The Queen Crowns The skies

After more than half-a-century of production, the final 747 took a unique, crown-shaped flight path from its production facility before entering the Atlas Air fleet

By Ayushee ChAudhAry

Following a legacy of 50 years of production, the final 747, a 747-8 freighter, took off and departed Boeing with great fanfare. The final 747 left its birthplace in Everett, Washington, to join the all-Boeing fleet of Atlas Air, bringing its 747 fleet to 56. The final 747 took a unique, crown-shaped flight path on its way to Cincinnati, Ohio before entering the fleet. “It is certainly a fitting start to the next chapter for the airplane known far and wide as the Queen of the Skies,” stated the manufacturer.

Boeing employees who designed and built the first 747, known as the “Incredibles,” returned to be honored at the Everett factory where the journey of the 747 began in 1967. “This monumental day is a testament to the generations of Boeing employees who brought to life the airplane that ‘shrank the world,’ and revolutionised travel and air cargo as the first widebody. It is fitting to deliver this final 747-8 Freighter to the largest operator of the 747, Atlas Air, where the ‘Queen’ will continue to inspire and empower innovation in air cargo,” said Stan Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The 747 has played a key role in Boeing’s history of aerospace leadership. After entering service in 1970, the iconic plane transformed global travel. As the world’s first jumbo jet, the 747 laid the foundation for every twin aisle plane that followed—earning a place in the hearts of many airline operators, crew, passengers, and aviation enthusiasts around the world.

“We are honored to continue our long history of flying this iconic aircraft for our customers around the world. Atlas Air was founded over 30 years ago with a single 747-200 converted freighter, and since then, we have spanned the globe operating nearly every fleet type of the 747, including the Dreamlifter, Boeing’s 747 Large Cargo Freighter, for the transport of 787 Dreamliner parts. We are grateful to Boeing for their shared commitment to safety, quality, innovation and the environment, and for their partnership to ensure the continued success of the 747 programme as we operate the aircraft for decades to come,” said John Dietrich, President and Chief Executive Officer, Atlas Air Worldwide.

As the first twin-aisle airplane and “jumbo jet,” its development solidified Boeing’s role as an industry leader in commercial aviation. The airplane’s core design with its distinctive hump and seating in the upper deck has delighted generations of passengers and operators alike. Boeing continued to improve on the original design with models like the 747-400 in 1988 and the final 747-8 model that was launched in 2005. Across all the models, the jet has delivered unmatched operating economics and efficiency to travel and air cargo markets, Boeing highlighted.

Design Highlights

At 250 ft 2 in (76.2 m), the 747-8 is the longest commercial aircraft in service. At typical cruising speeds, the 747-8 travels roughly the length of three FIFA soccer fields or NFL football fields, per second.

The final airplane is a 747-8 Freighter. This model has a revenue payload of 133.1 tonnes, enough to transport 10,699 solidgold bars or approximately 19 million ping-pong balls or golf balls.

The massive airplane required construction of the 200 million-cubic-ft (5.6 million-cubic-meter) 747 assembly plant in Everett, Washington, the world’s largest building (by volume). The fuselage of the original 747 was 225 ft (68.5 meters) long; the tail was as tall as a six-story building. The cargo hold had room for 3,400 pieces of baggage and could be unloaded in seven minutes. The total wing area was larger than a basketball court. Yet, the entire global navigation system weighed less than a modern laptop computer. Its wingspan is 212 ft (64 meters), and it has 6-ft-high (1.8-meter-high) “winglets” on the wingtips. The 747-400 also is produced as a freighter, as a combination freighter and passenger model, and as a special domestic version, without the winglets, for shorter range flights.

History

Production of the 747, the world’s first twin-aisle airplane, began in 1967 and spanned 54 years, during which a total of 1,574 airplanes were built. The 747400 rolled out in 1988. The 747 was the result of the work of about 50,000 Boeing people. Called “the Incredibles,” these were the construction workers, mechan- ics, engineers, secretaries and administrators who made aviation history by building the 747 — the largest civilian airplane in the world — in roughly 16 months during the late 1960s.

The incentive for creating the giant 747 came from reductions in airfares, a surge in air-passenger traffic and increasingly crowded skies. Following the loss of the competition for a gigantic military transport, the C-5A, Boeing set out to develop a large advanced commercial airplane to take advantage of the high-bypass engine technology developed for the C-5A. The design philosophy behind the 747 was to develop a completely new plane, and other than the engines, the designers purposefully avoided using any hardware developed for the C-5.

The 747’s final design was offered in three configurations: all passenger, all cargo and a convertible passenger/freighter model. The freighter and convertible models loaded 8- by 8-ft (2.4- by 2.4-meter) cargo containers through the huge hinged nose.

Indian airline, Air India Limited was one of the first airlines to operate the 747, introducing the aircraft to its fleet in 1971. The 747 served Air India for over four decades, becoming a mainstay on long-haul routes and playing a crucial role in connecting India to the rest of the world.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had also modified two 747-100s into Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The next version, the 747-200, held approximately 440 passengers and had a range of about 5,600 nautical miles (10,371 kilometers). In 1990, two 747-200Bs were modified to serve as Air Force One and replaced the VC-137s (707s) that served as the presidential airplane for nearly 30 years. The 747-300 had an extended upper deck and carried even more passengers than the -200.

In August 1999, major assembly began on a militarised 747400 freighter to be used as a platform for the US Air Force’s Airborne Laser (ABL) programme. It rolled out on October 27, 2006, and was eventually designated YAL-1. On February 11, 2010, the flying test bed destroyed a ballistic missile off the coast of Southern California. The programme was canceled in 2011, and in 2012, YAL-1 was flown to the US Air Force “bone yard” near Pima, Arizona, to be scrapped.

Another variant, the Dreamlifter — a specially modified 747-400 — transported the large composite structures, including huge fuselage sections of the 787 Dreamliner, from partners around the world. The fourth and final Dreamlifter entered service February 16, 2010.

The longer range 747-400 airplanes (also known as 747400ERs) were launched in late 2000. The 747-400ER (Extended Range) family is available in both passenger and freighter versions. The airplanes were the same size as current 747-400s and had a range of 7,670 nautical miles (14,205 kilometers) as opposed to the 747-400 range of 7,260 nautical miles (13,450 kilometers). It incorporated the strengthened -400 Freighter wing, strengthened body and landing gear, and an auxiliary fuel tank in the forward cargo hold, with an option for a second tank. When the 747-400ER’s full-range capability is not needed, operators can remove the tank (or tanks), freeing up additional space for cargo.

In November 2005, Boeing launched the 747-8 family — the 747-8 intercontinental passenger airplane and the 747-8 Freighter. These airplanes incorporate innovative technologies from the 787 Dreamliner, including the General Electric GEnx2B engines, raked wingtips and other improvements that allow for a 30 per cent smaller noise footprint, 15 per cent reduction in-service carbon emissions, better performance retention, lower weight, less fuel consumption, fewer parts and less maintenance.

The 747-8 Freighter first flew on February 8, 2010. The airplane was 250 ft, 2 inches (76.3 meters) long, which is 18 ft, 4 inches (5.6 meters) longer than the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provided customers with 16 per cent more revenue cargo volume compared with its predecessor. That translates to an additional four main-deck pallets and three lower hold pallets.

The passenger version, the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, served the 400- to 500-seat market and took its first flight on March 20, 2011. The cabin’s sculpted ceilings, bigger overhead and side stow bins, a redesigned staircase and dynamic LED lighting all add to an overall more comfortable passenger experience. With 51 additional seats and 26 per cent more revenue cargo volume than the 747-400, Boeing delivered the first 747-8 Intercontinental to an undisclosed Boeing Business Jet customer on February 28, 2012. Launch customer Lufthansa took delivery of the first airline Intercontinental April 25, 2012.

On June 28, 2014, Boeing delivered the 1,500th 747 to come off the production line to Frankfurt, Germany-based Lufthansa. The 747 is the first wide-body airplane in history to reach the 1,500 milestone.

Air China, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Mahan Air and Rossiya are among the airlines still flying the 747. According to FlightRadar, 93 per cent of all 747 flights in November 2022 were dedicated cargo flights, while just 5.9 per cent of 747 flights carried passengers. Given its perfect location as a stopover between Asia and North America, Anchorage sees nearly double the amount of 747 traffic than the next highest city. In November 2022, there were 4,101 747 take offs and landings at Anchorage, all of them cargo flights. 21 separate airlines operated 747 flights through Anchorage during November, with Atlas Air in the lead by far with 847 flights. Lufthansa operates the greatest number of 747 flights per day at 26. The airline offers daily service from Frankfurt to 10 cities: Bengaluru, Chicago, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico City, New York, São Paulo, Tokyo, and Washington. SP

B.H. DeLay (1891-1923)

The list of “Daredevil” DeLay’s feats during his ten years of flying experience is endless. Many of them are commonplace nowadays but then they were aviation firsts. He remained constantly in the limelight.

Sooner or later death and destruction will intrude into any human endeavour. The 120-year history of aviation has seen numerous murders and murder-suicides. Violent hijackings or bombs planted in passenger aircraft were frequent in the second half of the 20th century, causing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people. This forced a tightening of airport screening and safety procedures. Hence both hijackings and aerial bombings have thankfully become rare. Several commercial flights have also been deliberately crashed (the 9/11 disasters being the most notorious) and others are suspected of having been so lost.

On a far smaller scale is the murder of a passenger or pilot while flying, either by someone on board, or due to the plane being tampered with before flight. Here is the story of the first case of suspected aerial murder in United States and perhaps world history. The victim was the American aviator, B.H. DeLay, who pioneered many of the popular stunts used in the early barnstorming air-shows. He also adapted them for movies involving many top Hollywood stars. Through his daring and innovative performances he greatly expanded the limits of the film industry in the US.

Beverly Homer DeLay was born on August 12, 1891. Not much is known of his childhood. But as a young adult he first gained fame as a race-car driver. Later he became a fervent aviation enthusiast. His air-show demonstrations included the nose dive, ghost dive, Immelmann turn, barrel rolls, tail spins, multiple loops, mock battles, racing, and flying fireworks. He helped set up America’s first aerial police force whose aircraft equipped with flotation devices could undertake maritime search and rescue at a moment’s notice. DeLay Airfield located in Venice – a Los Angeles beach resort – was the first lighted airport in the US.

The list of “Daredevil” DeLay’s feats during his ten years of flying experience is endless. Many of them are commonplace nowadays but then they were aviation firsts. He remained constantly in the limelight. He conducted aerial rides with politicians, actors and unusual personalities. He dropped event tickets, flew civil engineers to produce aerial maps of Venice, and showered other promotional or ceremonial objects for events, such as masses of flowers over the ocean as tributes to war heroes. It was American razzmatazz at its best. DeLay was seen in numerous motion pictures, including westerns, comedies and dramas. Many of his planes took part in movie aviator Ormer Locklear’s aerial funeral procession. Then there was the staple of Bollywood movies – the hero’s aerial transfer from plane to train or train to plane. He was also the first to knock down a building using a plane on screen.

In one of DeLay’s most spectacular events, aimed at promoting Venice Beach as a leading entertainment destination, he flew multiple loops at night. The plane had fireworks strapped to its back, so the show was billed as a “fire ride”. Simultaneously, 20 US Navy destroyer ships flashed their search lights on the horizon to accompany the performance. DeLay was also a humanitarian who frequently organised and performed in aviation benefit shows for individuals and organisations in need. In 1920, DeLay took over as general manager of the airport in Venice. By mid-1921, much of his earnings came from providing planes and pilots to Hollywood. And then his troubles began.

In September 1921, DeLay filed for a temporary restraining order against seven men, among them someone named C.E. Frey. Frey had begun claiming that DeLay’s lease of the airport had expired. He said, although he had no proof, that he was now the rightful operator and he was legally entitled to take over the airfield. It didn’t end there. DeLay was shot at by an unknown assailant, and Frey’s thugs planted posts in the runway do disrupt operations. When the posts were removed, the gang dug trenches so that the planes could not take off.

On July 4, 1923, DeLay was in his aircraft, the “Wasp” (along with passenger R.I. Short, President of the Essandee Corporation). While performing in front of thousands of people at Ocean Park, the plane’s wings began to quiver in the middle of a loop, and then suddenly folded back. The aircraft dove into the ground and burst into flames shortly after the two bodies were extricated from the wreckage.

B.H. DeLay’s friends went immediately to the police to complain of suspected foul play. They said that DeLay’s hangar was well-known and unguarded, making his planes easy to meddle with. An investigation found that the pins in the wings were of a substandard size of only 3/8 of an inch, rather than 1/2 or 3/4 inch, strongly pointing to wing tampering. However, the fire destroyed whatever other evidence there may have been. And so the case remained unsolved. A year later, DeLay’s ashes were buried at sea. SP

— Joseph NoroNha

Military

Defence Minister reviews operational prepareDness of anDaMan & nicobar coMManD

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the operational preparedness of Andaman & Nicobar Command and infrastructure development at operational areas during his visit to the Headquarters of the only operational joint services command of the country in Port Blair on January 5, 2023. Commander-inChief Andaman and Nicobar Command (CINCAN) Lt General Ajai Singh briefed the Defence Minister about the geostrategic potential of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the role they can play towards enhancing India’s influence and support to military operations in the area. CINCAN also briefed the Defence Minister about the achievements, future plan and challenges of A&N Command. Rajnath Singh also visited the ANC Joint Operations Centre (JOC) which is the nerve centre for integrated planning for surveillance, conduct of operations and logistic support.

Ga-asi’s eaGlet taKes its first fliGHt General Atomics flew a new survivable Air-Launched Effect (ALE) for the first time as part of a flight demonstration on December 8, 2022. The ALE, known as Eaglet, was launched from a US Army MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GEER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The Eaglet flight was jointly funded by GA-ASI and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development (DEVCOM) Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC).

Eaglet fits into the ‘ALE Large’ category, which encompasses larger, more powerful sensors or payloads. Because of its design, Eaglet is capable of carrying a diverse range of payloads in support of multiple Army missions. Eaglet design extends battlefield options for commanders while reducing their decision cycles. Gray Eagle can carry Eaglet for thousands of kilometers be- air Marshal a.P. singh took over as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) on February 1, 2023. An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, the Air Marshal was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on December 21, 1984. The Air Officer is a Qualified Flying Instructor and an Experimental Test Pilot with more than 5000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

During his career, the officer has commanded an operational fighter squadron and a frontline air base. As a test pilot, he led the MiG-29 Upgrade Project Management Team at Moscow, Russia. He was also the Project Director (Flight Test) at National Flight Test fore launching it while being controlled through unmanned-unmanned teaming or as a component of advanced teaming command and control concepts.

CiVil

tasl final asseMbly line anD Mro facility at vaDoDara airport

In order to promote the Government’s initiative of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” for manufacturing of C295 Military Transport Aircraft by Tata Advanced System Limited (TASL) (in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space, a Final Assembly Line and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility), the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has approved the allotment of land measuring 50 acres to TASL for setting up Final Assembly Line and MRO facility at Vadodara Airport. The extant policy enables domestic manufacturing of aircraft.

pli incentive scHeMe to support inDiGenous Drone inDustry

For the effective operation and smooth implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme,the Ministry of Civil Aviation has formulated and notified the operational guidelines. These guidelines inter-alia cover the following:

• Definitions

• Qualification and Eligibility

• Application and Online Portal

Centre looking after the flight testing of the Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas). He has held important staff appointments of Air Defence Commander at South Western Air Command and Senior Air Staff Officer at Eastern Air Command. Prior to assuming his current appointment, he was the Air Officer Commanding-inChief at Central Air Command. SP

• Project Management Agency (PMA), Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS), and Competent Authority

To facilitate further growth, the Government has approved ProductionLinked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Drones and Drone Components in India. For the implementation of this scheme during 2022-23 to 2024-25, a corpus of `120 crores has been allocated.

sPaCe

GovernMent to auGMent DoMestic capacity for future realisation of space tourisM

Minister of Science & Technology and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that the Government is taking measures to augment domestic capacity for future realisation of space tourism. Jitendra Singh said, ISRO has also carried out a few feasibility studies for a sub-orbital space tourism mission onboard a liquid propellant stage booster. He said, through Gaganyaan, India’s maiden human spaceflight programme, ISRO is engaged in development of various technologies, which are essential building blocks for human space missions.

The Minister informed that the objective of the Gaganyaan programme is the demonstration of human spaceflight capability to Low earth orbit. Future missions will be taken up after the accomplishment of Gaganyaan mission. l