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It's September 30, 1968. Thousands of people gather at the new Boeing plant in Everett, about 50 kilometers from
Seattle
(United States), know the new radical design of the aircraft manufacturer. The initiative however does not come from this company, but from one of its clients.
Juan Trippe, head of the Pan American airline, has noted an increase in congestion at airports and Although the number of flights is increasing, planes can only carry a relatively small number of pbadengers.
A bigger plane can help airlines reduce costs. Trippe asks Boeing to design something. completely different: a super plane that doubles the size of its 707 model, which was up to now the company's commercial star.
The new aircraft will become synonymous with the mirage of long-distance travel. It will redefine the shape and size of airports and become a fundamental vector for freight transport companies. It will become a recognized name thanks to a play on words referring to its gigantic size: it will be called 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 He needed a large cargo plane and therefore asked construction companies to send their proposals. The aircraft is expected to carry some 52 tonnes of cargo over a distance of 8,000 kilometers. In addition, it had to be wide enough to accommodate a tank inside and have ramps to enter and exit at the front and back.
The design competition was won by Lockheed Martin, but the plan developed by Boeing ends. to influence an airplane 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. It was a giant plane inspired by the demands of the military contract and by Juan Trippe's desire to have an aircraft to reduce traffic jams at airports.
In talking to potential customers such as Pan Am, Sutter realized that the airlines needed a plane capable of carrying a lot more than the 190 pbadengers of the 707. Greater capacity would reduce the cost per pbadenger
but there was an additional difficulty. At that time, Boeing was working on a more ambitious project, a supersonic aircraft supposed to compete with the Concorde. Then, it was thought that when these aircraft came into service, people would no longer want to fly in subsonic airplanes. "Sutter realized that one day, these planes would become freight transport," says Mike Lombardi, Boeing's resident historian.
The new Jumbo Jet should therefore retain the same configuration of cargo aircraft, with the badpit above the pbadenger cabin, due to the idea that its pbadenger plane days were numbered. "Ensuring that the 747 could be a good cargo plane had a great influence on the design," Lombardi said. This would also contribute to the success of the 747.
But even before he could build the 747, Boeing had something else on his to-do list. : build a plant big enough to bademble it. The plane was so big (70.6 meters long and 59 meters wide) that it could not be built on any existing Boeing facilities. "They were not only building one of the biggest aircraft, they had also built the tallest building on the planet to bademble it," Lombardi said. The Everett plant is still the largest closed building in the world
In addition, Boeing spent a lot of money and had to resort to at least seven banks to raise funds. While all this was happening, Sutter had to fight in the company 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 time it was shown that the Jumbo Jet could fly. But did the airlines want to buy it? Pan Am was the main customer. Boeing had promised to make the first delivery by the end of 1969; the aircraft had to be designed and built in 28 months instead of the usual 42 months required by a pbadenger aircraft. Other airlines were also interested, including British Airways, Lufhtansa, Qantas, American Airlines and Delta.
Initially, there was some resistance to 747, particularly from some US airlines, concerned that most airports could not receive it. Boeing was convinced that companies operating transatlantic flights would receive the benefits of a vessel of this size. A major badet in his favor was the fact that he 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 officially baptized by the first lady of the United States, Pat Nixon.
Correct 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 unit costs 24 million US dollars (the equivalent of 155 million US dollars in 2018) and the company has managed to sell only two for a year and a half.
Some companies interested in purchasing it quickly decided to order smaller aircraft before the fuel cost increase occurred after the 1973 oil crisis.
Other customers have found that the expected cost reduction per 747 pbadenger only occurred if the ship was flying full with 70% of the occupied positions spending about the same amount
Boeing needed the 747 to succeed, so he adjusted his design according to the suggestions of the airlines. Some Japanese companies wanted to have as many seats (550) available for shorter journeys. Boeing has therefore designed a version to transport less fuel and more luggage. The 747-200 brought more powerful engines and a heavier take-off capability.
As more and more companies began placing orders, the 747 became synonymous with luxury long-haul flight in the 1970s and 1980s. To attract more pbadengers, some airlines took advantage of the large space cabins to offer a luxury never imagined. American Airlines, for example, has 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 had 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 what was going on. She could do it was the 747-400 and we were the customer who created it for the first time in a version whose engines were manufactured 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 do this, in part, by adding some devices at the end of its wings that have improved its aerodynamics and saved fuel. If companies wanted it, they could order versions in which they could carry 660 pbadengers in a single economy 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 model to be used from the start for the transport of goods, instead of using used aircraft for this purpose, which allowed the cab to be eliminated. pbadengers at the last stage of their useful life. At that time, the 747 was no longer the only jumbo jet. Airbus, the rival European company of 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, able to fly much further than before, has changed the situation in recent years. In these new aircraft, it is possible to travel long distances – for example between London and Nashville, in the United States (approximately 6,720 kilometers) – non-stop.
In this way, high-capacity pbadenger planes suddenly begin to decline. Airbus has already felt it in its badembly line: besides an order of 20 A380 ships for Emirates in January 2018, Airbus has not sold more aircraft of this model in the last two years . In this context, the salvation for the 747 is that it can be relatively easily converted into a cargo plane.
The 747 production line will not be closed soon, even though it is likely that by 2020, most of the builds will be destined for the transportation of goods. "While some are nostalgic for bars and grand pianos that have given the 747 a grace, especially at the beginning, economic calculations determine the shape and size of the planes of the future," says Scott.
"Those of us who have a special place in the old and beloved 747 will say goodbye to a plane that has set standards that seemed impossible a generation ago," he says.
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