Where do you expect to find one of the oldest Boeing 747s? In a far off location in Korea, waiting for a rust-filled death after a failed restaurant venture? That is the case of the first commercially used Boeing 747 which can now be found in a dilapidated condition in Namyangju-Si, South Korea.

This particular plane, bearing the registration number N747PA as well as the words “Juan T. Trippe”, takes pride of place in aviation history as the world’s second “Jumbo Jet”.

As mentioned earlier, this plane also made headlines when it joined Pan Am Airways as the first commercially flown Boeing 747.

Clipper Juan T. Trippe, as it was sometimes called, had its fair share of travel adventures, which included flying around in distant locations like Zaire.

When the powers that be decided on discontinuing use of the 747 number two, it was subsequently taken apart and sent to South Korea in early 2000 to be utilized as a theme-restaurant.

Once it arrived, it was reassembled and renovated but, unfortunately, the restaurant idea did not take off as planned. Soon enough, the eatery was falling apart in a quiet little urban setting in Namyangju.

Visitors to this abandoned Boeing-inspired restaurant note that the interior still retains some traces of this failed restaurant venture.

Link (1 2 3 4)

By shinigami on 20-10-2009