ABOUT FACTS NET Aircraft

Picture Source: Clipart.com

The biggest plane ever to fly in commercial service is the Boeing 747. This fact will change next year, but until then it is still the king of the skies. It has had a long reign. If the plane is put into a one class mode, it can carry 600 passengers. It usually is in a three class mode and this allows for 400 passengers. The plane has two decks. The plane's range is outstanding, it can fly over 8400 miles without refueling. and can fly even further in special configurations. It once flew from London, England to Sydney, Australia and covered a distance of almost 11,200 miles on one tank of fuel, but it didn't have any passengers on board at the time. While the plane is not supersonic, it does fly at a respectable speed of 565 mph.

The 747 was built in an era where faster than sound planes were being contemplated and even built. I don't think that the people at Boeing, at that time, ever dreamed that the supersonic planes wouldn't take hold in the commercial air business, so they must have been pleasantly surprised when they were able to sell this plane for so many years, thirty five to be exact up to today. Last year over 1380 planes had been sold, giving a tremendous profit to Boeing. Cargo versions of this plane also ply the skies.

747
Photo Source: NASA

When the plane was first designed, Boeing was in financial trouble, things were so bad that if the 747 didn't make it, the company was going to go out of business. It was the gamble of all times. It took guts and Boeing had those guts. A factory had to be built first before construction of the new plane could even begin. All was not roses for the company however. Fuel economy was a big issue with airlines and they really wanted planes with three engines because they used much less fuel. In the beginning some companies felt that maybe this plane was too big and they purchased planes with three jets. The airlines also thought that because of the size of the plane, existing airport gates and other facilities may not fit the plane properly. Boeing assured them that they would and when it built the plane, it was built with safety, redundancy and takeoff capability from normal sized airports in mind. This plane has proved to be very safe indeed.

The first order for a 747 was received in 1966 from Pan American Air Lines. The first 747 was built on September 30, 1968. The planes cost 21 million dollars each when Pan American Air Lines ordered 25 of them. New models were produced on a regular basis, sometimes several in one year. The latest model is the 747-300ER and was sold to Qantas Airways on October 31, 2002 The president flies in a 747. You will hear that the plane is called Air Force One. This is true with reservations, because any plane that the President is current in has the call sign, Air Force One.

New planes generally get new power plants and the 747 was no exception. As a matter of fact, it needed very powerful engines to lift its huge bulk. Boeing went to Pratt & Whitney and they built the first high-bypass-ratio engine for this plane. The engine was a turbofan and designated the JT90-7. It put out about 50,000 pounds of thrust. As the engines improved the thrust went up with the JT9D-7Q putting out 53,000 pounds of thrust and the JT9D-7R4 putting out up to 56,000 pounds of thrust. Other engines are also used now on the 747s but the big Pratts were the first.

Quicktime Movie showing 747 with space shuttle Size 5.58 Megs
Movie Source: NASA

It is hard to believe that this huge machine is going to be dethroned as the biggest commercial passenger plane. I remember the first time I saw one many years ago. I was astounded. I was used to seeing planes the size of a Boeing 707 parked at the gate at the airport and I went to pick someone up who was arriving in a 747. The plane looked gigantic as it rolled into the gate. The plane is about 233 feet long, has a wing span of about 212 feet, is about 63 feet high. These figures I am giving you are for the newest 747s and differ slightly for the older ones.

The 747 is truly an international plane. Its parts are made in 33 different countries, and believe me, it has plenty of them. There are about 6,000,000 parts in the plane. The newest 747s are much more fuel efficient than the first ones. It is said that they are 25% more fuel efficient. Even the safest plane has accidents and given the long history of the 747 it is no exception. There have actually only been 30 accidents due to what is know as hull loss. The total fatalities are about 2,842. This figure does not represent any other fatalities such as those caused from hijackings or other occurrences. These amount to another 880 fatalities or there about.

An interesting fact about the 747 is that it is the only Boeing commercial jet that was not stretched. I wonder how we will feel when we see the new giant Airbus plane next year?