Boeing 747 flight speed and other characteristics

The Boeing 747 is considered to be the first wide-body air transport in the history of world aviation. For almost forty years, no air transport has been able to exceed the capacity of the Boeing 747, and to date, no aircraft on the planet has been able to beat its record in size.

American scientists began to work on the creation of the Boeing 747 in the late 60s of the last century. It was during this period that the number of air traffic increased and the air transport available at that time could not cope with the transportation of numerous passengers.

At the first development, American engineers planned to create the Boeing 747 as a cargo-and-passenger transport. Indeed, many analysts argued that large-sized airliners will soon be ousted, and they will be replaced by more modern devices with supersonic speed. Therefore, in the development of engineers, a procedure was provided for converting an airliner into a cargo type of an aircraft. It was for this purpose that the cockpit, in which the crew was supposed to be, was moved to the deck located at the top of the vessel. Such a transfer, according to the idea of scientists, should simplify the measure of changing the nose of the aircraft into a ramp for cargo air transport.

By the beginning of 1967, engineers had completed work on the project and brought up a new model of the aircraft for discussion, which was named "Boeing 747". The project in question was an air transport with two decks, but after a lengthy debate, it was decided to change the original configuration, as it carried some complications. After changing the layout, the airliner acquired the shape of a humpbacked aircraft, and the first order came from a well-known airline for 25 pieces of equipment.

The customer not only ordered a large batch of aircraft, but also asked for changes in its design and in the technical characteristics of the Boeing 747, which are currently used by modern engineers. The changes affected the following:

the size of the wingspan;
transfer of chassis supports;
increase in takeoff weight.

The creation and development of the airliner required huge costs, so the developer company was forced to borrow money from lenders. But despite this, the finished air liner was able to recoup all costs threefold, because it was waiting for an unprecedented success. It was this wide-body airliner that occupied the first positions in a similar world segment for several decades. And his first flight took place in early 1970.

Boeing airplane creation

Boeing 747 short description

The Boeing 747 wide-body jet airliner is equipped with four powerful engines, has, as it was said earlier, a special shape of the upper crew deck. The technical characteristics of the Boeing 747 and operational data are much higher than those of previous models, therefore, they make this aircraft the most demanded among its many analogues. The following improvements should be noted:

Aerodynamic parameters.
The end surface is aerodynamic, thus reducing the induction resistance.
The cabin now has updated avionics and a more comfortable cockpit for the crew.

The most noticeable improvement to this model was experienced by the wings of air transport. After the procedure, their height reached 6 feet, and the terminal aerofoil began to curl upward and protrude slightly outward. Thanks to these changes, it was possible to reduce fuel consumption and increase the flight duration several times. Fuel consumption has been reduced by about 3.5%. If you calculate the savings over the entire period of the aircraft's operation, this is a colossal amount.

It is this type of air transport that is the fastest, because the speed of a Boeing 747 in flight can be up to 940 km / h.

Boeing 747 tests

Air transport specifications

As mentioned earlier, the capacity of the Boeing 747 is several times higher than previous models due to the special shape of the upper deck, which is made in a stretched form. Thanks to this configuration, Economy Class can accommodate up to 580 passengers, while Business and Economy Class can accommodate 495 passengers.

The dial gauges located in the cockpit were replaced with modern ones. Thanks to this, management became much easier, important information was displayed on liquid crystal displays. The presence of a digital control system made it possible to reduce the number of pilots to 2 people.

The airliner is equipped with a straight ladder for access to the upper deck, rather than the helical structure of its predecessors, which undoubtedly adds to the convenience of passengers and crew.

The salon was also modified according to the project. Thanks to them, each passenger received more free space, the shelves for things were increased several times. For the convenience of passengers, special multimedia systems were installed to view video clips and exciting films.

Since it was decided to lengthen the upper deck, 2 additional exits were installed on its surface. For the power plant, two-circuit turbojet engines (4 pieces) and updated engines from well-known manufacturers were used. As a result, the maximum speed of the Boeing 747 passenger aircraft was equal to 940 km / h, and the take-off weight was 350 tons.

Boeing 747 specifications:

70.7 is the length of the airliner in meters;
19.5 - aircraft height;
60 m - span of one wing;
6 m - the width of the passenger compartment;
511 sq. m - the area of one wing;
940 km / h - maximum speed;
12,500 km - the range of the airliner;
175,000 kg - weighs an unloaded aircraft;
13755 m - interior ceiling height;
910 km / h - cruising speed of an air vehicle.

The economy class provides seats for 580 passengers. The aircraft crew consists of 3 people - 1 engineer and 2 pilots of the airliner. American engineers, in addition to passenger air transport, invented a cargo-passenger Boeing, as well as a model that provided for a shorter flight range - "747-300".

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