Boeing 747-400 (AirlinerTech Series, Vol. 10)

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• Improved 747 Models • 747-400 Variants • Technical Description

• 747-400 Roster • Advanced Engines • The World's Largest Airliner

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Griffon-Powered Mustangs - Volume 1 Item #SP034 Racing Bearcats and Corsairs - Volume 2 Item #SP035

WarbirdTech Series Consolidated B-24 Liberator - Volume 1 Item # SP464 Lockheed P-38 Lightning - Volume 2 Item # SP465 North American F-86 SabreJet Day Fighters - Volume 3 Item # SP466 Vought F4U Corsair - Volume 4 Item # SP467 North American P-51 Mustang - Volume 5 Item # SP468 Messerschmitt Me 262 Sturmvogel - Volume 6 Item # SP469 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress - Volume 7 Item # SP470 MD F-4 Gun-Nosed Phantoms - Volume 8 Item # SP471 McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle - Volume 9 Item # SP472 Lockheed SR-71NF-12 Blackbirds - Volume 10 Item # SP475 North American NA-16/AT-6/SNJ - Volume 11 Item # SP476 North American B-25 Mitchell- Volume 12 Item # SP477 Douglas A-l Skyraider - Volume 13 Item # SP478 Boeing B-29 Superfortress - Volume 14 Item # SP479 Northrop P-61 Black Widow - Volume 15 Item # SP480 Lockheed U-2 Dragon Lady - Volume 16 Item # SP009 Bell P-39/P-63 Airacobra & Kingcobra - Volume 17 Item # SP01 0 Republic F-l05 Thunderchief - Volume 18 Item # SP011 Boeing North American B-1 Lancer - Volume 19 Item # SP012 Fairchild-Republic A10A-l0 Warthog - Volume 20 Item # SP013 Boeing/BAe Harrier - Volume 21 Item # SP014 Douglas A-26 Invader - Volume 22 Item # SP016 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - Volume 23 Item # SP018 Convair B-36 Peacemaker - Volume 24 Item # SP019 Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk - Volume 25 Item # SP020 Royal Air Force Avro Vulcan - Volume 26 Item # SP023 Lockheed AH-56A Cheyenne - Volume 27 Item # SP027 English Electric Lightning - Volume 28 Item # SP028 Martin B-26 Marauder - Volume 29 Item # SP029 Boeing C-17A Globemaster 111- Volume 30 Item # SP040 Boeing F/A-18 Hornet - Volume 31 Item # SP041 Griffon-Powered Spitfires - Volume 32 Item # SP045 Grumman A-6 Intruder - Volume 33 Item # SP050 North American XB-70A Valkyrie - Volume 34 Item # SP056 Merlin-Powered Spitfires - Volume 35 Item # SP057

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Specialty Press 39966 Grand Avenue, North Branch, MN 55056. Phone: 800-895-4585 &651-277-1400 Fax: 651-277-1203 htlp:/Jwww.specialtypress.com Midland Publishing 4 Watling Drive, Hinkley, LE10 3EY. Phone 01455 254 450 Fax: 01455 233 737 htlp:/Jwww.midlandcountiessuperstore.com

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VOLUME 10

BOEING

By ROBERT F. DORR

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COPYRIGHT

© 2002

ROBERT F. DORR

Published by Specialty Press Publishers and Wholesalers 39966 Grand Avenue North Branch, MN 55056 United States of America (800) 895-4585 or (651) 277-1400 http://www.specialtypress.com Distributed in the UK and Europe by Midland Publishing 4 Watling Drive Hinckley LElO 3EY, England Tel: 01455 233 747 Fax: 01455233737 http://www.midlandcountiessuperstore.com ISBN 1-58007-055-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing. Material contained in this book is intended for historical and entertainment value only, and is not to be construed as usable for aircraft or component restoration, maintenance, or use. Printed in China

Title Page: Atlas Air was not the first user of the popular 747-400F freighter but it became the largest when it acquired Polar Air in 2001, and now hauls cargo in several other liveries in addition to its own. This jetliner is operating at California's Los Angeles International Airport in August 2001. (Sunil Gupta) Front Cover: This study of a Japan Airlines 747-400 from beneath provides an excellent view of some of the technical features of the aircraft. Note the complexity of the three-piece trailing edge flaps located inboard of the engines and the separate set of trailing-edge flaps outboard. We can also see detail of the leading-edge flaps and main landing gear. (Tom Pesch) Back Cover (Left Top): Illustrating an airliner with characters from the children's game Pokemon was a pleasing move by All Nippon Airways. This aircraft is Boeing 747-481, line number 979, c/n 25645, registered as JA8962. Unlike -400s in early operation on domestic routes, this aircraft's international configuration is equipped with winglets. (Alex Hrapunov) Back Cover (Right Top): This is the underside of the left wing ofa partially assembled 747-400 in the Everett factory, prior to installation of engines. The split pylon doors are in the open position. Each wing of the 747-400 weighs 33,000 pounds but would be heavier were it not for the counterbalancing influence of the pylon-mounted engines. Games c. Goodall) Back Cover (Right Lower): The -400's most widely-used power plant is the General Electric CF6-80C-B1F high bypass ratio turbofan engine, a derivative of the CF6-50E2 but with a shorter overall length, larger diameter fan, four-stage booster compressor, shorter combuster, core-mounted accessory gear box and engine accessories, and relocated engine mounts. (Boeing)

TABLE OF CONTENTS BOEING

747-400

Introduction

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A Word from the Author Chapter 1

Flying a 747-400

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Long Haul Mission in Boeing's Biggest Chapter 2

Why the 747-400 ?

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Improving Upon Aerial Success Chapter 3

747-400 Airlines

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Today and Tomorrow Color Section

Colorful Jumbos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

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A 875,000-pound Flying Canvas Chapter 4

747-400 Variants

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Main Models in Use Chapter 5

Technical Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 35 Walk-Around Check

Appendix A

747-400 Roster

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By The Numbers Appendix B

Significant Dates Key Dates in the History of the Boeing 747-400 BOEING

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INTRODUCTION A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR

v'" .~,.•"",~""he Boeing 747-400 is the ing prices, staggering delays, surly nience of new security measures.

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transformed version of the ,.. ,.L. airliner that changed the world. In many ways, it is a new aircraft rather than a development of the wide body "jumbo jet" that brought air travel to the everyday citizen. With an outer shell that dates to the mid-1980s and an interior that reflects a digital revolution and a new century, the 747-400 is a complex and smoothly functioning thing of beauty. Many regard the 747-400 as the most majestic flying machine plying the world's revenue routes. The aircraft is a fitting successor to the 747 "classic" airliner that came before it. In like manner, this volume is a follow-up to Volume 6 in the Airliner Tech series by Dennis R. Jenkins, which tells the story of the 747-100/200/300/SP series. When this volume was begun, the world's airlines already were parking and storing three-pilot jetliners to cut costs. By the time it was finished, they were beginning to park and store more four-~ngine jetliners-yes, even the stately 747400-for the same reason. Anyone looking at the future of air travel might wonder whether the future lie with any commercial aircraft powered by more than two engines, but Boeing is proceeding with the "Longer-Range 747-400" due in 2002, and its hopes are high. I started work on this monograph when the United States was at peace, Americans were prospering, and air travel was increasingly becoming a hassle. To us frequent flyers, the air travel year 2000 seemed the worst experience anyone could have-crowded flights, soar-

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employees, lost baggage. No matter what happened, things would have to get better. Briefly, they did. A non-stop 747-400 flight from Chicago to Tokyo, which inspired the first chapter, was a delight. However, while his book was under way, the United States was attacked. Nineteen men transformed our beloved airliners into lethal missiles; they were used to kill 3,000 innocent people. In the aftermath of the attack of September 11, 2001, air travel slumped badly, and then began to improve a.little, but not much. At the start of 2002, it was more a hassle than ever-inexperienced leisure travelers deterred by their fear of terrorism, seasoned frequent flyers equally deterred by the inconve-

Now, the United States was at war, Americans saw their economy in a tailspin, and air travel, once so glamorous and exciting in an earlier age, was now more an ordeal than ever. The 747-400 continued to travel the globe hauling people and cargoes. However, some -400s joined uneconomical 747 "classics" that were basking in the sun in boneyards in the American Southwest too costly to yield a profit for airlines experiencing one of the worst slumps ever. The 747-400 was at a crossroads when this volume went to the printer, and its future was waiting to be defined. Meanwhile, tumult in the airline industry meant that information about any airline or airliner was in danger of being out-of-date before

The 747-400's distinctive winglet seen from the passenger's viewpoint. This shot of a Singapore Airlines craft was taken over Mount Everest, but the world's highest mountain eluded the camera while the winglet stood out distinctively. (Jim Winchester)

AIRLINER TECH ..

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The enormous bulk of the 747-400 fuselage contrasts dramatically with the high-incidence, relatively thin wing when viewed from the front, moments after takeoff. This is a KLM aircraft. (Andre Ran) the printer's ink was dry. This book contains plenty of information about the ownership and operation of the 747-400, and much of it will remain valid. Some of it will change, faster than in better times. A note about Boeing designations: The type is obvious: 707, 727, 737, 747, and so forth. Next are a hyphen and the series number "-400." But while 747-400 is the correct, generic term for every aircraft in this series, each can be described more precisely by replacing the "00" with a customer code: "22" for United Airlines, for example. Thus, a typical aircraft belonging to United can be called a 747-400 (generic) or a 747-422 (specific), and either term is correct. Occasionally, a letter suffix also appears, the 747-400M being a "Combi," the 747-400F a freighter. Numbers identify every aircraft. Production of the 747-400 began with the 696th aircraft in the larger 747 series. After the 721st, every 747 being manufactured was also a 747-400 and the series now extends to at least the l,272nd. This number, identifying the sequence of the aircraft on the assembly line, is called a "line number" and is usually not abbreviated.

Every Boeing aircraft (whether 737,747, or another model) is assigned a five-digit manufacturer's serial number in a series that only recently reached 30,000. The 696th aircraft in the 747 production run was given manufacturer's serial number 23719. I have followed longstanding practice and referred to the manufacturer's serial number as a constructor's number (not construction number), spelled out when first encountered but otherwise abbreviated c/n. Every civilian aircraft has a civil registry number assigned by the authorities of the country where it is licensed to fly. The civil registry number can change if the aircraft changes owners, or even countries. American civil registry numbers begin with "N." Using the formula described above, the first Boeing 747-400 (or 747-451) was assigned line number 696, constructor's number (c/n) 23719, and civil registry N661US. This aircraft first flew in 1988 and flies today with Northwest Airlines. Again, as with the earlier volume on the "classics," Boeing did not assist in the preparation of this book. Boeing provided photos, its

BOEING

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history office unearthed documents, and the manufacturer provided facilities to a photographer whose work appears here. However, Boeing could make no one available to be interviewed, to review the manuscript, to make suggestions, or to fill out our roster of 747-400 aircraft, which is current through line number 1203, but has gaps afterward. Again, this was a dramatic contrast to Airbus, which is always eager to assist with books about its products. Again, too, it must be said again that an invaluable resource for research on individual aircraft is Jet Airliner Production List: Volume 1Boeing, by John Roach and A. B. Tony Eastwood (Middlesex: The Aviation Hobby Shop, 1999). On the pages that follow, readers will get representative information about the 747-400 fleet, including a roster of airframes, or "hulls," as some call them, but Roach and Eastwood list every Boeing jetliner, its registration, who operates it, and various significant events in its history. Their work is a superb companion to the technical and pictorial material appearing here. The author is responsible for any errors that appear here, but this II

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book would have been impossible without help from many, including Boeing historian Tom Lubbesmeyer and international airline captains Robert Beavis, Robert L. Burns, Cort de Peyster, Dennis Hoffman, and Darrel Whitcomb. Among the fraternity, those who

"Michael Shayler," Michael Stroud, Nick Stroud, Kirsten Tedesco, Dave Willis, and Jim Winchester. This book is dedica ted to Marc Reid, who is finally able to straighten up and fly right. Robert F. Dorr Oakton, Virginia

helped make this book possible are Colin Clark, Bill Crimmins, Michael France, James C. Goodall, Sunil Gupta, George W. Hamlin, Joseph G. Handelman, Rob Hewson, Dennis R. Jenkins, Jim Kippen, Jon Lake, Nate Leong, Jason S. MacLean, Al Mongeon, Tom Pesch, Andre Ran,

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A two-view plan drawing of the 747-400 from side and top provides an appreciation for the size and shape of the aircraft. The 747-400 introduced a new wing with greater span than the wing of "classic" 747 models. The fuselage length of the Dash Four Hundred is fully three times the length of a Convair 240 propeller-driven transport. (United Airlines)

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747-400

FLYING

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LONG HUAL MISSION IN BOEING'S BIGGEST

he aircraft snuggled up to the jetbridge at Chicago ,~~ O'Hare International Airport is a Boeing 747-400, an up-todate and decidedly high-tech version of the "jumbo" jetliner that brought air travel to the everyday citizen. It's a distinctive aircraft. It stands apart from other airliner models with its 6-foot (loS-meter) winglets, those upturned wingtips designed to enhance fuel efficiency (found on nearly all 747-400s) and with its stretched upper deck (SUD) which extends the upper-fuselage hump by 23 feet 4 inches (found on all 747-400s except freighters, but on some -200 and all -300 models as well). To passengers loitering at the gate and peering out toward the aircraft, other distinguishing features of the Dash Four Hundred are not readily apparent. From outside, they cannot see the new structural alloys or the new carbon brake units. They cannot see the high-tech flight deck where a flight crew of just two people will rely on a digital "glass cockpit" to fly this SOO,OOO-pound (362,SOO-kilogram) leviathan. The 747-400's two-crew cockpit differs significantly from the twocrew cockpit of the 757, 767, or 777. The four throttle levers in the center console are the immediate tip-off. Of the four Boeing jetliners coming off the production line today, the 747400 is alone in having four engines and it has a choice of General Electric (GE), Pratt & Whitney (P & W), or Rolls-Royce (R-R) power. This does not fully explain why the cockpits of modern jetliners from the same manufacturer are not inter-

changeable. The short answer is that check the flight plan and weather for Boeing resisted the temptation to today's 6,274-mile (5,453-nautical install a common flight deck on all .mile, or 10,097-kilometer) nonstop of its major airliners, preferring flight from Chicago to Tokyo. Today, instead to give the 747-400 a few an extra pair of pilots is coming extra bells and whistles. The aboard because of the distance and 747-400's two pilots were trained duration of this trip. The rule is that specifically to fly the 747-400 while three pilots must be on board; one is 757 and 767 pilots routinely fly both for relief duty on a flight longer than of those aircraft. Compared to other eight hours. Four pilots are required aircraft, the electronic flight instru- for a flight longer than twelve hours; mentation system (EFIS) of the 747- this includes a complete, two-pilot 400 uses larger cathode ray terminal relief crew. To most airlines, this require(CRT) screens that provide more attitude and navigational data in digital ment means the obvious-carrying an extra captain, an extra first offiform than on the other models. Arriving at O'Hare, the captain cer, or both. Some, however, follow and first officer check in at Opera- the practice of Air New Zealand of tions, sign in, and check their com- having a second officer fill the third puters for schedules and the latest crew position when three pilots are company information. Then they aboard. This means that a co-pilot

The magnificent lines of the 747-400 are evident in this view of Air-India's fourth Boeing 747-437 (VT-ESP), named AJANTA, which made its first revenue flight from New York to New Delhi to Mumgai on June 30, 1994. As the l,034th aircraft in the 747 series and assigned cln 27214, AJANTA displays the obvious recognition features: winglets at the ends of the extended wings and the stretched upper deck inherited from the 747-300. Not seen from this exterior shot at London's Heathrow International Airport in 1999 is the revolutionary flight deck that enabled airlines to operate this "jumbo" jetliner with just two pilots. (Jim Winchester)

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Sucking in its wheels while climbing in the pattern at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport in August 1997, N195UA is a United Airlines 747-422 (c/n 26899/ line number 1113). The complex, double-bogie main landing gear/ wing spoilers/ and leading- and trailing-edge flaps are all new metal-the manufacturer delivered this aircraft to United on May 23/ 1997. United had some interest in the 747-400 having the same flight deck as the airline's 757 an.d 767 models/ which are flown interchangeably by pilots having identical training, but the builder eschewed cockpit commonality and gave the two-pilot Dash Four Hundred a unique set of instruments and controls. (Tom Pesch)

So where are the winglets? Well, they aren't found on 747-4000 (jar "domestic") models, used for short-distance flights. These aircraft were delivered with the short wing and without winglets, so that externally they appear identical to the 747-300 model except for minor changes in engine nacelle shape. Internally, however, they have the two-pilot cockpit and other modernized features of the Dash Four Hundred series. This aircraft is All Nippon Airways' 747-4810 registered as JA8959 (c/n 25646, line number 952) which made its first flight on December 18/ 1992 and is used for high-density flights within Japan. (George Hamlin)

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fills in the reserve position/ which in effect/ gives a three-pilot crew to a two-pilot aircraft. The airline industrts standard is that the pilots should be on board 45 minutes before departure time. Since boarding begins 45 minutes prior to pushback time on international flights, the passengers may already be boarding. In reality/ pilots prefer to settle into their ergonomic seats before the passengers arrive. International flights like this one require more time/ anyway. The pilots must meet quickly with the flight attendants, or at least the head attendant (called the purser by some carriers) for a quick briefing. Then they must program the flight computer/ talk to maintenance if there are any discrepancies on the aircraft, determine how to depart the airport, and insure that the aircraft is properly loaded. The first officer will also do a walk around inspection of the aircraft. Passengers coming aboard the Dash Four Hundred may not notice/ but this aircraft has larger/ fixedshelf luggage bins than earlier 747s. Ceiling light is more indirect and subdued and creates the illusion of a wider passenger cabin although the internal fuselage dimensions are/ in fact/ the same as previous 747 models. The 747-400 uses tougher/ graphite-based materials in panels and bulkheads. All materials on the interior of the aircraft are of plastic or graphite materials that meet or exceed the requirements of fire/ smoke/ and toxicity regulations established after earlier 747 models were manufactured. At 31/285 cubic feet (876 cubic meters)/ the 747-400 has the largest passenger interior volume of any commercial airlinerthe equivalent of more than three houses each measuring 1/500 square feet (135 square meters). Once the passengers are onboard the Dash Four Hundred/ a

fueler (typically a contractor, not an airline employee) will give the captain the fuel sheet stating how much jet fuel was put aboard. This is for comparison with cockpit instruments and it is rare for the fuel sheet and the cockpit instrument not to jibe. When they do not, the conflicting figures must be resolved-in an extreme case, by actually measuring fuel levels in each tank-before pushback can be authorized. In addition, as part of the starting process the captain has to sign a flight release. Prior to pushback, a mechanic will give the captain a flight release form as part of the paperwork for the flight.. This is his certification that the flight is in all aspects ready and legal to go. According to one captain, "This is the most important thing a captain does." In the airline world, especially the world of long-range heavies like the 747-400, the man or woman in the cockpit's left seat enjoys enormous authority-but at the cost of shouldering more responsibility than most mortals. OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

While the captain and first officer run through preparations and checklists, dozens of other people are readying the 747-400 for flight. For the Dash Four Hundred, it's entirely unremarkable to have every seat filled on a run favored by business travelers. A typical aircraft (using a United Airlines 747-422 model in "Sleeper seat" configuration as an example) will carry 418 passengers: 14 in first class, 80 in business class, and 270 in economy. (United's 747422 "Genesis Seat" aircraft have 18 in first class, 84 in business, and 270 in economy. United also has some aircraft configured to carry 14 in first class, 73 in business, and 260 out back.) For a flight with a typical gate-

WHEEL. WELl.. DOORS----~

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MAIN LANDING GEAR AND DOORS

Once into the air, the 747-400 flight system cues the pilot to bring up the landing gear at the appropriate speed. While retracted in the air, the main gear trucks are tilted, forward wheels up. Wing gear trucks tilt approximately 52 degrees and body gear 7 degrees. (Boeing) VENT SUltGE TANI:

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