Features
Longer reads about the 747 — the factory, the A380 rivalry, the fate of the retired fleet and what the aircraft is like to fly.
Pieces that do not fit the variant-by-variant reference, but are worth their own space.
In this section
- The Everett factory — the largest building in the world by volume, put up because no existing building could hold a 747
- 747 versus A380 — the two largest airliners ever built, and why both are out of production
- What happened to the retired 747s — boneyards, freighter conversions, museums and stranger afterlives
- Flying the 747 — the type rating, the handling, and what pilots say about it
- How 747 freight works — the nose door, motorised floors and 30 pallet positions
- The 747 on screen — the most filmed airliner ever built
- Records and firsts — including the 1,088 people carried on one aircraft
- 747 versus 777 — the twin that actually replaced it, built by the same company
- The Boeing 2707 — the supersonic airliner that gave the 747 its hump
- Maintaining a 747 — the check cycle, and why the maintenance bill decides retirement
- The 747 nearly killed Boeing — the debt, the layoffs and the billboard
- Joe Sutter — the chief engineer, and the decision that made the 747 wide rather than tall
- The widebody war — the DC-10 and TriStar destroyed each other; the 747 was in a different fight
- The farewell flights — kangaroos in the sky, retro liveries and sold-out seats
- How the 747 changed airports — terminals, jetways, baggage and pavement
Elsewhere
- The 747 family — every variant with production numbers
- Specifications — all variants compared
- 747 systems — how the aircraft works
In this section
The building that had to be built first
Boeing had no building big enough for the 747, so it built the largest building in the world by volume — and assembled the aeroplane while it was going up.
747 versus A380
The two largest airliners ever built, compared — size, capacity, economics, and why both are now out of production.
Where the 747s went
Most retired 747s were scrapped. Others became freighters, museum pieces, restaurants, a hotel — and one launched satellites into orbit.
Flying the 747
What the 747 is like to fly — the type rating, the view from 30 feet up, the handling, and why pilots talk about it the way they do.
How 747 freight actually works
The nose door, motorised floor rollers, 96 by 125 inch pallets and 30 main-deck positions — how a 747 freighter is loaded and why it beat everything else.
The 747 on screen
From the Airport disaster films to Air Force One and Executive Decision, the 747 is the most filmed airliner ever built.
Records and firsts
The most people ever carried on one aircraft, the longest nonstop delivery flight, the fastest circumnavigation — the 747's records, with the caveats.
The supersonic airliner that gave the 747 its hump
Boeing's Mach 3 SST was cancelled in 1971 without a prototype — but the 747 was designed around the assumption that it would succeed.
747 versus 777
The aircraft that replaced the 747 was built by the same company — how a twin came to do the four-engined aeroplane's job, and why.
Maintaining a 747
Line checks, A checks, C checks and the D check — how a 747 is kept airworthy, and why maintenance decides when an aircraft is retired.
The 747 nearly killed Boeing
Building the 747 took Boeing to the edge of bankruptcy. Employment fell from 100,800 to 38,690, and a billboard asked the last person out to turn off the lights.
How the 747 changed airports
The 747 arrived faster than the airports that had to handle it — and forced changes to terminals, jetways, baggage systems and pavement.
Joe Sutter, father of the 747
The engineer who led 4,500 people to design the 747 in 29 months, chose four engines over two decks, and spent his whole career at Boeing.
The 747, the DC-10 and the TriStar
Three widebodies arrived within three years. Two were trijets aimed at the same market, and they destroyed each other.
How the airlines said goodbye
Kangaroos drawn in the sky, retro liveries and sold-out seats — the 747's retirements were unlike any other aircraft's.
