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The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%.
- February 9, 1969
- Boeing Commercial Airplanes
- 1,574 (including prototype)
Jan 31, 2023 · The Boeing 747, known as the "Queen of the Skies," revolutionized air travel since its first flight in 1969. It's now mostly a cargo plane, and the last 747 just rolled off...
Jun 19, 2020 · In the early 1960s, the US Air Force was just starting to take delivery of the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, a huge four-engined jet designed to carry 27 tonnes of cargo over distances of some...
- History and Development of The Boeing 747
- Impact of The 747 – Changing Aviation For The Better
- The 747 Variants
- Some Special 747s
- Variants That Were Not Developed
- 747 Orders and Deliveries
- The Future of The 747
Concept of the 747 – Improving on the 707
The origins of the 747 go back to the 1960s. Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) saw the economic potential and asked Boeing to design an aircraft around 2.5 times the size of the Boeing 707.Boeing and Pan Am had already had great success with the 707 and wanted to take this further with a higher capacity, twin-aisle aircraft. Development began once Pan Am ordered 25 aircraft, for $525 million, in April 1966. Such close interaction between one airline and a manufacturer is unusual, and the in...
Designing the 747
Boeing did not start from scratch with its design of the 747. It returned to recent work it had been doing to design a freighter aircraft for the US military(it lost this to the C5 Galaxy). Initially, a full second deck was envisioned, but this was not possible due to safety requirements at the time. This resulted in the small upper deck that we all recognize. The smaller upper deck also allowed for a wider main fuselage for the aircraft, improving its cargo capacity. This, of course, has gon...
Construction of the 747
Following Pan Am's order in 1966, delivery of the first 747 was set for the end of 1969. This was a massive undertaking in a comparatively short time. The first challenge was to secure a new location for development as none of Boeing's existing sites could handle such large construction. A new site at Everett, Washington, was purchased and built (alongside the first aircraft prototype). It is still the largest building, measured by usable volume, in the world today. The 747 has been continuou...
The 747 has shaped the aviation world in many ways. Perhaps most importantly, at the time of its introduction, it changed the economics of flying. The increased capacity gave airlines much more scope for different pricing and ticket types. This was especially so when combined with the deregulation of airfares in the US. In many ways, this heralded ...
The Boeing 747 first entered service with Pan Am in 1970.Initial orders for the aircraft were slow. It was launched amidst an oil crisis, and there were difficulties with the engines and performance. In the first two years, only two aircraft were sold (to Irish airline Aer Lingus). This improved throughout the 1970s, and orders increased, partly as...
NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
One of the more interesting conversions of the 747 has been for use byNASA to carry the US Space Shuttle orbiters. Two 747-100 aircraft were converted for this use in 1977 and retired in 2012 along with the Shuttle. The fuselage was strengthened to allow the Shuttle to be loaded on top, and several modifications were made to deal with the altered center of gravity of the aircraft. They were primarily used to transport the Shuttle from its landing site back to the Kennedy Space Center. NASA al...
Air Force One – Boeing VC-25
TheBoeing VC-25 is a modified version of the 747-200B, operated by the US Air Forceas VIP transport – known as Air Force One when carrying the US President. These two aircraft were introduced in 1990. They are based on the 747-200 but feature many of the improvements of the 747-400. Extra fuel tanks, and lower passenger capacity, give it a range of 12,600 kilometers. Replacement aircraft, based on the 747-8, have been orderedand are due to be delivered by 2024. The order came about after Airb...
747-400 Dreamlifter
Boeing's 747-400 Dreamlifteris a modified version of the 747-400. Increasing the fuselage height and width gives a cargo volume of around three times that of the 747-400. It was designed byBoeing to allow transport of parts of its 787 aircraft from suppliers,and four aircraft have been built. They are not operated by Boeing itself but outsourced - first to Evergreen and from 2020 to Atlas Air.
For such a long-running program, it is not surprising that there were several 747 variants considered by Boeing, but not developed.Some of the main ones include:
As of July 2020, there have been a total of1,571 orders for the 747, across all its variants. And 1,556 aircraft have been delivered (based on Boeing data).
End of production?
The 747, of course, remains in production with the 747-8. There have been reports thatBoeing may end the program after the remaining ordered aircraft are delivered, but this is not confirmed. Of those aircraft still to be delivered, two are destined for the US Air Force as replacements for Air Force One, and the others for cargo operators. All 47 passenger version orders have now been delivered. It is not surprising that production may end soon. Thetrend towards more efficient, twin-engine, a...
Where does the 747 still fly in 2020?
With the slowdown in aviation seen in 2020, many airlines are retiring aircraft. With the 747-400 already nearing the end of service, there are many cases of it meeting an early end. The new 747-8Iis operated in Europe by Lufthansa, and in Asia by Korean Air and Air China. These are relatively new airliners and are likely to remain in service for some time. For a chance to fly on the 747-400 before retirement, Lufthansa, Air China, Asiana, Air India, China Airlines, and Thai Airwaysstill oper...
Cargo operators
One of the main factors in the success of the 747, from its concept right up to the 747-8 today, is its focus on freight use as well as passenger use. Boeing leads the way in the freighter market, with the 747 and 777. There is also the possibility of a freighter versionof the 777X, with Qatar Airways already expressing interest in becoming its launch customer. Airbus has had limited success and dropped plans early for an A380 freighter. The 747s cargo use has, in many ways, outlasted passeng...
- Journalist
Jun 1, 2021 · The Boeing 747 was one of the most ambitious projects ever taken on by the aerospace company. More than twice as big as the Boeing 707, the four-engine jumbo-jet was originally able to carry more than 400 passengers and had a range of more than 5,000 nautical miles, making the plane very popular for overseas travel.
May 19, 2021 · Published May 19, 2021. A Pan Am boeing 747 flying over snow covered mountains. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images) Many people, both among avgeeks and the general public, consider the Boeing 747 to be among the most iconic airliners of all time. A key factor in this is its longevity.
Oct 13, 2020 · The first 747. The very first generation of the Boeing 747 was the 747-100. Boeing brought it to the market as a cargo transport first for oceanic flights (it was originally a failed bid for a military aircraft), but quickly airlines realized the opportunity to use the aircraft to bring flying to the masses.
