Boeing 747 Ultra Wide Body

[TomZ]

Boeing 747 Ultra Wide Body



In the late 1980s both Airbus and Boeing started to look into a very high-capacity airliner. In 1990 Airbus announced the Airbus A-380 which featured a full double passenger deck. The first A-380 flew in 2005 with the first aircraft delivered in October 2007.



Boeing considered several designs, most of them based on the 747-400 which was in service since 1989. At first Boeing went the same route as Airbus with a full double deck 747. However, in 1990 a switch was made to a wider bodied airliner. This became the 747 UWB (Ultra-Wide Body) which featured a 3 metre plug in in the middle of the fuselage. To cope with the extra weight a six engine lay-out was chosen. At first it was thought a longer wing was necessary, but wind tunnel tests showed that the wide fuselage provided its own lift and a longer wing was not needed.



The 747-900 UWB first flew in 2004 and provided space to 850 passengers in a normal configuration. The seating arrangement was 4+4+4+4 with three isles running up and down the fuselage. In an all-economy configuration, it could carry 1080 passengers.
The first delivery to the launch customer British Airways was in 2006 and in total 246 were produced before production was halted in 2020. The Covid epidemic and the resulting travel crises caused demand to dry up.



Among the customers of the 747-900 were British Airways, Delta, Lufthansa, and China Southern Airways. Two 747-900s were sold to undisclosed private customers as VIP transports.



Model: Revell 1/144

TomZ

[Tophe]

Wow!

[Hobbes]

Apparently, the flightdeck accommodates about 16 people...

[su27rules]

Interesting!!

[Tophe]

While... not many passengers would have access to windows to enjoy the landscape, I have heard that is why flying wing airliners have been rejected by the marketing despite technical performance and fuel/money savings.
Probably now with cheap electronics, passengers would be happy enough to see the landscape in the screen included in the seat in front of them, no need of personal window. The problem is cured, 747UWB will be sold in thousand numbers now!

[TomZ]

Ah, but think of the view the first row passengers will have with the windows at the front of the aircraft.

TomZ

[Tophe]

ehehe Yes, so nice places: a million dollars per seat!

[zenrat]

Very good.

The front row of seats would have been great flying into the old Hong Kong airport.

[Nick]

Which Arab Sheik would buy one and convert it to a flying palace? It would have to have a gold hot tub, dance floor, couple of bedrooms, and a rear ramp for the fleet of luxury cars...

On a serious note I can see Qatar Airways and Pakistan International Airlines having a few for the Mecca run. You need some seriously big planes for the thousands of pilgrims that do the Hajj every year.

[Dizzyfugu]

Weird, but VERY cool! 

[zenrat]

Which Arab Sheik would buy one and convert it to a flying palace? It would have to have a gold hot tub, dance floor, couple of bedrooms, and a rear ramp for the fleet of luxury cars...

On a serious note I can see Qatar Airways and Pakistan International Airlines having a few for the Mecca run. You need some seriously big planes for the thousands of pilgrims that do the Hajj every year.

Arab Sheik, or former US President?

[Dizzyfugu]

I'd put my bet on a Russian oligarch... 

[scooter]

or former US President?

That stays airborne constantly, except to land in nations that don't have an extradition treaty for fuel and servicing?


I'd hate to think what steerage (economy-class) would be like on that thing.  Hopefully not

[NARSES2]

I was going to have to go to the optician's again before I looked at that head on ; now I really, really do have to go  That's got a really weird shape head on.

Wonderful Tom, just surprised no one has actually tried it 

[Old Wombat]

Looks a bit like a flying axolotl.