When aviation enthusiasts saw a new Boeing 747 variant roll out of the Everett factory in 1975, many did a double-take. From head-on, it had the familiar hump and four engines of the “Queen of the Skies,” but side-on, it looked surprisingly different. The fuselage had been shortened by almost 15 meters, giving the jet the stance of a muscle car rather than a long-legged ocean liner. The vertical tail towered over the cut-down body, an oversized fin that looked almost cartoonish but was essential to keep the aircraft stable. To casual observers, the proportions felt wrong, stubby and compressed, yet to Boeing, this odd-looking airplane was the only way to squeeze new performance out of existing technology.
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