Boeing 747

Boeing 747 at a Glance
Role	Widebody Jetliner
Country of Origin	United States
Manufacturer	Boeing
Status	In production
Number Built	1387
Unit Cost	15.000.000v$-230.000.000v$
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The Boeing 747 is a widebody commercial airliner, often referred to by the nickname "Jumbo Jet". It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first widebody ever produced. Manufactured by Boeing's Commercial Airplane unit in the US, the original version of the 747 was two and a half times the size of the Boeing 707, one of the common large commercial aircraft of the 1960s. First flown commercially in 1970, the 747 held the passenger capacity record for 37 years.

The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747's hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or (as is the general rule today) extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door. Boeing did so because the company expected supersonic airliners, whose development was announced in the early 1960s, to render the 747 and other subsonic airliners obsolete, but that the demand for subsonic cargo aircraft would be robust into the future. The 747 in particular was expected to become obsolete after 400 were sold but it exceeded its critics' expectations with production passing the 1,000 mark in 1993. As of June 2009, 1,416 aircraft have been built, with 107 more in various configurations remaining on order.

The 747-400, the latest version in service, is among the fastest airliners in service with a high-subsonic cruise speed of Mach 0.85 (567 mph or 913 km/h). It has an intercontinental range of 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 mi or 13,450 km). The 747-400 passenger version can accommodate 416 passengers in a typical three-class layout or 524 passengers in a typical two-class layout. The next version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and scheduled to enter service in 2010. The 747 is to be replaced by the Boeing Y3 (part of the Boeing Yellowstone Project) in the future.

Variants

Boeing 747-100

The first 747-100s were built with six upper-deck windows (three per side) to accommodate upstairs lounge areas. Later, as airlines began to use the upper-deck for premium passenger seating instead of lounge space, Boeing offered a 10-window upper deck as an option. Some -100s were retrofitted with the new configuration.

No freighter version of this model was developed by Boeing. However, 747-100s have been converted to freighters. A total of 167 747-100s were built.

Boeing 747-200

The 747-200 has more powerful engines, higher takeoff weights (MTOW) and range than the -100. A few early -200s retained the three-window configuration of the -100 on the upper deck, but most were built with a 10-window configuration on each side.

A total of 225 747-200's where built. Many 747-200s are still in operation, although most large carriers have retired them from their fleets and sold them to smaller operators. Large carriers have sped up fleet retirement following the September 11th attacks and the subsequent drop in demand for air travel, scrapping some or turning others into freighters.

Boeing 747-200F

The 747-200F is the freighter version of the -200 model. It could be fitted with or without a side cargo door. It has a capacity of 105 tons (95.3 tonnes) and an MTOW of up to 833,000 lb (378,000 kg). It entered first service in 1972 with Lufthansa.

A total of 73 747-200F's were built.

Boeing 747-300

The most visible difference between the -300 and previous models was a stretched upper deck with two new emergency exit doors and an optional flight-crew rest area immediately aft of the flight deck as standard. (The stretched upper deck had previously been offered as a retrofit and first appeared on two Japanese 747-100 SR models.) Compared to the -200, the upper deck is 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) longer than the -200. A new straight stairway to the upper deck instead of a spiral staircase is another difference between the -300 and earlier variants. The staircase creates room below and above for more seats. With minor aerodynamic changes, Boeing increased the cruise speed of the -300 to Mach 0.85 from Mach 0.84 on the -100/-200. The -300 features the same takeoff weight. Two of the three engine choices from the -200 were unchanged in the -300, but the General Electric CF6-80C2B1 was offered instead of the CF6-50E2 offered on the -200.

The 747-300 name, which was proposed for a variant that was never launched, was revived for this new version, which was introduced in 1980. Swissair ordered the first 747-300 on 11 June 1980. The 747-300 first flew on 5 October 1982. Swissair was the first customer to accept delivery on March 23, 1983. JALways 747-300 at Osaka-Kansai Airport.

A total of 56 747-300's were built. The 747-300 was soon superseded by the launch of the more advanced 747-400 in 1985, just two years after the -300 entered service. The last 747-300 was delivered in September 1990 to Sabena.

Today, many -300 aircraft are still active, despite a significant loss of interest in the series among large carriers who replaced the 747-300 with the 747-400. Air France, Air India and Qantas were some of the last major carriers to operate the 747-300. On 29 December 2008, Qantas flew its last scheduled 747-300 service, operating from Melbourne to Los Angeles via Auckland. On 20 January 2009, Qantas' last 747-300 was flown to the United States for storage. Carriers still using the -300 include Aerosur, Pakistan International Airlines and Saudi Arabian Airlines. Although none were constructed as dedicated freighters, a few -300s have been converted to cargo operations.

Boeing 747-400

The 747-400 is an improved model with increased range. It has wing-tip extensions of 6 ft (1.8 m), winglets of 6 ft (1.8 m), which improve the 747-400's fuel efficiency by 4% compared to previous 747 versions. It has a new glass cockpit designed for a flight crew of two instead of three. The use of electronics reduced the number of dials, gauges and knobs from 971 to 365. It has tail fuel tanks, revised engines and a new interior. The longer range was used by some airlines to bypass traditional fuel stops, such as Anchorage. The -400 was offered in passenger (400), freighter (400F), combi (400C), domestic (400D), extended range passenger (400ER) and extended range freighter (400ERF) versions. The freighter version does not have an extended upper deck. The 747-400D was built for short range operations and does not include winglets, but these can be retrofitted.

The passenger version first entered service in February 1989 with Northwest Airlines on the Minneapolis to Phoenix route. The combi version entered service in September 1989 with KLM. The freighter version entered service in November 1993 with Cargolux. The 747-400ERF entered service in October 2002 and the 747-400ER entered service the following month with Qantas, the only airline ever to order the passenger version. Some of the last built Boeing 747-400s were delivered with Dreamliner livery along with the modern interior from the Boeing 777.

In January 2004 Boeing and Cathay Pacific launched the Boeing 747-400 Special Freighter program, later referred to as the Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF). The first 747-400BCF was redelivered in December 2005.

The last passenger version of the 747-400 was delivered in April 2005. Boeing announced in March 2007 that it had no plans to produce further passenger versions of the -400. However, orders for 36 -400F and -400ERF freighters were already in place at the time of the announcement. As of June 2009, 692 of the 747-400 series aircraft had been delivered with two aircraft (-400ERFs) to be delivered.

At various times, the largest operator of the 747-400 has been Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, or British Airways