10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Boeing 747

Overview:

Boeing 747 is the most iconic plane in the sky and was launched in the 1970s. Boeing 747 is commonly known as the ‘Queen of the skies. It overrules its double-decker design and massive proportions. In spite of the fact that fuel prices are striking and the latest trends in the aviation industry, the queen of the skies remains in service to date. Unfortunately, with the introduction of widebody planes, the 747 won’t remain eternal.

Interesting Facts About Boeing 747:

Boeing 747 celebrated its golden jubilee in late 2018. As the plane didn’t get commercialized till January 1970, so, it’s been almost 50 years. It marked its lasting impact in such a transformative time when there is no internet services. Boeing 747 is the queen of the skies and pushed the boundaries of flight long before mobile phones, Facebook, or Netflix. Now let’s discuss a few interesting facts about Boeing747 you didn’t know about:

1. It actually completed a one-off London-Sydney journey:

Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services have a hectic and tiresome introductory schedule for 20 hours of nonstop London to Sydney flights. The airline is looking for the perfect airline. It could only become possible with the Boeing 747. Boeing 747 actually completed a one-off London to Sydney flight in 1989.

2. It was originally crafted with two-full length decks:

The lead designer of the Boeing 747, Joe Sutter initially determined to design an aircraft with two decks. Their idea was similar to Airbus 380 and Airbus 320 double-deck jet features.

The two leading reasons for not pursuing the former ideas were:

1. The shorter ceiling height of each deck. It will reduce cargo efficiency.
2. The two decks won’t be able to be evacuated within 90 seconds. And it is a mandatory requirement for airworthiness certification.

3. The fastest commercial plane:

There are so many rumors roaming all around regarding the latest generation of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus  A350 air jets. They are providing their passengers a better exposure to reduced noise, cabin pressure, and greater fuel efficiency. But as far as it comes to speedy flight they’re no match for the Boeing 747.

The Boeing 747 is still the fastest commercial air jet having the unbeatable speed of Mach.86, just over 650MPH.On its 50th anniversary, it made a record by having a transatlantic flight between New York and London with a speedy flight in less than 5 hours.

4. Honored to accommodate 1088 passengers on a single flight:

In 1991 it breaks the World record for carrying the maximum number of passengers in a single go.  An El Al Boeing 747-400 accommodates 1088 passengers in a single historic flight. The flight was an integral part of Operation Solomon, to evacuate Ethiopian Jews from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia will mark the record and aided 14000 people to flee the country.

5. Few passengers are even nearer to the front than pilots:

As a passenger, you shall have a unique experience with the Boeing 747. It’s the one and only plane where passengers are free to sit directly on the nose, in a miniature, or in front of the pilots. The lucky passengers sitting n the downstairs nose of the plane are closer and lower to the front of the plane than the pilots. They would experience a wonderful view during take-off and landing. No doubt it’s a bucket list experience.
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6. There’s not just a single, but two Air Force Ones:

The most well-known symbol of Boeing 747 is Air Force One. the professionally customized, highly secretive birds are the indicators of constant speculation and intrigue. But there’s a fact many of us are still unaware of. The amazing fact is that there are actually two Air Force Ones. There are multiple reasons for its existence including, keeping one as a decoy and another as a backup for emergency usage.

7. The Boeing 747 has accommodated 3.5 billion passengers:

In the world population of 7.53 billion people, the Boeing 747 has been honored to fly half the planet. It has accommodated 3.5 billion people.  Keeping in mind that about 5 billion people have mobile phone access. Boeing 747 has successfully survived the golden age of Pan Am right(American Airlines) to date, which can’t be achieved by many planes.

8. The upper deck width is equal to that of the Boeing 737:

The Boeing 737 is the most extensively used passenger plane in the world. It can be seen on every continent of the world.  The upper deck of the Boeing 747 may seem to be a tiny space while the main deck is of the same size as the Boeing 737. Do try its upper deck too. You might not experience it in the near future, especially if airlines pull planes out of the skies due to difficult times.

9. It’s the reason for the World’s Largest Building:

The world’s largest building is the Boeing Factory in Everett, Washington USA. Its volume is about 13,000,000 cubic meters. It is too big and has its own weather system in it.  This amazing fact is unknown to many. The Boeing 747 project was the reason for the construction of this record-breaking building. At that time Boeing doesn’t have any space to build this large enough jet. The roof construction was even going on when these birds started to appear.

10. 12 Airlines Still flying Boeing 747:

The 12 Airlines still flying Boeing 747 on selected routes includes:

• Air China
• Asiana
• British Airways
• China Airlines
• Al Al 
• Korean
• KLM
• Lufthansa
• Rossiya
• Saudia 
• Thai
• Virgin
• Atlantic
• Qantas

Lufthansa, Air China, and Korea will surely be the last airlines for 747 flights, as they are now the customers of the Boeing 747-8i variant. British Airways will be the second with a scheduled retirement by 2024. So 747 is presently on the ground for many airlines.
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Interesting facts about Boeing 747:

Boeing 747 is a double-decker plane that proved significantly beneficial for ‘American prosperity. It is large enough to demolish the most claustrophobic passengers’ phobia. There are some mind-blowing facts about Boeing 747:

• Surprisingly it takes 90 gallons of paint to paint it.
• There are about 14 stairs to the upper deck. So it’s the plane with stairs that passengers dreamed about.
• They have upgraded about 15 of their 1500 planes for exceptional purposes.
• The historic first flight of the Wright brothers could be fitted in Boeing 747
• The landing gear tires are nitrogen-filled as a caution from explosive tire blowouts.
• Initially designed to be a cargo plane in near future.
• There are 365 lights, switches, and dials in the cockpit
• Can cover 100 meters in 0.36 seconds.
• 2.5 times larger than Boeing 707
• NASA chooses it to haul its space shuttle.

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The 747 has shortly achieved a historic status. The term, ‘Jumbo Jet’, was coined by aviation media. You can find Boeing 747 in the cultural wordbook as the Jumbo Jet, due to its size. As it is the most attractive and impressive plane so beautifully named the ‘Queen of the skies. It is glorified because of the efficient flight control system. It had appeared in more than 300 films including Air Force One, Airport 1975, Die Hard 2, Airport 77, and Executive Decision. So, it is also considered the most recognizable plane in the film industry too.

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