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Today modern aviation is unthinkable without the Boeing 747, of which 1,193+ aircraft have been delivered. This unique giant has transported 2.2 billion people, which is equal to 40 percent of the world’s population. 30 years ago only few experts believed in this monumental success. In those days the Jumbo Jet was seen as an exotic creature among the other planes, and it was even thought that The Boeing Company was risking financial ruin.
The C-5 Galaxy
The 747
came into existence after Boeing lost the competition for a strategic air
lifter for the United States Air Force. The Air Force needed a strategic
long-haul air lifter capable of transporting troops and heavy weaponry to
Europe. The contract was given to
Lockheed in 1965 and led to the creation of the C-5A Galaxy. This was a stroke
of luck for Boeing, because the company now had resources for a new
“Mega”-Airliner. By the way, Lockheed
only built 131 models of the Galaxy.
The 747 saga began in the Spring of 1965, when Pan American World Airways asked Boeing to develop a lengthened version of the 707, with a capacity for 250 passengers. However, this could not be done for technical reasons.
During talks with Boeing
representatives Pan Am Boss Juan T. Trippe demanded a commercial airliner,
which could transport 400 passengers over a distance of 5,000 km. The new jet was also be used for the
transportation of cargo, because Trippe was convinced that aviation was to be
dominated by supersonic airliners ten years from then. In that case the 747 was to be an excellent
cargo liner. A few days later Boeing
President William Allen telephoned Trippe and asked whether he had been serious
with this unusual idea. Trippe, who had
proved to be a friend of technological innovations throughout the development
of the 707 just responded by saying, “I am serious.” In December 1965 both men met to negotiate details.
Boeing boss Allen then appointed Mel Stamper to be head of the world’s biggest aircraft-project. For four years Stamper was in charge of approximately 50,000 staff working on this program. He only took one day off, Christmas Eve, he often spent night away from home and on the conference table and was thought of as a drill sergeant than a manager.
In August 1965 Joseph Sutter joined the team as Chief Designer. After the program launch in March 1966 Sutter and his team looked at 50 different designs with two decks. The double-decker design was not ideal, because passengers could not be evacuated in the time prescribed by the FAA. After viewing an improvised mock up of the cabin, Trippe discarded the double deck idea. The view from the improvised top deck had given almost everybody vertigo. After this sobering experience, Trippe wanted to look at the 1:1 model of a conventional single deck, which was still being constructed. This design already had the famous hump, which was to be the trademark of the 747.
Trippe had asked for the cockpit to be situated above the cabin for a practical reason. This was going to make loading easier. The space behind the cockpit was allocated to the air conditioning system and other instruments. However, Trippe, always a businessman had other ideas. “This space is reserved for passengers. Couldn’t we install a bar there?” Sutter agreed with this idea, but other ideas like a glass nose for first class passengers only caused everyone to shake their heads. Impressed with the size of the cabin, there were many suggestions as to how to use it, i.e. a restaurant, a cinema, a hairdressing salon, even a casino.
Boeing 747s being assembled
for Qantas, British Airways, Korean Air, and Cathay Pacific
The aircraft of the superlatives was
now in need of a production hangar of equally breathtaking dimensions. The existing facilities like the one at
Renton, Washington in which the 707, 727 and 737 were assembled, were not big
enough. The search for a suitable location had started as early as October
1964; it was intended for the planned for C-5.
A commission examined 50 locations to their suitability, until Bill
Allen decided on a site in Everett, which is located north of Seattle in
Washington State. The second steepest
rail track in the USA had to be built at a cost of $5 Million dollars. With the launch of the 747, the start of the
world’s biggest industrial building was given.
It was big enough to house 40 football fields measuring 5.5 Million sq.
m. Over 2,800 workmen battled against
the elements, months of rainfalls and snowstorms made construction extremely
difficult. During rains lasting 68 days,
an enormous mudslide covered part of the site.
It cost another $5 Million to clear up the mess. In order to stay within the tight schedule,
the construction of the 747 was started, even though the factory had not been
finished.
The enormous Everett facility and the flightline
After basic design work and more than
75,000 construction drawings, which were carried out by hand, had been
completed, the 4.5 million parts of the first 747 had to be assembled. Stamper was most impressed by the workmen’s
thirst for action and suggested to call the team in Everett the
“Incredibles”. To Stamper’s amazement
this nickname soon appeared on helmets and coats worn by the employees. Stamper remembers, “It was the most
motivated workforce I have ever seen.
Some chaps even worked two shifts one after the other without being
asked.”
The “Incredibles” had indeed performed a miracle. Less than three years after the contract was signed, Jumbo 001 left the hangar in Everett with a big fuss on 30 September 1968. To celebrate the day, 26 stewardesses, who were representatives of the first customers uncorked bottles of Champagne and christened the first 747 “City of Everett”. A Boeing 707, 727 and 737 flew overhead and made the celebrations perfect.
Prior to her maiden flight Jack Waddell, head of the test program, had made a movable mockup in order to simulate the way the 747 would roll on the ground, since a cockpit more than 10 meters above ground was very unusual in those days. Boeing employees jokingly named the monstrosity “Waddell’s Wagon”. Strain trials, which were carried out to take the wind out of the critics’ sails, went quite spectacularly. In one test the wings of a static plane were being bent upwards and broke only at 7.9 meters.
The latest reincarnation of
the 747: the 747-400 (Air France at HKG)
On 9
February 1969 it became obvious that the $1 Billion cost for developing the 747
had been worthwhile. Jack Waddell,
Brial Wygle and Jesse Wallick took to the skies in Jumbo N7470 only two months
behind schedule. Pilot Waddell was
enthusiastic about the aircraft’s flight properties, “This plane is the answer
to every pilot’s dream.” And it was
said beforehand that the aircraft was simply too big to fly safely. One was even concerned that the 747 might
damage the tarmac because of its weight.
During test flights, it became apparent that there were grave problems with the original version of the Pratt and Whitney JT9D engine. During the 1,400-hour flight time and 1,013 flights of the test program, the engines were exchanged 55 times. However, the Jumbo finally received its certification through the FAA on 30 December 1969. Four of the five test aircraft were later fitted with airline interior and supplied to customers. The first 747 stayed with Boeing for further test purposes.
A Pan Am Boeing 747-121 (Clipper Flying Cloud) at
Buenos Aires – Galeao International
Pan
Am took her first 747 into service on 21 February 1970 as scheduled. “Clipper Young America” was supposed to fly
336 passengers from New York to
London. However, a broken door and
problems during the cargo loading delayed the flight. When the Jumbo finally rolled out to take off, one of the engines
overheated. The aircraft finally had to
be replaced. The substitute 747 took
off after a delay of seven hours.
Delays and cancelled flights soon gave the 747 the nickname “Dumbo Jet”,
Disney’s flying white elephant. At the
beginning of the 70’s, problems with the engines went as far as 30 completed
Jumbos had to be stored in Everett with concrete blocks under their wings
instead of engines.
Pratt & Whitney was finally able to remedy the existing engine problems. As a result, the Jumbo’s reliability increased impressively. Half a year after its service, the 747 Fleet had already transported one million passengers. From 1970, Boeing expanded its program by manufacturing the 747-200B with a longer range and a bigger payload. It also offered the aircraft with different engines, like the Pratt & Whitney JT9D, General Electric CF6 and Rolls Royce RB524. The 747-200B became the most popular model with 393 models and was only beaten by the 747-400. Later the 747SP Special Performance followed for extremely long distances and the 747-300 with lengthened upper deck for up to 69 passengers. The program has for now been brought to a conclusion with the 747-400 with two-man cockpit, modern avionics and more powerful engines.
