Today’s departure of the last B747-400s in the BA fleet prompted me to look through my archive and what the jumbo jet meant to me. I’ve always loved the shape and my initial memories are with my brother watching them take off at LHR from the Queen’s Building #BA747Farewell

I also wrote to Lord King when I was at school asking if I could visit BA and see the aircraft up close. To my great surprise his office replied and courtesy of the Special Visits Unit I went to the engineering base

As well as Concorde we visited G-AWNN undergoing a major maintenance check

When I first started to work for BA in Engineering on the graduate scheme we rotated through various placements. I managed to get one acting as departure engineer on the B747-400 and in those days that meant re-fuelling and pushing them back at T4

During my posting to Seattle as part of the B777 development team I was involved in a C1 flight test on G-BIVC in 1993. It was a wintry February morning and we had to de-ice

Before I left Engineering I spent a couple of years as an Account Manager and had some interesting clients. These included two middle eastern Heads of State and their aircraft. I was now getting to know the intricacies of the B747-SP

One such SP (Special Performance) aircraft was being flown with Qatar Airways but was to be converted for VVIP use. It entered our hanger for what was to be the longest input in BA history (to my knowledge)

Eventually it and I flew over to Dallas Fort Worth for the next stage of its conversion to VVIP use. In ferrying around the Amiri Flight Commander I even got to take my car onto the base area and couldn’t resist a few photos

In September 2006 I started my conversion onto the B747-400. It is fair to say that what started as a dream as a small child was about to transform into reality. I enjoyed the conversion course hugely and was paired with a lovely Captain I knew from the B757/767 (previous fleet)

My first landing was in G-CIVP into YVR. I spent the next seven years enjoying flying the Queen of the Skies around the world with favourite destinations including BKK, CPT, HKG, JFK, SIN, SYD

This was a very snowy LHR trying to go to SIN and ultimately failing. The only time I have climbed up and looked out of the roof escape hatch whilst we were taxying to accurately check the wing - which was rapidly accumulating snow

The B747 inspired confidence. It was designed and built to survive anything with huge redundancy - I always felt incredibly safe flying one, regardless of what mother nature had in store. I’ve even flown an approach and landing in the sim on 1 engine which amazed me - no drama!

On one occasion crossing the Atlantic we had another company 747 1000’ below us on the same NAT track and I happened to have my DSLR with me

The 747 took me to some of the most famous places in the world which is something I’ll never forget

Finally it was time to get my command and a move to the A320 fleet allowed that. My last landing was in G-BNLW in August 2013, fittingly into YYZ (Canadian symmetry!) and a max crosswind landing according to my logbook

Goodbye B747 there are an awful lot of people here at BA that will miss you and I will too, even if over the last 7 years all my trips on you have been through staff travel!