Norm's 747 Story
“As Qantas' last 747 taxied down Sydney Airport taxiway “Charlie”, Captain Sharelle Quinn brought her aircraft to a stop for a minute in front of the enthusiastic crowd gathered at Shep's Mound. Amongst the onlookers, and waving an Australian flag was ex Qantas Chief Flight Engineer Norman King in full uniform.
That poignant moment as Norm stood amongst a large crowd of 747 enthusiasts, taking a final look at the aircraft that made up a large part of not just his life, but the life of many is best summed up by Norm himself:
“Although I understand the emphasis has been on the fact that OEJ was a -400, many of us went back way before the glass cockpit variant and of course the Classics shared the same Joe Sutter DNA. A little piece of every flight engineer flew away with OEJ on Wednesday. I just wanted to represent them, and make sure we hadn’t been forgotten in the history books.”
Represent them he did, in the most fitting way possible.
Norm King joined Qantas in 1961 doing a 5 year engineering apprenticeship, before spending 2 years working on the 707 as an engine and airframe Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. In 1969 he moved into the Flight Engineer role on the 707, then in 1976 onto the 747. When Norm retired in 2002 ending a 41-year career in Qantas he was Qantas’ Chief Flight Engineer.
Flight Engineers were a vital part of the 747 flight crew until the advent of the 747-400 whose “glass cockpit” and associated systems removed the need to carry the Flight Engineer. But even after the arrival of the 747-400 into the Qantas fleet, the earlier 747 “Classics” as they came to be known flew for many years side by side with the new 747’s.”
