P3d 747-400

[Jomega Gibson]

Thefirst -400M combi was rolled out in June 1989. The -400D Domestic for the Japanese market, without winglets, entered service on October 22, 1991. The -400F cargo variant, without the stretched upper deck, was first delivered in May 1993. With an increased MTOW of 910,000 lb (410 t), the extended range version entered service in October 2002 as the -400ERF freighter and the -400ER passenger version the following month. Several 747-400 aircraft have undergone freighter conversion or other modifications to serve as transports of heads of state, YAL-1 laser testbed, engine testbed or the Spirit of Mojave air launcher. The Dreamlifter is an outsize cargo conversion designed to move Dreamliner components.

With 694 delivered over the course of 20 years from 1989 to 2009,[3] it was the best-selling 747 variant. Its closest competitors were the smaller McDonnell Douglas MD-11 trijet and Airbus A340 quadjet. It has been superseded by the stretched and improved Boeing 747-8, introduced in October 2011. In the late 2010s, older 747-400 passenger aircraft were being phased out by airlines in favor of long-range, wide-body twinjet aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350.

Following its introduction in 1969, the Boeing 747 became a major success with airlines and the flying public.[4] As the world's first wide-body jetliner, the 747 had revolutionized air travel, and cemented its manufacturer's dominance in the passenger aircraft market.[5] In 1980, Boeing announced the 747-300, its latest 747 variant featuring greater passenger capacity. This was made possible by making a stretched upper deck (SUD), previously an option on the 747-200, a standard feature.[6] The SUD was almost twice as long as the original 747 upper deck. Besides increased capacity, the 747-300 did not offer any increase in range, nor did it include improvements in flight deck technology or construction materials.[7] At the same time, 747s were becoming more costly to operate due to a number of factors, notably conventional flight control systems, three-person flight crews, and fuel costs.[4]

By early 1984, company officials had identified five development objectives for the latest 747 upgrade: new technologies, an enhanced interior, a 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) range increase, more efficient engines, and a 10 percent reduction in operating cost.[7] In September 1984, Boeing announced development of the newest 747 derivative, the "Advanced Series 300", at the Farnborough Airshow.[7] On October 22, 1985, the type was officially launched when Northwest Airlines became the first 747-400 customer, with an order for 10 aircraft.[9] Cathay Pacific, KLM, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and British Airways also announced orders several months later, followed by United Airlines, Air France, Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines.[9]

The 747-400's wingspan was stretched by 17 feet (5.2 m) over the Classic 747 through wingtip extensions. For reduced aerodynamic drag, the wings were fitted with 6 feet (1.8 metres)-tall winglets.[12] Despite the added length, the wings were 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) lighter as a result of new aluminum alloys.[12] The horizontal tail was also redesigned to fit a 3,300 US gallons (12,000 L) fuel tank, resulting in a 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) range increase, and the rudder travel was increased to 30 degrees.[12] The landing gear was redesigned with larger wheels and carbon brakes.[12] Internal changes further included a restyled cabin with new materials and updated fittings.[13]

New engines offered on the 747-400 included the Pratt & Whitney PW4056, the General Electric CF6-80C2B1F, and the Rolls-Royce RB211-524G/H.[12] The engines offered lower fuel consumption and greater thrust, along with a full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) which adjusted engine performance for improved efficiency compared with the Classic 747s.[12] A new auxiliary power unit (APU) manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada was also selected to provide on-ground power for the 747-400, with a 40 percent reduction in fuel consumption compared to previous APU designs.[12]

Final assembly of the first 747-400 began at Boeing's Everett factory, the longtime site of 747 production, in September 1987.[13] More than fifty percent of the aircraft was produced by subcontractors, with major structures, engine nacelles, and sub-assemblies supplied by Northrop, and upper deck fuselage frames from Daewoo.[14] All components were integrated during the final assembly process at the Everett factory. The first aircraft, equipped with PW4056 engines, was completed over the winter months of late 1987.[13] On January 26, 1988, the first 747-400 rolled out at the Everett factory, while the first 737-400 rolled out at Boeing's Renton factory on the same day, marking the first double jetliner rollout in the manufacturer's history.[13] By the time of the rollout, the 747-400 program had amassed more than 100 orders.[13]

The 747-400 flew for the first time on April 29, 1988, under the command of test pilot James Loesch and co-pilot Kenneth Higgins.[15] The first flight was six weeks behind schedule, owing to subcontractor delays in supplying components, and extra troubleshooting on the aircraft's electronics systems.[13] The maiden flight took off from Paine Field, site of the Everett factory, and landed at Boeing Field, south of Seattle, after an uneventful 2 hours and 26 minutes.[15] The 747-400's flight test program utilized the first four aircraft built, one more than the minimum number necessary to certify the aircraft's three engine options.[15] One test aircraft each was fitted with the CF6-80C2B1F and RB211-524G/H engines, while the other two featured PW4056 engines, with the fourth aircraft serving as a backup.[15] Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification was received on January 9, 1989, with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, May 18, 1989, with General Electric CF6-80C2s and June 8, 1989, with Rolls-Royce RB211-524Gs.

As the flight test program proceeded, Boeing encountered problems in the 747-400's production process, leading it to disclose delivery delays of up to one month for the first 20 aircraft built.[13] A primary reason for the delays was the unprecedented complexity of interior configurations offered to airlines, which ranged from lavatory and galley locations to the color shades of cabin warning labels.[13] Coupled with new, relatively inexperienced workers, a lack of veteran technicians, interior configurations needing costly re-work, and teething problems with electronics integration on the advanced flight deck, 747-400 production fell behind schedule.[13] The company managed to resolve early production issues by mid-1989, with the first example airframes of all three engine variants delivered within four months of each other, and overall delays not exceeding several weeks.[13]

The first 747-400 (N661US) was delivered to launch customer Northwest Airlines.[16] This jet became known for an incident on Northwest Flight 85 caused by a rudder hardover.[17] N661US was later sold to Delta Airlines when Northwest merged with it. N661US later became preserved at the Delta Flight Museum. This was the twentieth anniversary of the 747-100's first flight. On May 31, 1989, Singapore Airlines operated the first international service using a 747-400, on a flight from Singapore to London.[18]

In May 1989, one week before the initial delivery to the 747-400's first European customer, KLM, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) shocked Boeing by refusing to grant regulatory certification for the aircraft, citing the upper deck cabin floor's resistance to collapse in the event of a sudden decompression.[13] While the manufacturer asserted that the 747-400's cabin floor was no different from the already-certified and in-service 747-300, the JAA maintained that the newer model would have a service life into 2020 and beyond and was thus subject to a newer, more stringent standard which had been updated to reflect the risk of explosive devices.[19] In the days leading up to the first delivery to KLM, negotiations between Boeing, the FAA, and the JAA resulted in a compromise: a temporary operating certificate would be issued for the 747-400, provided that the manufacturer develop a structural retrofit for the aircraft within two years.[19] The last-minute deal allowed KLM and Lufthansa to take delivery of their 747-400s without further delays.[19]

After the first 747-400 deliveries, Boeing began production on more variants of the aircraft. The first 747-400 Combi, able to carry both passengers and freight, was rolled out in June 1989.[19] The 747-400 Domestic, a short-range variant of the aircraft designed for Japanese intra-island services, first flew on March 18, 1991, and entered service with Japan Airlines on October 22, 1991. A cargo variant, the 747-400F, was first delivered in May 1993 to Cargolux.[19] By the end of the 1990s, Boeing was producing four versions of the 747-400.

The extended range freighter (ERF) entered service in October 2002. The next month, the extended range (ER) passenger version entered service with Qantas, the only airline ever to order the passenger version of the 747-400ER. Qantas initially used the 747-400ER for the Melbourne to Los Angeles and Dallas to Sydney route allowing the completion of the flight with full passenger load and cargo. Prior to the 747-400ER, Qantas would complete such flights by blocking out 'E' zone of the cabin and limiting passenger numbers and cargo. The 747-400ER featured the Boeing Signature Interior, which was later made available on the 747-400 (either as a retrofit on existing 747-400s or factory installation on new frames).

The 747-400ER also introduced some flight deck enhancements, including liquid-crystal displays (LCDs), which replaced the six cathode ray tube (CRT) displays found on the Boeing 747-400. LCDs later became standard on the 747-400 as well, and could be retrofitted to earlier aircraft. The three standby flight displays found on the 747-400 were also replaced by a single combined LCD, the integrated standby flight display (ISFD), which also became standard on the 747-400 in late 2003.[20]

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