The Boeing 747 - The Queen of the Skies Part III

The intermediate version - The Boeing 747-300
In this third part of my article series on the queen of the skies I will inform you about a version of the Boeing 747 which is quite rare - the Boeing 747-300. This subtype was first offered in 1980 and the most visible change was the stretched upper deck. (SUD - which was later also retroactively refitted on several 100B and 200 series aircraft). The upper deck was extended by approximately 7.11 m and an emergency exit door was installed on both sides. Another change was the straight stairway to the upper deck instead of the spiral staircase found on the earlier versions. Due to some minor aerodynamic changes of the airframe, the cruise speed could be increased from Mach 0.84 to Mach 0.85. Also from the start the 300 series was offered with an engine choice of Rolls Royce, General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. From the beginning the Boeing 747-300 was no sales success, with airlines hesitant to buy the Jumbo with the stretched hump. Most carriers were waiting for the next and vastly improved version, which was launched in 1985 as the Boeing 747-400. Also a combi version and a short range version for the Japanese domestic market (with reduced MTOW and derated engines and with seating for more than 600 passengers) were built. Production of the 300 ended in 1990, after just 81 aircraft were handed over to the airlines. Although no freighter model was offered by Boeing, several aircraft were converted to all freighter configuration after the year 2000. Most 747-300s in the passenger role are now retired, with Saudi Arabian Airlines, Aerosur, Pakistan International, Surinam Airways and Orient Thai Airways still operating the type. The picture on top shows the last Boeing 747-300 built in combi version, which was delivered to the Belgian flag carrier Sabena in September 1990. This particular aircraft now flies in an all cargo configuration for the Russian cargo airline AirBridgeCargo Airlines.