Last Boeing 747 to be built writes its name in the sky

On its way out of Washington state Wednesday, the final Boeing 747 to be assembled by the company appears to have written its number in the sky.

The jumbo jet, a 747-8 freighter operated by cargo carrier Atlas Air, departed after 8 a.m. Wednesday. It is the last of its kind, built at Boeing’s mammoth facility in Everett where the first 747 took shape in the late 1960s.

Reviewing the jumbo jet’s radar track, FlightAware and other plane watchers saw something was up.

The maneuvers were a last celebration for the aircraft, which was feted at Boeing’s Everett plant Tuesday before taking off at 8:19 a.m. Wednesday.

Related BOEING’S LAST “Queen of the Skies”

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• Timeline: Look at how the Boeing 747 has changed since 1968

• Building Boeing’s last 747: The nighttime drama of the final big lift (Timelapse video)

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Inside the giant factory, Boeing will move the work of fixing defects in 787 fuselages into the space freed up by end of 747 production. The assembly bay where the 787 work has been done until now will then be converted to a new 737 MAX assembly line.