My Tribute to the Queen of the Skies — the Incredible Boeing 747
Boeing has officially announced, they are ending the production of 747s by 2022. And very recently, I came to know British Airways are going to retire their entire fleet of 747s. It breaks my heart to imagine an air space without a single 747 cruising into the sky.
The Boeing 747, not only the most beautiful, recognizable and elegant aircraft of all times, but is also a game changer. In a world, where technologies change in the blink of an eye, the jumbo jet stayed in the commercial aviation industry for FIVE decades. And to add to that, it suffered multiple unfortunate events that gave aviation industry numerous important lessons which immensely contributed to the safety of today’s air travel.
Let’s be clear, I am neither a pilot, nor do I have a degree in aviation. I am just an enthusiast and I fell in love with the 747 the very first time I saw her.
I would like to list a few random things about this beauty with some brilliant images, which are sight to sore eyes.
Was not Supposed to be a Passenger Aircraft!
Boeing 747 completed its first flight on Feb 9, 1969. It was not a successful start at all. Boeing built the 747 to serve as a heavy duty front loading cargo plane for the US air force and they had to make some significant changes to the Boeing’s existing aircraft designs in order to achieve that. However, the Lockheed C5 galaxy defeated Boeing 747 in the military aircraft market. Boeing was now left with a wide body cargo plane, which had a completely different design and size compared to the existing passenger planes.
Many other aircraft manufacturing companies were investing in super sonic air-crafts (including Boeing themselves) which could promise to reach the destination within almost half the time that a sub sonic plane needed. No Airline wanted to purchase a slower, large-body aircraft.
The Influence of Pan Am
When 747 started to seem like a giant metal body of failure to Boeing, Juan Trippe (CEO of Pan Am at that time), showed his interest in a wide body aircraft that could carry a large number of passengers in the long overseas routes. His vision gave a new birth to the jumbo as a commercial airliner. Hence, Pan Am became the first customer of Boeing 747. The upper deck was converted to first class.
In a three class setup, the Boeing 747 could carry around 416 passengers, a number which no other commercial aircraft could even come close at the time. Airbus 380 (a wide body double decker plane) is the first commercial airliner to beat the passenger carrying capacity of the 747 in 37 years.
Why the ‘Hump’?
The queen is the most recognizable aircraft because of her iconic ‘hump’. It is not a true double decker unlike the revolutionary Airbus A380, but it is one of a kind.
The jumbo was meant to be a front loading cargo plane. However, the issue of cockpit placement came up. If the cockpit was aligned horizontally with the rest of the fuselage, the cockpit needed to bend while loading and it would cause design and maintenance issue with electrical wiring.
So, the Boeing engineers came up with an incredible idea to lift the cockpit to a upper deck, place the air conditioning system behind the cockpit, so that the cargo space remains unused and there will be no need to move/bend the cockpit while loading. This resulted in the ‘hump’ like upper deck of the 747 and gave her a unique aerodynamic look.
While converting the cargo to a passenger plane, the air conditioning systems were moved to the bottom section and the upper deck was converted into a first class lounge by Pan Am.
Super Sonic Transport vs the Jumbo
So, how did the jumbo beat the constant hype for super sonic planes during that era?
The Concorde was able to fly at Mach 2, whereas the 747’s maximum speed ranges from 0.84 to 0.88 Mach. How did the jumbo conquer the sky all over the world then?
Problems with Super Sonic Transport
Aircraft manufacturing companies were unable to materialize a super sonic passenger aircraft that would solve the following problems (specifically the Concorde) -
- Concorde was known for immense amount of fuel consumption. To add to the pain, oil prices jumped up high in the late ’70s, and the airlines cancelled Concorde orders and British Airways and Air France remained the only two airlines operating a few Concords.
- Sky-high ticket price, used mainly by the wealthy in exchange for luxury and speed.
- The flight path of a supersonic plane would generate several sonic booms which caused extreme dislike among the citizens of many countries, especially the American continent. Sonic booms were as loud as any explosion and can cause discomfort to the human ear.
- Maintenance costs were huge.
- Extreme damage was being done to the environment.
Airlines quickly realized it was time for a more fuel and cost efficient plane and the revolutionary Concorde eventually ceased to exist.
Back to Present
Till date, over 1500 Boeing 747s has been sold which is huge. Even though it has served the industry for the very long time, modern twin engine wide body air-crafts like Boeing’s very own 777x series and the Dream-liner, Airbus’s 350 are ruling the market. However, the era of the queen will always live in our hearts.
Thank you Boeing for being an inspiration .
P.S: If any of the information given above seems incorrect, I would request you to pardon me and suggest the necessary changes.
All hail the queen!
