Posted on 02/24/2019 4:07:37 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Put your hat back on!
The bats will lay eggs in your hair.
If I remember correctly, the 747 was originally designed as a heavy lift hauler for the Air Force in competition with the Lockheed C-5. Once Boeing lost the contract, they made the 747 into an airliner.
747 can open from front and back for cargo. A380 cant.
And with the cockpit sitting between the two passenger decks, the design will be impossible to modify to put a nose door in.
Its not the first time BOEING has made the eurotrash walk the plank.
No big doors
Thanks to both of you for the information.
[747 can open from front and back for cargo. A380 cant.]
FedEx was going to buy some and even built a hangar in Memphis for it. It didn’t work out and now Fred’s big jet is the 777. They cram one of those, an MD10 and an A300 or 767 in that hangar nowadays.
I would guess structural loading of the decks and the assumptions made about fuel consumption.
I would guess structural loading of the decks and the assumptions made about fuel consumption.
I didn’t mean to post that twice...
I always heard it was the opposite. That the impetus and inspiration was from PanAm but Boeing wanted to hedge their bets and so wisely built the 747 for cargo.
Whatever happened, if they lucked out and PanAm came to them for a plane second or first ... the engineers did the company right.
I think the best aircraft, at least for everything this side of light private aircraft, small liners like the Lear or fighter aircraft, have always been sky trucks at heart.
That would not surprise me. The way the market is now isn't the way that it once was, or is going to be in the future. Small-hauler SSTs will be flying in 10, 15, 20 years, and large, long-haul widebody will make a return as well -- it takes a while to be ready for any of it. Thanks llevrok.
If you look at a 747 its one big cargo hold front to back with and elevated flight deck and small passenger space ..that elevated upper deck .. you can just hinge the nose up and have full load access.. it is a cargo plane layout from the get go
The A380 with its double deck design with that floor right down the middle of what would be the cargo hold you’ve got no space for large cargo and no way to hinge up the nose to acess
Sounds like a fitting subject for the sequel to “You Can’t Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney’s Turnaround at Boeing”. :^)
quasi-related sidebar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsEeVOchA78
I’ve never boarded one, but have seen ‘em up close, they seem enormous. Probably a nice smooth ride, particularly compared with the old “Ruptured Duck” prop jets across Lake Michigan, flying into Grand Rapids.
You should fly first class.
During the 747's design phase, Boeing hedged its bets on its passenger potential, put the cockpit up on top [in the famous bulge], and hinged the nose on freight versions to allow front-loading.
The double deck A380 does not have that flexibility.
“During the 747’s design phase, Boeing hedged its bets on its passenger potential”
The freight capability must have made the 747 more expensive. Nevertheless they sold a bunch of them for passenger use. Impressive, huh?
The 747-8F freighter has been modestly successful, but the 747-8I Intercontinental passenger version is an unqualified flop, and like Airbus, Boeing will never recoup their development costs on the 747-8.
A Boeing exec reveals what’s in store for the 747 jumbo jet and predicts that Airbus won’t be able to deliver the rest of its A380s
Benjamin Zhang
Jul. 17, 2018, 3:30 PM
https://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-exec-says-the-747-jumbo-jets-future-will-be-as-a-private-jet-2018-7
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