Scott Bateman

Today felt quietly momentous.

The first printed copies of JUMBO landed on the desks at Penguin this morning. A book that has lived for years as notes, memories, cockpit conversations, and late-night drafts is suddenly… real.

The Boeing 747 has always been more than an aircraft. When it first flew in February 1969, it didn’t just change aviation — it changed the world. It made long-haul travel accessible, shrank continents, reshaped global trade, and defined the look and feel of flight for generations. For over half a century, the “Queen of the Skies” has carried presidents, pilgrims, freight, families, and dreams, and she did it with elegance, power, and unmistakable presence.

JUMBO tells that story from the flight deck. From the perspective of pilots, crews, engineers, designers, the moments that made the 747 a cultural and technological icon. From someone who grew up looking up at her, and later flew her successors across the same skies, it’s been a passion project.

The book is released on 18 February 2026, just over a month from now, and is available to pre-order on Amazon now.

If you love aviation, engineering, history, or the stories behind the machines that shape our lives, I hope you’ll come along for the journey.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project, this one really means a lot.

✈️📖