After years of restoration, the first Boeing 727 is being flown from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, to its final resting place at at Boeing Field just south of Seattle. Watch this historic event

UPDATE: Here is video of its departure from Paine Field:

And here is its arrival at Boeing Field:

The jet has been given a restricted airworthiness certificate just for the ferry flight that should last about 15 minutes or so. The aircraft, known by its tail number N7001U, was built in 1963. After a slew of testing it entered into service for United int he mid 1960s. For nearly three decades it would plow the skies making money for its carriers before finally being retired in 1991.

In total, the humble jet flew some 64,495 hours and made 48,060 landings during its flying career. Not bad for a prototype!

Today, the charismatic “Three Holer” can still be seen flying, although in dwindling numbers, and most are in a cargo configuration. A large number of 727s disappeared from our skies as a result of the high fuel costs of the late 2000s. This, along with tightening noise standards at airports around the globe and increasing maintenance costs largely killed off those 727s that remained in charter service.

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