Queen of the Skies – A Tribute to Boeing 747

In the early 1960s, the United States Air Force announced a requirement for a very high capacity military airlift/cargo transport aircraft and invited bids from the major airplane manufacturers for this project. Amongst the bidders were both Boeing and Lockheed – leading airplane manufacturers and suppliers to the USAF. Boeing proposed a double bubble, low wing aircraft with a conventional tail and four engines while Lockheed’s design had a high wing and a T-tail while maintaining four engines. In a close bid, Boeing who had invested millions of dollars into the project, lost to Lockheed whose design was preferred by the United States Air Force.

Pushed to a corner like never before, Boeing spoke of this design to various airlines with the faint hope of getting someone interested in this project. Coming to its rescue Pan American placed an order for 25 of these jets worth USD 525 million – at that time a record deal and on the basis of this single order, Boeing announced launch of production of the aircraft which eventually came to be designated as the Boeing 747-100. At least 25 more airlines came forward with orders including leading names such as Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, BOAC and our own Air India.

On February 9, 1969 the first Boeing 747 weighing well over twice as much as the largest variant of Boeing’s next biggest aircraft – the B707, lifted off gracefully for the first time from Everett with Captain Jack Wedell – a veteran Boeing test pilot at the controls. After months of testing, first delivery was made to Pan American who commenced passenger services with the type on the prestigious New York – London route on 21 January 1970.

Boeing was quick to come up with improved variants. The first Boeing 747-200 flew in 1971 and its production continued until 1991. The aircraft was capable of higher payloads and offered greater operational flexibility while costing up to 35% lower per mile than other jets of the time. The market soon realized the potential of the cavernous interiors of the B747 for freight. Lufthansa was the first customer for the B747-200 freighter which it took delivery of on April 19, 1972. Other major derivatives of the type were the Combi, the Convertible, the Special Performance, the Short Range, the B747-300 and the B747-400. Extended range versions of both the freighter and passenger versions of the B747-400 entered service in October 2002 with Air France and Qantas respectively.

Though its mantle of being the largest commercial airplane was lost to the A380 in 2005, Boeing very cleverly positioned yet another derivative – the B747-8 – launched in November 2005 as an aircraft that bridged the rather considerable capacity gap between aircraft such as the B777-300ER and the A380. This version has already seen over 85 orders in cargo and passenger versions and is slated to enter service in 2009.
Close to 1500 airframes of all different versions of the B747 have been delivered to far. This number is twice that of any other wide-bodied aircraft ever produced speaks volumes for Boeing’s superlative design. Some astounding facts about Boeing 747 are:

A 747-400 has 171 miles (274 km) of wiring and 5 miles (8 km) of tubing.

At 63 feet 8 inches (19.4 m) the B747-400 is as high as a six-storey building.

The 747-400 wing measures 5,600 square feet roughly equivalent to two large apartments.

The 747 fleet has logged more than 35 billion statute miles (56 billion km) - enough to make 74,000 trips to the moon and back.

The 747 fleet has flown 3.5 billion people - the equivalent of more than half of the world’s population.

The 747-400ER range is approximately 7,720 statute miles (14,297 km).

The diameter of the 747 engine cowling is 8 feet 6 inches (2.6 m).

The 747-400ER can carry approximately 185 tons of fuel. This is more than the weight of a fully laden Airbus A300.

Besides its wing tanks, the 747-400 carries about 9.6 tons of fuel in the horizontal (tail) stabilizer, allowing it to fly an additional 350 nautical miles.

There are 365 lights, gauges and switches in the new-technology 747-400 flight deck, reduced from 971 on earlier 747 models.

The wings of a Boeing 747 can be bent upwards from the tip by approximately 24 feet and downwards by approximately 12 feet before there is even the slightest danger of any structural damage. (So you are really safe in thunderstorms).

(The author is the Sales & Marketing Manager of Kuwait Airways in India)