For an aircraft that very nearly never made it to mass-production, the 747 – of which a remarkable 1,418 were built as of December 2009, with 281 of the 747s of all variants still flying – became the iconic image of jet travel for the masses, in what became known as the era of the jumbo-jet.

And while that era and the accolade of ruling the roost as the largest commercial aircraft ever made was finally surpassed some 35 years later by Airbus’ doubledecker A380, it did little to change the fact the B747 had firmly established itself as the backbone of the air cargo industry. And that fact was not lost on anybody that chilly February morning standing on the berm overlooking Boeing’s Paine Field waiting for the reborn giant to take to the skies.

Although a 10 am flight window had been subverted by the low clouds that typically smother the Pacific Northwest in winter, Mother Nature eventually cooperated and the warm sun spilled out onto Paine Field, foretelling what was to be a winning day for Boeing’s biggest bird.

The vintage T-33 chase planes flying overhead signaled that RC501 was about to begin its take-off roll and with aT-33 at each wing, the 747-8 hummed down runway 34L with 266,000 poundsof thrust accelerating the erstwhileearth-bound airframe to its 152-knotrotation speed and with its nose geargently rising off the runway, Boeing’slargest commercial plane ever made wasairborne and a new era took flight.

Most remarkable to all standing only a few hundred metres from the runway, was just how quiet this four-engine behemoth was as it traded runway for open sky. This is one of several key selling points for Boeing and for GE, whose next generation engines provide the raw power for the 140-tonne capacity freighter.

A new aeroplane
While it’s tempting to see the 747- 8F as simply a dressed-up 747-400, it couldn’t be further from the truth, insists Boeing. “The 747-8 is anything, but old,” emphasises Tim Bader, Boeing 747 communications. “While it maintains the classic 747 shape, everything about the aeroplane is new and state-of-the-art. It features new engines, new materials, new wing design and new avionics. It is a new aeroplane.”

And it is also an aeroplane that came into existence in an atypical way. For the first time in Boeing history, a commercial freighter preceded its passenger variant. “New aeroplane development traditionally has been driven by passenger needs, with freighter aeroplane variants coming some time after the initial development,” said Boeing’s regional director, Cargo Marketing, Kai Heinicke. The 747-8 Intercontinental passenger version will follow the -8 freighter by about one year.

Boeing said it studied the market feasibility of a new 747, “for some time” adding that it worked with operators to establish their requirements for an incrementally larger 747. “By working together with customers and applying the innovative new technologies of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing created the 747-8 family.”

And with that, the new 747 was launched on 14 November 2005, with firm orders for 18 747-8 Freighters including: 10 from launch customer Cargolux and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines. All told, Boeing has now secured 108 orders for the 747-8, of which 76 are orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have ordered the 747-8 Freighter.

And because so much of the technology was from the 787, Boeing specifically chose the -8 designation to underscore the technology connection between the new, largely carbon fibre 787 and the new 747.

But one key difference is that the B747 utilises only minimal carbon fibre and instead relies on more traditional construction and materials. At this point, the only composite fuselage aeroplane is the 787, which Boeing designed to one day enable the development of a freighter variant, but has not yet begun that development process.

“If you were to use the 777 as an indicator, we might expect that a 787 Freighter could be introduced somewhere around 15 years after initial passenger deliveries. That would put us into the nextdecade sometime,” Heinicke said.

Constructed on the former production line for the 747-400, Bader said several modifications were made to the production line to accommodate its increased size and provide production improvements. “We have added a new automated drilling spar assembly tool, which replaces the hand drilling done on the -400. We also increased the size of several tools and systems (ie hydraulics) to handle the aeroplane’s new dimensions.

“The factory walls in final assembly were strengthened to handle the new lifts from wing-stub join and wing-stub seal. Finally, the systems installation for the aft fuselage was moved into the final assembly bay (40-22) providing added efficiencies and shrinking the factory footprint from bays 40-23 for the -400.”

The 747 production rate is roughly 1.5 per month and once the Intercontinental goes into production it will also be flowed through the same production line. Suppliers have begun producing some parts for the 747-8 Intercontinental, mainly floor beams and frames, said Bader. The assembly of the first 747-8 Intercontinental at the factory in Everett, Wash. is scheduled to begin around mid 2010.

But adding a note of caution, Bader said: “As with all new aeroplanes, 747-8 Intercontinental assembly will present some challenges. However, we have plans in place to manage the introduction of the new aeroplane into the production line.” The first 747-8 Intercontinental will leave the factory early 2011 and the anticipated delivery will be in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The value proposition
The new 747-8F promises a number of things that in this post-crisis, oil-price sensitive, green-conscious environment are surely to be very attractive to many cargo carriers, and have evidently struck a chord with the twenty customers that have placed firm orders.

This includes a noise footprint that is a whopping 30 per cent smaller than the 747-400 with the aircraft meeting ICAO Chapter 4 and is QC2 for both arrival and departure.

A new raked wing based on the 787 Dreamliner is more aerodynamic which helps boost efficiency by 7 per cent. The redesigned wing, advanced engines and other developments translate to a 17 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency and a corresponding reduction in carbon emissions. Boeing also says the aircraftis 52 per cent below CAEP/6 limits for NOx emissions.

At a length of 76.3 metres, the new generation 747 is 5.6 metres longer than the 747-400 Freighter. This ‘stretch’ – just before and just aft of the wing – provides customers with 16 per cent more revenue cargo volume compared with its predecessor, for a maximum structural payload capacity of 140 tonnes. That translates to an additional four main-deck pallets and three lower-hold pallets for a potential cargo gain of 20 tonnes, over a distance of 1,000 nautical miles. The freighter’s maximum range is 4,390 nautical miles (8,130 km).

And with the same nose-door loading capability as the 747-400, the -8F can handle industry-standard three-metre high pallets and real-world cargo density capability at 159 kg/m3.

“The aeropl ane upholds it s predecessors legendary efficiency, with nearly equivalent costs and 16 per cent lower tonne-mile costs of any freighter, giving operators unmatched profit potential,” Boeing said.

A new flight deck incorporates the latest technology used in the 787, but importantly also preserves the operational commonality with the 747- 400s, a key selling point for carriers with existing 747 fleets.

Freighter market
In its latest 20-year market forecast, Boeing says there will be a demand for 830 large freighters (above 80 tonnes capacity), of which 490 will be newproduction models, such as the 747-8 Freighter. However, this large freighter category also includes the 777 Freighter and any new large freighter introduced by a competitor, said Heinicke adding that Boeing was not able to to provide specific order expectations for the 747-8 Freighter.

But with an air cargo industry in the very fragile beginnings of a recovery from last year’s global recession, new orders are not expected to come flooding in for this new freighter product in the short term. “The market has been challenging for everyone, the air-cargo market included,” said Bader.

“We continue to listen to and work with our customers in this dynamic market. The 747-8 Freighter has been able to weather the current market thanks in large part to the value and competitive advantage the aeroplane offers our strong customer base, all of which are leaders in air cargo,” he said. Orders for two aircraft were cancelled by Guggenheim Aviation earlier this year, but the fall-out from the crisis appears to be limited to only these two losses.

Boeing projects losses in excess of $2 billion due to the production issues and delays, on top of development costs that analysts estimate at some $4 billion for the aircraft that has a $300 million list price. Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney offered assurance last month that if Boeing can reach a target of about 350 total sales of the 747-8, “there will be no problem with profitability.” But at the Singapore Air Show recently, Boeing’s marketing VP Randy Tinseth told Dow Jones that given the mounting charges, making a profit on the 747-8 will be “a huge challenge.”

It’s also not clear what long-term impact last year’s devastation will have on the industry as a wide swath of dedicated freighter capacity was parked and an estimated 18 of the 747-400 freighters remain parked as at January 2010.

Additionally, carriers like Air France- KLM made major revisions to their cargo business, shifting their freighters to subsidiary Martinair while relying strictly on the substantial belly capacity of their passenger fleet. Air France even went as far as to sell off two of its new 777 freighters before even taking delivery of aircraft.

“It’s difficult to project what changes might be in the offing, but one result of the recession is that it provides continued proof that operators need to fly the most flexible and profitable aeroplanes possible,” said Heinicke.

“Of the number of freighter aeroplanes parked during the recession, the older aeroplanes are not as likely to return to service as the 18 freighters in the 747- 400 series that are currently inactive. Efficiency will continue to increase in importance as carriers examine their costs and seek to reduce their cost per tonne-kilometer,” he said.

Continuing pressure to improve efficiency, driven by pressure on air cargo yields, and increasingly stringent environmental regulations (for both emissions and noise) will push airlines to modernise their fleets, added Heinicke.

“In the same way we saw carriers move from the 747-200F to the 747-400F, we will see them move from the 747-400F to the 747-8F. Good examples of 747- 400F operators who have already ordered the 747-8F are Cargolux, NCA, Cathay Pacific, Atlas Air, Korean Air and Volga- Dnepr/AirBridgeCargo.”

As for the passenger variant, the 747-8 Intercontinental has not been met with the same interest as the freighter version, with only 32 firm orders, even prompting speculation last year that it would not make it into production. Launch customer Lufthansa ordered the bulk of the -8Is with 20 on firm order and another 20 options. But the programme was given a boost earlier this year when Korean placed an order for five.

“We are seeing increasing interest in the 747-8 Intercontinental,” said Bader. “Conversations with customers for both the 747-8 Intercontinental, as well as the Freighter, are ongoing. The recent order by Korean Air is an indication of the interest in the aeroplane and a validation of the 400- to 500-seat market,” he added.

The 747-8I also gives belly cargo operators a nice win fall in terms of additional capacity as it features 26 per cent more cargo volume – 161.5 cu m including seven pallets and 16 LD-1 containers plus bulk storage of 18.1 cu m for a total revenue volume of 110.3 cu m – compared with the 747-400 passenger aircraft.

But the best marketing for the 747-8 will come about when launch customer Cargolux begins operating the new aircraft later this year. “It is always advantageous to have an aeroplane inoperation to show its success to potential customers/operators. Ultimately, it will be this success and the demand for highefficiencyfreighters to meet customerdemand that will drive orders for the747-8F beyond those currently booked,”said Heinicke.

The testing phase
At the end of the day, the big bird returned from its successful first flight of just under four hours, following a route over Western Washington, where it underwent tests for basic handling qualities and engine performance. The aircraft reached a cruising altitude of 17,000 feet (5,181 m) and a speed of up to 230 knots, or about 426 km per hour. The flight was the first of more than 1,600 flight hours in the test programme for the newest member of the Boeing freighter family.

“It was a real privilege to be at the controls of this great aeroplane on its first flight, representing the thousands of folks who made today possible,” said Boeing’s chief 747 pilot, Mark Feuerstein. “The aeroplane performed as expected and handled just like a 747-400, any pilot who has ever flown a 747-400 could step into the plane and fly it,” he added.

“It was a great day, a big day for a big aeroplane – not just because of its incredible legacy, but for the future,” Feuerstein added.

“This truly is a great day for The Boeing Company and the 747 programme,” added Mo Yahyavi, 747 program general manager and vice president, Boeing Commercial Aeroplanes. “It’s the culmination of the hard work and dedication of our employees, suppliers and customers. While there is still much to do, I am excited to begin the flight-test programme, which will demonstrate the capabilities of this aeroplane.”

“The 747-8 Freighter continues the leadership of the 747 Freighter families, which carries more than half of the world’s air freight, making it the standard of the air cargo industry,” Yahyavi said.

The 747-8 Freighter will transition its testing programme to Moses Lake, Washington and Palmdale, California, where the other two test aircraft will join it in the coming month, said Bader. This is the first time a test programme has been spread across two locations, necessitated by the flurry of activities centred around getting the much delayed 787 Dreamliner to increasingly frustrated customers.

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The power within

The key in part, to much of the B747-8s vastly improved efficiency and environmental credentials lies in its ultra-modern engine, manufactured by General Electric.

The GEnx-2B engine, with 66,500 lbf (296 kN) of thrust, is the first GEnx engine to fly on a new aircraft for Boeing. Later this year, the GEnx-1B engine is expected to take its first flight powering the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

While typically carriers are given a choice of at least a couple of different engine’s to choose from, only one engine type is being offered for the 747-8 because of limited market size for the freighter. “Each engine installation on an airplane requires a large investment by both Boeing and the engine company for design, testing, certification and support. The market for the 747-8 is not large enough for Boeing, the engine manufacturer and our customers to absorb the cost of more than one engine supplier,” according to Boeing 747 communications spokesman, Tim Bader.

Optimized for the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, the GEnx-2B engine shares a common core and 80 per cent of the line-replaceable units with the GEnx-1B. The GEnx is the fastest selling engine in GE’s history with about 1,300 engines on order and more than 400 of these orders are for the GEnx-2B engine.

Environmental plus points
Based on the architecture of the GE90, the GEnx engine will succeed GE’s CF6 engine and compared to the CF6 engine, the GEnx-2B engine is 13 per cent more fuel efficient according to GE, which translates to 13 per cent less CO2.

“The engine achieves these improvements with aerodynamic advancements that enable higher pressures and improved energy extraction from a more compact core architecture that has significantly fewer parts.”

“The GEnx’s design will also dramatically reduce NOx gases as much as 60 per cent below today’s regulatory limits and other regulated gases as much as 90 per cent,” GE said.

But most noticeable to those standing nearby when the B747-8F takes-off is the shear quietness of the engines. Based on the ratio of decibels to pounds of thrust, the GEnx will also be the quietest engine GE has produced due to the large, more efficient fan blades that operate at a slower tip speed, resulting in about 30 per cent lower noise levels. The GEnx will be the world’s only jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of carbon fibre composites.

“The first flight of the GEnx-powered Boeing 747-8 aircraft is the culmination of about five years of engine design, development and testing at GE,” said Tom Brisken, general manager of theGEnx program.

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Birth of the 747

The 747’s humble start as an also-ran in a contest for a military transport plane is by now legendary. In 1963, the US Air Force started a series of study projects on a very large transport aircraft capable of carrying “outsized” cargo. These studies led to initial requirements for the CX-Heavy Logistics System (CX-HLS) that included a load capacity of 81,600 kg and a payload bay 5.18 metres wide by 4.11 metres high and 100 feet (30.5m) long with access through doors at the front and rear.

Featuring only four engines, the design also required new engine designs with greatly increased power and better fuel economy.

On 18 May 1964, airframe proposals arrived from Boeing, Douglas, General Dynamics, Lockheed and Martin Marietta; while engine proposals were submitted by GE Aviation, Curtiss- Wright and Pratt & Whitney. From this group Boeing, Douglas and Lockheed were given additional study contracts for the airframe, along with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney for the engines.

Ultimately in 1965 Lockheed’s aircraft design and General Electric’s engine design were selected for the new C-5 Galaxy transport, which was the largest military aircraft in the world at the time.

But the loss of the military contract coincided with a time period in which air travel was taking off as an affordable means of long distance transport for the masses, based largely on the hugely successful Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. But larger capacity aircraft were desperately needed to meet surging demand and congested airports. Even before it lost the CX-HLS contract, Boeing was pressed by Juan Trippe, president of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am), one of its most important airline customers, to build a passenger aircraft more than twice the size of the 707.

In 1965, Joe Sutter – who became known as the ‘Father of the 747’ – was transferred from Boeing’s 737 development team to manage the studies for a new airliner, already assigned the model number 747. Sutter initiated a design study with Pan Am and other airlines, in order to better understand their requirements. At the time, it was widely thought that the 747 would eventually be superseded by supersonic aircraft.

Boeing responded by designing the 747 so that it could be adapted easily to carry freight and remain in production even if sales of the passenger version declined. In the freighter role, the clear need was to support the concept of containerised cargo that had just gained wide spread popularity. Although the final 747 design was substantially different from Boeing’s CX-HLS proposal, it borrowed many of the key features. But in proceeding with the 747, Boeing “literally bet the company” in building such a huge aircraft, taking a gamble that it came “perilously close to losing” as the company was overcommitted on too many fronts, Sutter wrote in his 2006 memoir, ‘747’.

Ironically, almost four decades before the arrival of Airbus’ A380, Boeing’s original 747 design included a full-length double-deck fuselage with rows of eightacross seating and two aisles on the lower deck and seven-across seating and two aisles on the upper deck. But concern over evacuation routes and limited cargocarrying capability forced the scrapping of this idea in favor of a wider single deck design.

In April 1966, Pan Am ordered twenty-five 747-100 aircraft for US$525 million and thus began the Jumbo Jetera.

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