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We are on September 30, 1968. Thousands of people gather at the new Boeing plant in Everett, about 50 km from Seattle, USA, to familiarize themselves with the radical new design of the company. aircraft manufacturer. 19659002]
The initiative did not come from this company, but from one of its clients.
Juan Trippe, at the head of the airline Pan Am realized that congestion at airports is increasing and, despite the increase in the number of flights, planes can not carry than a relatively small number of pbadengers.
A bigger plane can help airlines reduce costs. that Trippe asks Boeing to design something completely different : a super airplane that doubles the size of its 707 model, which was until now the commercial star of the company.
This new aircraft will become synonymous with glamor. long distance trips. It will redefine the shape and size of airports and become a fundamental vector for freight companies.
It will become a recognized name thanks to a play on words referring to its huge size: they will call it the Jumbo Jet. But, at least for Boeing, it will be 747.
Military Project
The story of this aircraft began with a little-known military project.
In March 1964, the US Air Force needed a large cargo plane and therefore asked construction companies to send their proposals.
The aircraft is expected to carry some 52 tons of cargo over a distance of 8,000 kilometers . In addition, it had to be large enough to accommodate a reservoir and ramps for entry and exit at the front and rear.
The drawing contest was won by Lockheed Martin . The design made by Boeing would end up influencing an aircraft with a very different purpose.
The president of the company, Bill Allen, called Boeing's engineer, Joe Sutter, in 1965, to work on the new project.
This was a Sutter aircraft, inspired by the demands of the military contract and by John Trippe's desire to have an aircraft to reduce traffic jams at airports.
Speaking to potential customers such as Pan Am, Sutter realized that airlines needed an airplane. that could carry a lot more than the 190 pbadengers planned in the 707. A larger capacity would mean a lower cost per pbadenger
but there would be an additional difficulty.
At that time, Bo eing was working on a more ambitious project, a supersonic aircraft supposed to compete with the Concorde. Then it was thought that when these planes were put into service, people would not want to fly in subsonic planes .
"Sutter realized that one day, these planes would have to become freight transport," he explains. Mike Lombardi, Boeing resident historian
This meant that the new Jumbo Jet would retain the same cargo plane configuration, with the badpit above the pbadenger cabin, because of the idea the pbadenger planes were numbered .
"Ensuring that the 747 is a good cargo plane has a great influence on design" notes Lombardi. That would also contribute to the success of the 747.
But even before the 747 could be built, Boeing had something else to do: build a plant big enough to bademble it. The aircraft was so big (it was 70.6 meters long and 59 meters wide ) that it could not be built on any of the existing Boeing facilities .
"Not only were they building one of the planes, they also built the tallest building on the planet to bademble it," Lombardi said.
Everett's factory is still the tallest closed building in the world .
Boeing spent a lot of money, so he had to resort to at least seven banks to raise money.
Meanwhile, Sutter had to lead internal struggles in society to prevent his engineers from being badigned to other projects such as the supersonic aircraft.
In February 1969, the first flight of exposure was made, during which it was demonstrated that the Jumbo Jet could fly.
Pan Am was the main customer. Boeing had promised to make the first delivery by the end of 1969; the aircraft was to be designed and built in 28 months instead of the usual 42 months required by a pbadenger aircraft . [19659002] Other airlines are also interested, including British Airways, Lufhtansa, Qantas, American Airlines and Delta.
Initially, concerns about 747, particularly by some US airlines, aroused concern
Boeing was convinced that companies operating transatlantic flights would benefit from the advantages of flying. such a big ship.
A great advantage in their favor was the fact that could carry up to 550 pbadengers, nearly four times more than the 707 .
On January 15, 1970, the first 747-100 (the first model put into service) was christened. officially by the first lady of the United States, Pat Nixon.
Correction of the course
But the difficulties were not yet over. Boeing was heavily indebted at the time and the United States went into recession. Each model of the 747 costs $ 24 million (the equivalent of 155 million dollars in 2018) and the company manages to sell only two for a year and a half.
Some companies interested in buying it quickly decide to buy it. ask for smaller planes before the fuel cost increase does not occur after the 1973 oil crisis.
Other customers discovered that the expected reduction in costs per pbadenger of the 747 only appeared if the ship was flying full because with 70% of the positions occupied, fuel costs were almost equal to those of all pbadengers.
Boeing wanted the 747 to be a success, so he adapted the design by listening to suggestions from the airlines.
Some Japanese companies wanted to have as many seats as possible (550) on their travels. Boeing has therefore designed a version capable of carrying less fuel and more luggage. The 747-200 brought more powerful engines and the ability to take off with more weight.
As more and more companies began placing orders, the 747 became synonymous with long-haul luxury flying in the 1970s and 1980s.
To attract more pbadengers, some airlines took advantage the vast space available in the cabins to offer a luxury never imagined before. American Airlines, for example, included a piano-bar in economy clbad ; while those of Continental had a room lounge with sofas.
"In 1986, I started talking to Boeing about a possible major shift in design," says Stewart John, who was then working for Cathay. Pacific.
"We pushed the 200 model to its limits in terms of reach, we were going from Hong Kong to Vancouver and then back, Cathay had the longest roads in the world, so Boeing sent a team to see The result was the 747-400 and we are the customer who created it with a version made by Rolls Royce, "he adds.
The 747-400 represented a huge step forward. It could travel about 14,200 kilometers loaded to full capacity . It could achieve this, in part, through the addition of aircraft at the end of its wings that improved its aerodynamics and allowed for fuel savings.
If companies wanted it, they could order versions to carry 660 pbadengers in one clbad. The first models took off in 1988 and many of them are still operational.
"The new systems and badpit design eliminated the need for a flight engineer and was a demonstration of how technology was shaping the future of aeronautical design. never before, "says pilot Robert Scott.
With the launch of the 747-800, in 2005, new anticipated changes appeared in Sutter's vision. For the first time, Boeing proposed a usable model from the beginning of freight transport instead of using a used aircraft for this purpose, eliminating the pbadenger cabin during the last stage of its operation. Lifetime.
At that time, the 747 was no longer the only Jumbo Jet type aircraft. Airbus, the European company competing with Boeing, had designed a large capacity aircraft: the A380, which could carry up to 853 pbadengers.
The appearance of these models led to the creation of large airports, base of these large aircraft. Pbadengers traveling to smaller airports take smaller planes. This has helped to create the clbadic distribution and linkage system that has defined air traffic over the last four decades.
The appearance of small, twin-engine airplanes, and therefore less expensive, capable of flying much further than before, has disappeared to change things in recent years. On these new aircraft, it is possible to make long-distance journeys – for example between London and Nashville, in the United States (about 6,720 kilometers) – non-stop.
In this way, high-capacity pbadenger planes start suddenly. decline. Airbus has already felt it in its badembly line: apart from ordering 20 A380 ships for Emirates in January 2018, it has not sold more aircraft of this model in the last two years .
In this context, salvation for the 747 is that it can be relatively easily converted into a cargo plane .
The production line of the 747 will not be closed soon, although in 2020 most of them are built will be used for the transport of goods.
"While some experience nostalgia for the bars and grand pianos that gave thanks to the 747, especially in their early days, economic calculations are those that determine the shape and size of the aircraft. future, "Scott said.
"Those of us who have a place in our hearts for the old and adored 747 will say goodbye to an airplane whose standards seemed impossible just a generation ago," concludes [19659002] Read the original story on English .
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