[2][3] The aircraft carried manufacturer serial number 20235[3] and was designated internally as RA001,[clarification needed] marking the beginning of the era of the "jumbo jet".

[4] N7470 has a paint design featuring a simple white and red livery adorned with the logos of the more than two dozen airline customers who had ordered the aircraft type.

Unfortunately, the idea of using the Boeing 747 as a refuelling tanker wasn't ideal, and the aircraft was eventually re-registered back to its original identity as N7470.

[citation needed] The plane was stored in Las Vegas between October 1983 and August 1986, when it was sent to Wichita where it was used as a mockup for the development of the Boeing VC-25, the aircraft commonly associated with Air Force One.

[8] The aircraft, still in its test-configured state, was donated to the Museum of Flight located at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington where it was placed on static display.

By the early 2000s, the aircraft was in need of restoration due to its advanced age and prolonged exposure to the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest.