T he answer to this question is to get to the other side, of course — but that answer would only be partially correct, as I was invited to a special event yesterday morning where a Boeing 747-451 aircraft was towed across two actual streets to be parked adjacent to its final resting place near the entrance of the Delta Flight Museum at the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines.
Why Did This Boeing 747-451 Airplane Cross the Road?
Now retired, the last flight of this Boeing 747-451 aircraft was Delta Air Lines flight 836 from Honolulu to Atlanta on Wednesday, September 9, 2015. Approximately 28 years of age, this aircraft was the first 747-400 series aircraft built by Boeing and was delivered to Northwest Airlines, whose merger with Delta Air Lines was officially approved by the Department of Justice of the United States on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 — approximately 18 months since both carriers emerged from bankruptcy protection — and the aircraft became part of the fleet of Delta Air Lines, which had not operated a Boeing 747 series aircraft in years.
The good news is that you will be able to appreciate this historic aircraft up close and personal when you visit the Delta Flight Museum once the airplane is situated in its final resting spot. It is currently stationary in the parking lot of the Delta Flight Museum adjacent to its final resting spot.
For additional information pertaining to the Delta Flight Museum, I wrote a series of articles which contain plenty of photographs:
- Delta Flight Museum: Photographs Inside Hangar 1 of the Official Venue of the 2015 Freddie Awards
- Delta Flight Museum: Photographs Inside Hangar 2 of the Official Venue of the 2015 Freddie Awards
- Delta Flight Museum: Photographs Outside of the Official Venue of the 2015 Freddie Awards
- The 2015 Freddie Awards: Hangar 2 of the Delta Flight Museum and The Spirit of Delta
- The 2015 Freddie Awards: A Map to the Delta Flight Museum
- Delta Flight Museum Grand Opening on 85th Anniversary of Delta Air Lines
- Delta Flight Museum: Additional Details of the Official Ceremony and More Photographs
Summary — For Now
I have plenty of photographs and videos to sort through; but until then, at the top of this article is a photograph to give you a small idea as to what transporting this behemoth entailed — and yes, that street sign really was that close to the airplane as it was being towed…
All photographs ©2016 by Brian Cohen.
