"Have you ever seen Sydney from a 747 at night?"

It's the bold question asked by legendary Aussie troubadour Paul Kelly on his 2007 album Smoke, a salute to a vision of the Harbour City from Boeing's iconic jet.

And it turns out if you haven't by now, you never will, with veteran Qantas captain Ewen Cameron piloting Boeing's last remaining 747 with the national carrier in Wednesday's final flight from Sydney to the Mojave "plane boneyard" in California.

The joy flight, which will also ferry across fans of Boeing's Queen of the Skies, also ends Mr Cameron's four decades in the cockpit of the aircraft. It followed his father Lindsay's entire career also piloting 747s with Qantas.

"I am honoured to be the last Qantas pilot on the last Qantas 747 landing and I think when we shut the last engine down in the desert, it is going to be sad," he said.

Mr Cameron, who spent more than 26,000 hours piloting 747s, was always destined for the skies as he followed in his dad's footsteps: "I grew up with it and it was in the household from the day I was born."

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Originally published as Pilot says a fond farewell as the 747 heads for the boneyard