The first version - The Boeing 747-100
In this multi-part article I will introduce you to the true queen of the skies - the Boeing 747. First conceived in the mid 1960s the Boeing 747 is still being produced after 40 years, a myriad of different versions of this truly distinctive airliner (more than 20 different configurations) has been built. As of July 2009 1.419 Jumbo Jets rolled of the assembly lines near Seattle, Washington. The 747 is assembled in Everett inside a huge aircraft production plant which is still the biggest building of the world by volume. The 747 is flying as a passenger plane, as a freighter, as a combined passenger / cargo carrier, some are in government use as means of transportation for heads of state (the most famous being Air Force One - the transport of the U.S. President) and some even serve as firefighters or are carrying back the Space Shuttle from California to Florida. The 747 can probably be identified by most members of the travelling public due to its distinctive hump on top of the main aircraft body. Originally the Boeing 747 was a participant in a military contest for a new heavy transport aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. Boeing lost this competition and the production order went to Lockheed and its heavylifter which would eventually become the C-5 Galaxy. Later the losing Boeing design was adapted for use as a passenger mover for up to 400 or even more people and thus became the first widebody passenger jet. Legendary American carrier Pan American Airways was the first taker of this aircraft which would soon be named the Boeing 747. Initially the airline industry expected that in the 1970s subsonic passenger aircraft would be replaced by supersonic planes (like the European Concorde or Boeings own planned Boeing 2707), which would render their subsonic predecessors obsolete. Therefore the front loading cargo door was retained for the freighter version as - at that time - Boeing thought that in a few years only the freighter version would still generate sales. Well, history had some other plans and only 14 supersonic Concords were built and all other civil supersonic aircraft remained on the drawing boards. Subsequently both the passenger and freighter version of the Boeing 747 gained impressive sales with the before mentioned front loading door becoming a unique feature of the F-model (F=Freighter) of the 747 series. The first version was the Boeing 747-100 which entered service with Pan Am in January 1970 on the New York - London route. Originally this version was only offered with 6 windows (three per side) on the upper deck, as originally the upper deck was envisioned for use as an inflight bar. Later airlines found out that additional seats could be installed there - often exclusive business or first class seating - and subsequently Boeing offered 10 windows for the upper deck and also offered the retrofitting of the additional windows on older aircraft A total of 167 aircraft of the 100 series have been built plus an additional nine aircraft of the 100B version with improved MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight) of up to 340.000 kgs, (the original 100 version has an MTOW of 333.000 kgs) which has only been ordered by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Iran Air. The maximum range with a full load of passengers and underfloor cargo and mail is 5.300 Nautical Miles (9.800 km). No 100 series aircraft has been specifically built as a freighter but many have been converted to freighter after their lifes as passenger airliners had ended. As of 2009 approximately 20 aircraft of this early Jumbo version are still in use. The Boeing 747-100 was superseded in the 1970s by the Boeing 747-200 which will be featured in the next part of this article.
In this multi-part article I will introduce you to the true queen of the skies - the Boeing 747. First conceived in the mid 1960s the Boeing 747 is still being produced after 40 years, a myriad of different versions of this truly distinctive airliner (more than 20 different configurations) has been built. As of July 2009 1.419 Jumbo Jets rolled of the assembly lines near Seattle, Washington. The 747 is assembled in Everett inside a huge aircraft production plant which is still the biggest building of the world by volume. The 747 is flying as a passenger plane, as a freighter, as a combined passenger / cargo carrier, some are in government use as means of transportation for heads of state (the most famous being Air Force One - the transport of the U.S. President) and some even serve as firefighters or are carrying back the Space Shuttle from California to Florida. The 747 can probably be identified by most members of the travelling public due to its distinctive hump on top of the main aircraft body. Originally the Boeing 747 was a participant in a military contest for a new heavy transport aircraft for the U.S. Air Force. Boeing lost this competition and the production order went to Lockheed and its heavylifter which would eventually become the C-5 Galaxy. Later the losing Boeing design was adapted for use as a passenger mover for up to 400 or even more people and thus became the first widebody passenger jet. Legendary American carrier Pan American Airways was the first taker of this aircraft which would soon be named the Boeing 747. Initially the airline industry expected that in the 1970s subsonic passenger aircraft would be replaced by supersonic planes (like the European Concorde or Boeings own planned Boeing 2707), which would render their subsonic predecessors obsolete. Therefore the front loading cargo door was retained for the freighter version as - at that time - Boeing thought that in a few years only the freighter version would still generate sales. Well, history had some other plans and only 14 supersonic Concords were built and all other civil supersonic aircraft remained on the drawing boards. Subsequently both the passenger and freighter version of the Boeing 747 gained impressive sales with the before mentioned front loading door becoming a unique feature of the F-model (F=Freighter) of the 747 series. The first version was the Boeing 747-100 which entered service with Pan Am in January 1970 on the New York - London route. Originally this version was only offered with 6 windows (three per side) on the upper deck, as originally the upper deck was envisioned for use as an inflight bar. Later airlines found out that additional seats could be installed there - often exclusive business or first class seating - and subsequently Boeing offered 10 windows for the upper deck and also offered the retrofitting of the additional windows on older aircraft A total of 167 aircraft of the 100 series have been built plus an additional nine aircraft of the 100B version with improved MTOW (Maximum Take Off Weight) of up to 340.000 kgs, (the original 100 version has an MTOW of 333.000 kgs) which has only been ordered by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Iran Air. The maximum range with a full load of passengers and underfloor cargo and mail is 5.300 Nautical Miles (9.800 km). No 100 series aircraft has been specifically built as a freighter but many have been converted to freighter after their lifes as passenger airliners had ended. As of 2009 approximately 20 aircraft of this early Jumbo version are still in use. The Boeing 747-100 was superseded in the 1970s by the Boeing 747-200 which will be featured in the next part of this article.
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