One of Boeing’s finest airplane’s took the skies 15 years ago, yesterday, on her maiden voyage from Boeing Field in Everett, WA. Since then the 777 has become another iconic aircraft, populating airports around the globe with a wonderful, understated coolness. Perhaps not as easily recognizable as the 747 or the Airbus A380 (it also wasn’t designed with Airbus’ engineers’ artistic mission of “How can we make ugliness fly? like the A380, which is one giant piece of shitty flying installation art), the 777 still manages to draw an eye for its slick, rakish engineering, and when standing close, easily manages to overwhelm with its size and prowess.

I’ll write my ode to this beautiful piece of machinery later today, including the great lengths through which I went to fly on one for the first time in 2005. I’ll say one thing, however. I’ve flown on what seems like eight billion 777s now, and the excitement and awe has never faded from the first time I saw one parked at a gate in SFO years and years and years ago.

Happy 15th, 777. You’re getting to that age when you’re going to start experimenting with dating, drugs, alcohol, rebellion, and mouthing off. I’ll tell ya, though – like a good parent of a teenager, I’ll still love you (I realize this metaphor sort of fails considering I am not an airplane, nor I am the parent of the 777, but work with me here. It’s late and I’m delerious from studying chemistry).

Anyway, after crazy Friday night of studying equilibrium reactions, eating an eggplant hero the size of a Duraflame log that now makes me feel as if I’ve swallowed a basketball, I’m going to relax with the first part of the five part series of the quintessential 777 video series describing the design, creation, and history of the airplane.

The video links come courtesy of FlightBlogger, an absolutely wonderful blog I am ashamed to say I just recently discovered. Check out all five parts in the FlightBlogger post.

(And yes, I realize I just compromised any shred of coolness factor I had by saying I will spend the reminder of my Friday evening watching a 777 video, but, screw it. I have midterms next week ).

Enjoy!