Everything about the Boeing 747. Or almost everything

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Boeing 747, easily recognizable by its hunchbacked fuselage, is actually a by-product of military development from the 1970s. At that time, the US government needed a heavy-lift transport aircraft, for which a tender was issued. The Boeing Company did not receive a military order, but considered that a large civil transport aircraft would be in demand in the air transportation market.

This is how the development of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet was born, which was twice the size of the largest aircraft of the time. Each aircraft of this design then cost about 16.8 million dollars (1966), so the company needed a major customer, which was Pan American. She ordered 25 aircraft of this design for a total of $525 million.

In 1969, the Boeing 747-100 was first presented at the Paris Air Show, and in the first six months of 1970, Pan American transported the first million passengers on the London-New York route through these aircraft.

Since then, Boeing has produced a variety of aircraft, the passenger options of which are very diverse. First, the 747-100B model was created, which has a larger take-off weight. Then the 747SR was released for Japanese users, which was intended for short flights and volumetric passenger traffic. The Boeing 747 SP was intended for long-haul flights. At the same time, it should be noted that the original 747-100 model was modified for the Civil Reserve - 19 aircraft of this series underwent transformations, which made it possible to turn a passenger aircraft into a transport aircraft in two days.

Today, aircraft such as the 747-200 fly over various countries and continents, which can carry about 450 passengers at a time over a distance of up to 12.7 thousand km, rising to a maximum height of 13.7 km. You can also note its version - Boeing 747-300 with an extended upper cabin for passengers, which can accommodate a maximum of 660 people.

Boeing 747 transport ships are involved in both civil and military passenger transportation. In 1990-1991, these stamps were involved in the transfer of American troops to Iraq (about 640 thousand soldiers were transported). At the production base of Boeing and Lockheed, the Yal-1A model was developed, carrying a combat laser on board to destroy enemy missiles. The variant 747-100 - 747-123 is also known, which carries the space shuttle on its "back" (thirteen flights were made with the Enterprise shuttle).

The disadvantages of the aircraft of this series include the fact thatin the early years of their flights, airports could not cope with the passenger flow, while simultaneously unloading from the reception of a large number of aircraft. For example, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport had difficulty processing passengers arriving on 2-3 Boeings, because their total number was 700-1000 people in a short period of time.

In addition, air crashes of such vehicles are fraught with a large number of victims. In 1996, two passenger ships collided in India - 747 and Il-76. This accident claimed the lives of more than 350 people. And when two 747s (206B and 121) collided in 1977, about 580 passengers died.