747 Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

At the 1968 rollout, President Allen also said, “We felt that its economic advantage enable airlines,both foreign and domestic, to continue their growth in a sound and healthy manner:’ That it did is shown by the fact that at presstime airline customers have ordered 966 of the famous jumbo.

The 747 has also been busy as a record setter. In1970, a Boeing 747 set a world heavyweight record for an aircraft taking off at 372,597kg (820,5001b) set by a 747-200 in 1976.

In August 1989, Qantas flew its first 747-400 a distance of 9,708nm (11,185sm or 17,996km) from London to Sydney without stopping – further than any other commercial airliner had flown. The flight took 20 hours 9 minutes 5 seconds.

The one-hundredth 7 4 7 was delivered in February 1971. Then 21 operators had 747s in service. At late January 1990, 755 were in operation with 70 operators worldwide.

Lufthansa German Airlines put the first 7 4 7 freighter into service in 1972, bringing the world air cargo market into profitability and giving it the capability to grow to the point that it is still outstripping available capacity,112 freighters have been ordered. First purchases of the 747-400 freighter were announced late last year by two major airliners.

In September 1972, after 20 months in service, Boeing 747s had logged a total of one million flight hours. Twenty years after the first 747 entered commercial service, that number is 27. 5 million hours. This is equivalent to one aeroplane having taken off at the end of the Mycenaean civilisation in Greece and flying steadily until today, or 3139 years.

Certification and service of the 747-100 short range version occurred in1973 when Japan Air Lines, now the 747’s largest customer, used it on routes between Tokyo and Naha, Okinawa. Since then, two other short range variants were introduced and 33 have been sold. Now Boeing is looking at the market possibilities of a 747-400 ‘domestic’ for high density, short haul needs in various regions around the world.

Passengers and cargo on the main deck became a reality when Sabena had main deck cargo doors installed on two 747-100s in the early 1970s. Air Canada took delivery of the first two 747-200s designed and built as ‘Combis’ (combination) aeroplanes in 1975. The Combi, available in 747-200 and -300 versions, has now been ordered by several 747-400 customers.

A different kind of record was set in early 1976 when a South African Airways 7 4 7 Special Performance version landed in Cape Town following a 8,931nm (16,550km) nonstop flight from PaineField, Washington. This flight was then the world’sdistance record for commercial aeroplanes. The SP is the odd looking 74 7 in the family, 4 7 feet shorter than the others. It was designed to fly higher, faster and farther than any other wide body airliner up to that time,with a primary goal of flying New York/fokyo nonstop against the wind with a full passenger load. It serves the world’s long distance air routes where passenger traffic does not require full sized 747s. In 1977 a PanAm 7478P set a new speed record for an around-the-world flight passing over both poles: 54 hours 7 minutes12 seconds for the 23,180nm (42,954km) flight with only two stops.

Today, 16 versions of the 747 have been sold, including two military types. In 1983 Boeing delivered the first 747-300 to Swissair, the first 747 to feature an upper deck 23 feet longer than that of previous models. Because of that, the -300s passenger carrying capability increased 10%.

Northwest Airlines stepped into the next generation on February 91989 by putting the first 747-400 into commercial service. Twenty two customers had ordered 179 passenger and combi versions of this new craft by then. The 747-400, distinguishable by its extended wing and tipped-up winglets and 100% digital two crew flight deck, is continuing the 747 tradition. So far 244 of the advanced technology 747s, including freighter versions, have been ordered by 25 customers. At the end of 1989, 749 of all versions of the 7 4 7 have been delivered with orders passing the 950 mark.

Today, 747s have flown 13. 9 billion miles (22. 3bn kms), equivalent to a round trip jaunt to Pluto and again to Neptune, as well as 3,000 quick flights to and from the moon. If it’s easier to imagine, 747s fly 3. 7 million miles per day (5. 9m kms) or148 times around the world.

What’s in the future for the 747? In thenext 10 years, two billion more people will have flown the jumbo, or twice as many people in half thetime. Some at Boeing talk of a 747 with an entirely new wing; others talk of further extensions of the upper deck, perhaps the full length of the fuselage. Some talk of a ‘stretched’ 747. Whatever the outcome, it seems clear that at Boeing, larger aeroplanes will, for the foreseeable future, mean 747s.