747

Montage of Feck · 05-06-2020 12:17AM #1

As this is post # 747, it would be appropriate to start a thread on the merits of the venerable Boeing 747.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcVguQgmN6A

Atlantic Dawn · 05-06-2020 12:22AM

Sad end to them...https://www.airliners.net/photo/Aer-Lingus/Boeing-747-130/148851/L

Capt'n Midnight · 05-06-2020 12:40AM

Boeing of old

Today's Boeing

Class MayDresser · 05-06-2020 12:44AM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Sad end to them...https://www.airliners.net/photo/Aer-Lingus/Boeing-747-130/148851/L

Why aren't they smelted down?

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 05-06-2020 12:49AM

Class MayDresser wrote: »

Why aren't they smelted down?

Because they’re not an ore.

Capt'n Midnight · 05-06-2020 01:24AM

Lia Elegant Hardwood wrote: »

Because they’re not an ore.

ore you sure about that ?

Strumms · 05-06-2020 01:38AM

The first time I was on one was 1987 to JFK, I was 7... I’d been on aircraft a couple of times before, just shorthaul to Heathrow and Paris but this was like being on a spaceship, not an aircraft. It was just fûcking huge. My face at the gate was pressed up against the window in awe, in anticipation, in wonder of how that fûcking massive beast could plow across the sky at 33,000 ft...all the way to New York.

It had an upstairs, multi course hot meal service to your seat, a film on a big screen projector , ‘Eat The Peach’... two aisles, more drinks, hot breakfast before arrival... I read in the Cara onboard magazine that with passengers and fuel it weighed over 330 tonnes.. to this day it’s a headfuçk how something of that mass and weight can get off the earth, climb to that height, feed, entertain and refresh and hours later.... arrive safely in New York...

con747 · 05-06-2020 01:44AM

Just had to post something:)

KungPao · 05-06-2020 02:06AM

She’s one sexy bird. Sure she’s getting on in years but you still would.

1o059k7ewrqj3n · 05-06-2020 09:32AM

I was never on one

Hector Savage · 05-06-2020 10:40AM

Looks like it's production is coming to an end ...
https://simpleflying.com/boeing-747-production-future/

Sad, no plane like it, these modern twin jets are just boring, it truly was the Queen of the skies.

Hector Savage · 05-06-2020 10:42AM

Great photo.

https://twitter.com/DublinAirport/status/1065636124767473664?s=20

dominatinMC · 05-06-2020 10:42AM

Montage of Feck wrote: »

As this is post # 747, it would be appropriate to start a thread on the merits of the venerable Boeing 747.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcVguQgmN6A

A marvel of modern engineering. Although not to everyone's taste, that livery is a thing of beauty too. The whole package is evocative of a romantic era of air travel. Nostalgia factor is definitely kicking in, but it seemed like a time when wonder and awe were at the forefront, instead of skepticism and cynicism which we tend to associate with flying now.

leanin2019 · 05-06-2020 10:43AM

A380 is the Job lads, never mind the 747.

What a beast.

Seems it hasn't been a success though and will be eventually phased out.

dominatinMC · 05-06-2020 10:46AM

leanin2019 wrote: »

A380 is the Job lads, never mind the 747.

What a beast.

Seems it hasn't been a success though and will be eventually phased out.

I agree that it's an engineering masterpiece, no doubt about that. But I think it failed to capture peoples imaginations in the same way that the 747 and Concorde did. That's certainly not the reason for it's apparent demise (economics and timing are) but I just think it will be remembered more fondly in aviation circles, rather than the general public consciousness.

Rodney Bathgate · 05-06-2020 10:46AM

leanin2019 wrote: »

A380 is the Job lads, never mind the 747.

What a beast.

Seems it hasn't been a success though and will be eventually phased out.

747 outlasted the A380 production wise. Will be interesting to see which one is last to be completely retired. Some early A380s already scrapped.

Rodney Bathgate · 05-06-2020 10:49AM

Since the space shuttle was in the news recently...

Car99 · 05-06-2020 10:52AM

Early 90's I flew on those Lingus 747's from Shannon to Dublin and vice versa. Must have been the shortest scheduled 747 flight route.

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 05-06-2020 10:52AM

I flew on one from Dublin to Edinburgh for a 5 Nations game back in the early 90s. My first time on a plane in fact.

leanin2019 · 05-06-2020 10:52AM

Hector Savage wrote: »

Great photo.

https://twitter.com/DublinAirport/status/1065636124767473664?s=20

That fence was looking a bit frayed

Hoop66 · 05-06-2020 10:58AM

My first ever flight, in 1973, was on one. Singapore airlines LHR-Singapore via Frankfurt, Rome, Bahrain, Delhi, Bangkok.

It took over 24 hours.

Rodney Bathgate · 05-06-2020 10:59AM

First time I flew on a 747 was 1995, Dublin to Boston with stopover in Shannon. Plane left Shannon then had to turn back and we ended up on a smaller plane that required a stop over in I think Gander then on to Boston.

Last time was to and from Japan last year.

Boscoirl · 05-06-2020 11:01AM

Flew in one from LHR to Singapore in the early 2000's, we were bused out to the plane, standing on the tarmac looking up at it was amazing, the sheer size of it was impressive.

The bar on Emirates' A380 levels the playing field for me

Hector Savage · 05-06-2020 11:10AM

leanin2019 wrote: »

A380 is the Job lads, never mind the 747.

What a beast.

Seems it hasn't been a success though and will be eventually phased out.

A380 is impressive to see, but doesn't have the sleek beauty the B747 does ...
It's bulky fat and ugly ... but sure, it is impressive when it takes off... the 747 has it all tho !!!

Especially the 747-8 ... ****ing beauty ...

https://magazin.lufthansa.com/xx/en/fleet/boeing-747-8-en/

5962077.jpg?v=v4e16bb7e7a7

leanin2019 · 05-06-2020 11:19AM

Hector Savage wrote: »

A380 is impressive to see, but doesn't have the sleek beauty the B747 does ...
It's bulky fat and ugly ... but sure, it is impressive when it takes off... the 747 has it all tho !!!

Especially the 747-8 ... ****ing beauty ...

https://magazin.lufthansa.com/xx/en/fleet/boeing-747-8-en/

Agree. Cant remember if ive been inside an 747. Probably have.

But inside the cabin of the A380 is what impressed me.

You'd barely notice you were in a plane compared to other planes.

So smooth and quiet is my memory of it.

BailMeOut · 05-06-2020 11:27AM

I got to see this shortened 747 '747SP' while working on a project in USA.

CrankyHaus · 05-06-2020 11:39AM

leanin2019 wrote: »

Agree. Cant remember if ive been inside an 747. Probably have.

But inside the cabin of the A380 is what impressed me.

You'd barely notice you were in a plane compared to other planes.

So smooth and quiet is my memory of it.

I was on an Etihad one before and found it just like any other plane, only bigger. Are you supposed to wander around them to get the full experience or something?
Plus the A380 wasn't good looking like the 747, it literally looked like an Air - Bus, a double decker one.

Similarly on a Qantas 747 I just thought it was a decent plane, rather than a different level of flying altogether.

I honestly found the Aer Lingus A330 nicer to fly in than the A380, and the Emirates 777 nicer than the 747. I could get behind the newer twin engines like the 787 with its greater pressurisation (when it actually works).

The 747 was a cool plane, but I'm happy to see the back of the hub and spoke model of Aviation in favour of the point to point model on humdrum twin engined aircraft. No poxy waiting in Airports for hours on layovers, spending a fortune on tarted up overpriced mush and getting a headache from announcements.

Capt'n Midnight · 06-06-2020 11:50AM

BailMeOut wrote: »

I got to see this shortened 747 '747SP' while working on a project in USA.

https://www.v1decals.com/sites/default/files/decal-images/488_0.png

Sofia = Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

there's a 2.7m 20 ton telescope down the back

https://www.space.com/sofia-observatory.html

Capt'n Midnight · 06-06-2020 12:01PM

Rodney Bathgate wrote: »

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/687184main_EC01-0129-17-768x463.jpg
Since the space shuttle was in the news recently...

You don't need a 747 to do that

I give you the Myasishchev VM-T Atlant