,” he said. “That was pretty amazing.”

And even in retirement, the Jumbo Jet can still be useful. In Stockholm, a 747 has been retrofitted as a hostel where Khare and his wife stayed about two years ago.

“You can actually rent a cabin on a 747,” he said.  “It’s one of the cheapest places you can stay in Stockholm.”

The museum itself features a front nose section of 747 that was transported from Roswell, N.M., shortly before it opened its doors about 10 years ago. The plane was dismantled and retrofitted upon its arrival in San Carlos, and features an upstairs first class section.

“It’s wider than two lanes so it had to have a (police) escort the whole way,” Turner said.