747-8 New wing design
The 747-8 introduced an entirely new wing with advanced airfoils and raked tips.
The 747-8’s wing design provides additional performance with lower noise. New features include:
- Advanced technology airfoils for improved overall performance and greater fuel capacity.
- Fly-by-wire spoilers and outboard ailerons to save weight.
- Double-slotted inboard and single-slotted outboard flaps to improve low-speed performance and noise.
- Advanced-technology raked tip to reduce cruise drag.
- Aileron droop to reduce noise and provide improved low-speed performance.
- Redesigned flap tracks with optimized flap-track fairings to improve low-speed performance and noise.
- Redesigned Krueger flaps with gapped configuration to improve low-speed performance.
One major highlight of the Intercontinental is the plane’s new wing design. Created using “the latest in computational fluid dynamics validated in the world’s most sophisticated wind tunnels,” the wings offer improved aerodynamics, and larger fuel capacity while also allowing the plane to be as fast as, or faster than, any other passenger aircraft on Earth. “Several elements of the wing design improve performance and reduce noise compared with the 747-400,” a marketing document for the Intercontinental reads. “When the flaps are extended, the ailerons automatically deflect and act as additional high-lift devices, improving takeoff and landing performance and minimizing noise.” As well, Boeing has replaced the 747-400′s vertical winglets with “raked wingtips that increase lift and reduce drag at cruising speeds.” At the same time, the new wing design features “fly-by-wire spoilers and ailerons that make it possible to incorporate a flight control feature known as a maneuver load-alleviation system. Pioneered on the 787 Dreamliner, it changes the lift distribution over the wing during non-normal flight conditions, reducing the load on its outboard portion.” By using the new system, Boeing said, it was able to make the wing structure smaller, saving 1,400 pounds of weight, while not compromising structural integrity. Clearly, Boeing thinks that airline customers will benefit from the Intercontinental. It eagerly touts the plane’s economic and green credentials: It is the only passenger plane in the 400- to 500-seat market, its four General Electric GEnx 2B engines consume 16 percent less fuel per seat than do the engines on the current-gen 747-400, and 11 percent less than the A380. As well, Boeing lauds the Intercontinental’s reduced noise: According to the company, the “noise footprint” of the new plane is 30 percent smaller than that of the 747-400. As an example, Boeing said that the new plane will be able to fly in and out of London’s Heathrow airport 24 hours a day, while most other aircraft are subject to an evening curfew due to noise.
More in Everything About the 747-8
Everything about the Boeing 747-8
A guide to the Boeing 747-8 — its new wing, GEnx-2B engines, flight deck, cabin and freighter capacity. Production ended in 2023.
747 Timeline
A Boeing 747 chronology from the 1963 design study to the final delivery in January 2023, with rollout, first flight and delivery dates.
Fun Facts from Boeing
Boeing 747 facts and figures — six million parts, the largest building on Earth, 1,088 people on one flight, and 1,574 aircraft built over 54 years.
747-8-environmental-factors
The 747-8 meets or exceeds emissions limits for hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, smoke and nitrogen oxides, with a smaller noise footprint.
747-8 Improved Flying Experience
The 747-8's new wing and engines cut carbon emissions by about 16 percent per seat while improving cruise performance.
The 747-8 compared to the 747-400
The 747-8 keeps the 747-400's shape but adds gross weight, a longer fuselage, a higher-aspect-ratio wing and higher-bypass engines.