Boeing 747 facts for kids

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Boeing 747
British Airways Boeing 747-400 taking off
Role Wide-body, long-range jet airliner
National origin United States
Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes
First flight February 9, 1969
Introduction January 22, 1970 with Pan Am
Status Being used by airlines
Primary users British Airways
United Airlines
Produced 1968–present
Number built 1,458 as of December 2012
747-200: US$39 million (1976)
747-300: US$83 million (1982)
747-8I: US$351.4 million
747-8F: US$352 million
Variants Boeing 747SP
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-8
Boeing VC-25
Boeing E-4
Developed into Boeing YAL-1
Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter

The Boeing 747 is a jet airliner. It is made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Boeing 747 has more than one aisle, which means it is a wide-body aircraft. It is often called the Jumbo Jet or Queen of the Skies. The Boeing 747 is one of the easiest planes in the world to recognise. It was the first wide-body aircraft ever made. The first type of 747 was two and a half times the size of the Boeing 707. The Boeing 747 made its first flight for an airline in 1970. The 747 could carry more people than any other aircraft for 37 years, until the Airbus A380 was made.

The 747 is a double deck plane. It can carry people, cargo and many other things. Boeing designed the 747's upper deck to be a first class lounge or just extra seats. They also designed the upper deck so that the aircraft could be changed into a cargo plane easily. This was done by removing seats and putting in a cargo door at the front of the plane. Boeing did this because they thought that supersonic airliners would become much more popular than the 747 and other subsonic airliners. However, they thought that subsonic cargo planes would always be popular. It was thought that the 747 would become unpopular after 400 were sold. However, 1,000 planes had been made by 1993, so it stayed popular. By September 2012, 1,448 aircraft had been built. 81 747-8s were still waiting to be built.

The 747-400 is one of the fastest airliners being used today. It usually flies at Mach 0.85–0.855 (up to 570 mph, 920 km/h). It can fly for 7,260 nautical miles (8,350 mi or 13,450 km). The newest version of the 747, the 747-8, is now being made.








The idea for the 747 was thought of in the 1960s. Jets like the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 had made it easy to travel long distances. Juan Trippe from Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), asked Boeing to build a plane which was more than two times bigger than the Boeing 707. At this time, airports were very busy. Trippe thought that a big plane could help make them quieter.


Iran Air Boeing 747-200 cockpit Sharifi
An Iran Air 747-200 cockpit

In April 1966, Pan Am bought 25 747-100 planes. The order cost US$525 million. Since Pan Am was the launch customer, Pan Am had a big say in the design and making of the 747. No other airline before then or since then has been able to have so much influence over a plane.


The design that Boeing made for the Air Force in 1963 was not used for the 747. However, Boeing made some new things for the Air Force which were used in the 747. The first design had two full decks. However, in 1966, this was changed to only one deck. The cockpit was put above the deck, which made a "bulge". There was a small space behind the cockpit which people could sit in. At first, it was a "lounge" area with no seats.

JT9D on 747

Planes as big as the 747 needed high-bypass turbofan engines. High-bypass turbofans could make twice the power of turbojets. It also used a lot less fuel. General Electric made the first of these engines. However, it was making the engines for the C-5 Galaxy. It did not make engines for airliners until later. Pratt & Whitney was also working on this type of engine. In 1966, Boeing, Pan Am and Pratt & Whitney designed a new engine, the JT9D, for the 747.

Boeing used some special devices to make the plane make more lift. This was done so that the 747 could take off from shorter runways. The 747 has a lot of flaps on the wing. The flaps make the wings bigger by 21 percent. They also make 90 percent more lift when they are used.

Boeing tried to give the 747 to Pan Am by the end of 1969. This meant that Boeing only had 28 months to design the aircraft. The people who worked on the 747 had the nickname "The Incredibles".


Boeing Factory 2002
747s being made at the Boeing Everett Factory

Boeing did not have a factory big enough to make the new plane. Boeing thought about putting their factory in 50 different cities. They eventually decided to build their factory in Seattle, near Everett, Washington. Boeing bought the factory in June 1966.


Development and testing


Boeing 747 prototype

On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was finished. People from the 26 airlines that had ordered the 747 were also there. The 747 first flew on February 9, 1969. Its pilots were Jack Waddell and Brien Wygle. There was a small problem with the flaps, but the 747 handled well.

Boeing 747 Museum main gear

The testing was delayed because of some problems with the JT9D engines. For example, the engines stalled if the throttles were moved too quickly. This meant that 747s could not be delivered for many more months. 20 planes were stuck at the factory while they were waiting on engines. On December 13, 1969 the test plane was being taken to have some changes made to it. The pilot, Ralph C. Cokely landed too early and did not reach the runway. One of the landing gears was ripped off, and two of the engines were damaged. However, Boeing took the 747 to the 28th Paris Air Show in mid-1969. There, the public saw the 747 for the first time.

Pat Nixon in first 747

Designing the 747 and building the new factory cost a lot of money. This meant that Boeing had to borrow a lot of money from a bank. Just before the first aircraft was finished, Boeing had to keep asking for more money. If Boeing was not given this money, the company could have collapsed. Boeing was in over $2 billion in debt. Allen said, "It was really too large a project for us." However, the 747 program was a success. Boeing was the only company to make very big planes for many years.

Use by airlines

The very first time a 747 was used by an airline was on January 22, 1970. Pan Am used it to fly from New York to London. The flight was supposed to happen on the evening of January 21. However, the engines on the aircraft overheated. Pan Am had to find another plane, which took six hours.

Boeing 747 spiral staircase

The 747 did quite well when it first began to be used. Some people thought that airports would not be able to handle such a big plane. However, they could. There were some problems, but they were quite small and they were fixed quickly. After Pan Am began to use the plane, other airlines began to use their 747s. Boeing thought that a lot of 747s would be sold because airlines wanted a plane which could fly for a long time, not because it was so big.

The recession of 1969-1970 was very bad for Boeing. For over a year after September 1970, it only sold two 747s. None were sold to an American airline for over three years. Some airlines did not have enough passengers to fly the 747. Therefore, they replaced them with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. American Airlines eventually only used its 747s to carry cargo. In 1983, AA gave its 747s to Pan Am. Pan Am gave American Airlines some smaller planes. Delta Air Lines also stopped using its 747s after many years. Delta would later merge with Northwest Airlines, which operates 747s.

Later 747s had a longer deck at the top

Flights which landed in smaller cities became quite usual in the 1980s. This was bad for the 747. However, many airlines still used the 747 to fly across the Pacific.

Better types of 747

The first type of 747 was called the 747-100. After this, Boeing made the −100B, which has a higher MTOW (maximum takeoff weight), and the −100SR (Short Range). The -100SR could carry more passengers. A higher MTOW means that the plane can carry more fuel and fly further. In 1971, Boeing made the −200. It had better engines and a higher MTOW. Airliner and cargo versions of the −200 were made. The 747SP (special performance) was also made. It began being used in 1976.


Air New Zealand B747-400 ZK-SUI at LHR

In 1985, Boeing began to design the 747-400. This type has a glass cockpit. This meant that only two people were needed in the cockpit. It also had new engines and a new cabin. The workers who made the 747-400 were not very experienced and Boeing wanted them to work for longer than they needed to. This meant that there were some problems with the first 747-400s. The −400 began being used by airlines in 1989.

In 1991, 1,087 passengers were taken to Israel on a 747. This was a part of Operation Solomon. The Antonov An-225 cargo transport is the world's biggest plane. The Hughes H-4 Hercules has the biggest wingspan, but it only flew once.

More developments

Japan Airlines 747-400 Economy cabin
747-400 economy cabin.

Since the 747-400 was made, many more types of 747 have been suggested. Boeing said that they would make the 747-500X and -600X in 1996. These new planes would have cost more than US$5 billion to design and make. Airlines did not like it enough, so Boeing decided not to make the planes. In 2000, Boeing said it would make a 747X to rival the Airbus A3XX. However, airlines did not like the 747X enough, so it was cancelled. A year later, Boeing began concentrating on the Sonic Cruiser. The Sonic Cruiser was stopped, so Boeing then focused on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Some of the ideas that Boeing had for the 747X were used on the 747-400ER.


On November 14, 2005, Boeing said it had changed the name of the 747 Advanced to the Boeing 747-8. The last 747-400s were made in 2009. On February 8, 2010, the 747-8 Freighter made its first flight. Cargolux got the first 747-8 in 2011. Eventually, the 747 will be replaced by "Y3".


Boeing 747 cutaway
Boeing 747-200 design.

The Boeing 747 is a big, wide-body airliner. It has four engines on the wings, and the wings are swept at 37.5 degrees, so the 747 can fly very fast. The sweep also means that the 747 does not need any special hangars.

Cargolux B747-400F
Cargolux 747-400F with the cargo door open.



The 747 has special flaps, which allow the 747 to fly slowly and land on normal runways. A 747 can carry a fifth engine on the wing, but it cannot be used.

Different types of Boeing 747



Pan Am Boeing 747 at Zurich Airport in May 1985
Pan Am was the first airline to use the 747.





In 1986, 2 -100BSR with stretched upper deck (SUD) from the -300 series were delivered to JAL. It was the last -100SR/BSR ever built. The last delivery was to JAL, in September 1986. There were a total of 29 -100SR/BSR made.




SyrianAir 747SP






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