The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet 2+1⁄2 times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30%. In 1965, Joe Sutter left the 737 development program to design the 747. In April 1966, Pan Am ordered 25 Boeing 747-100 aircraft, and in late 1966, Pratt & Whitney agreed to develop the JT9D engine, a high-bypass turbofan. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the world's largest building by volume. The 747's first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified in December of that year. It entered service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970. The 747 was the first airplane called a "Jumbo Jet" as the first wide-body airliner.
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. The jetliner was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing's other wide body airplanes, the twin-engined 767 and quad-engined 747, and to replace aging DC-10 and L-1011 trijets. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, the 777 program was launched in October 1990, with an order from United Airlines. The prototype aircraft rolled out in April 1994, and first flew in June of that year. The 777 entered service with the launch operator United Airlines in June 1995. Longer-range variants were launched in 2000, and first delivered in 2004.
A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m. In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers. Seven-abreast aircraft typically seat 160 to 260 passengers, eight-abreast 250 to 380, nine- and ten-abreast 350 to 480. The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m (20 ft) wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations.
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting a 10% cost reduction with more efficient engines and 1,000 nautical miles [nmi] of additional range. Northwest Airlines became the first customer with an order for 10 aircraft on October 22, 1985. The first 747-400 was rolled out on January 26, 1988, and made its maiden flight on April 29, 1988. Type certification was received on January 9, 1989, and it entered service with Northwest on February 9, 1989.
Air India Flight 855 was a scheduled passenger flight from Bombay, India, to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. On 1 January 1978, the Boeing 747 operating the flight crashed into the Arabian Sea about 3 km off the coast of Bandra, less than two minutes after take-off, killing all 213 passengers and crew on board. An investigation into the crash determined the most likely probable cause was the captain becoming spatially disoriented and losing control of the aircraft after the failure of one of the flight instruments. It was the deadliest air accident both in Air India's and India's history until Flight 182 in 1985 and the Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision in 1996.
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are two extensively modified Boeing 747 airliners that NASA used to transport Space Shuttle orbiters. One (N905NA) is a 747-100 model, while the other (N911NA) is a short-range 747-100SR. Both are now retired.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of the Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells commercial aircraft, including the 737, 767, 777, and 787, along with freighter and business jet variants of most. The division employs nearly 35,000 people, many working at the company's division headquarters in Renton, Washington, or at more than a dozen engineering, manufacturing, and assembly facilities, notably the Everett Factory and Renton Factory, and the South Carolina Factory.
The Boeing NLA, or New Large Airplane, was a 1990s concept for an all-new quadjet airliner in the 500+ seat market. With a proposed size somewhat larger than the 747, it was a similar concept to the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 and later Airbus A380. In 1993, Boeing chose not to pursue development of this concept, focusing instead on the Boeing 747-500X and -600X, and then on the 747X and 747X Stretch, and subsequently on the Boeing 747-8. The project names for this proposal were NLA and Boeing 763-246C.
Combi aircraft in commercial aviation are aircraft that can be used to carry either passengers as an airliner, or cargo as a freighter, and may have a partition in the aircraft cabin to allow both uses at the same time in a mixed passenger/freight combination. The name combi comes from the word combination. The concept originated in railroading with the combine car, a passenger car that contains a separate compartment for mail or baggage.
Precision Manuals Development Group is a commercial add-on aircraft developer for the Microsoft Flight Simulator, Lockheed Martin Prepar3D, and X-Plane series. The company was founded by Robert S. Randazzo, who stated that his ultimate goal was to develop the software to the point where it could be used by airlines and manufacturers to supplement pilot training. The company is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada but has several employees in countries such as Belgium, South Africa, and Canada. It has eight employees as of 2018, with a collection of beta testers which include multiple aviation professionals.
The Boeing 747-8 is the final series of the large, long-range wide-body airliners in the Boeing 747 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the largest model variant of the 747 and Boeing's largest aircraft overall. Following the introduction of the 747-400, Boeing explored larger 747 versions as potential competitors to the proposed double-deck Airbus A3XX, later developed as the Airbus A380. The stretched aircraft, initially called the 747 Advanced was officially launched as the 747-8 on November 14, 2005, with the designation reflecting its technological ties to the 787 Dreamliner. At the time, Boeing forecasted a market of 300 aircraft.
The Boeing 747SP is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner, designed for a longer range. It is the highest flying subsonic passenger airliner, with a service ceiling of 45,100 feet (13,700 m). Boeing needed a smaller aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar tri-jet wide-bodies, introduced in 1971/1972. Pan Am requested a 747-100 derivative to fly between New York and the Middle East, a request also shared by Iran Air, and the first order came from Pan Am in 1973.
UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky, US. One of the largest cargo airlines worldwide in terms of freight volume flown, UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. It has been a wholly owned subsidiary of United Parcel Service since its launch in 1988.
On 4 October 1992, El Al Flight 1862, a Boeing 747 cargo aircraft of the Israeli airline El Al, crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer neighbourhood of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The accident is known in Dutch as the Bijlmerramp.
China Airlines Flight 334 was a Boeing 747-2R7F/SCD freighter aircraft that was hijacked by pilot Wang Hsi-chueh, a former military U-2 pilot, on May 3, 1986, while en route to Don Mueang, Thailand. Wang had left family members behind in China when he left for Taiwan in 1949 and had met some of them in Hong Kong in 1984. He decided to defect in order to reunite with his family in China. Wang managed to subdue the two other crew members and changed course to land the 747 in Guangzhou, where he defected to the People's Republic of China. The incident forced the Chiang Ching-kuo government in Taiwan to reverse its Three Noes policy in regard to contacting the communist government in mainland China, and Chiang dispatched several delegates to Hong Kong to negotiate with mainland officials for the return of the aircraft and crew. The incident was credited as a catalyst in renewing cross-strait relations between mainland China and Taiwan.
Northwest Airlines Flight 85 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in the United States to Narita International Airport in Japan. On October 9, 2002, while over the Bering Sea, the Boeing 747-400 experienced a lower rudder hardover event, which occurs when an aircraft's rudder deflects to its travel limit without crew input. The 747's hardover gave full left lower rudder, requiring the pilots to use full right upper rudder and right aileron to maintain attitude and course.
National Airlines Flight 102 (N8102/NCR102) was a cargo flight operated by National Airlines between Camp Shorabak near the city of Lashkargah in Afghanistan and Al Maktoum Airport in Dubai, with a refueling stop at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. On 29 April 2013, the Boeing 747-400 operating the flight crashed within the perimeter of the Bagram airfield moments after taking off, killing all seven people on board.
British Airways Flight 2069 was a scheduled passenger flight operated by British Airways between Gatwick, England and Jomo Kenyatta Airport, Nairobi, Kenya. At 05:00 on 29 December 2000, a mentally ill passenger stormed the cockpit and attempted to hijack the aircraft. The 747 stalled in the struggle. Captain William Hagan and his crew were able to apprehend the assailant while first officer Phil Watson regained control of the aircraft, bringing the situation under control.
The Lockheed CL-1201 was a design study by Lockheed for a large 6,000 ton nuclear-powered transport aircraft in the late 1960s. One envisioned use of the concept was as an airborne aircraft carrier.
