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Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

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Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#31

Post by bobthepanda »

fsckboy wrote: post #22

the 747-8F freighter will continue, so the title is misleading. The era is not over, at a maximum closing the era of jumbo passenger jets. and as points of interest, the hump on the 747 keeps the cockpit out of the way allowing freight to be loaded more easily and completely, and freighters don't mind stopping to refuel (too expensive to carry all that fuel for the whole trip) and that's what makes the 747 continue t…

The A380 also had other issues, in that a freighter version was never developed, and also the dead weight of the plane was a lot heavier than the 747.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#32

Post by fsckboy »

sesuximo wrote: post #23

It’s a little sad that we’ve retired the 747, the Concorde, and (almost) the A380. And we haven’t introduced anything cool :(

the 787 all-composite is very cool; it's just sad that it's too expensive to retool the rest of the product offerings.

And it's cool that Boeing figured out 20 yrs ago that point-to-point would kill hub-and-spoke (not least because it's a great way to fly) and very sad that Airbus wasted so much money and people's careers on an ego driven white elephant that Boeing already told them wasn't going to work, instead of using that money to push the real envelope.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#33

Post by ponker »

Tiltowait-- wrote: post #30
ponker wrote: post #5

The 747 is humanity's greatest achievement. Air travel is the confluence of engineering, policy and governance (the heyday of the FAA/NTSB and how we got to the point where air travel is this safe), and the systems engineering that get aircraft, people, and baggage to so many different places. What the Boeing 747, and only the Boeing 747, has is true artistic value, with a profile evoking Botticelli or Rubens.

Artistic value? With the ugly hump? That hump isn't just physically ugly, it's socially ugly as well. It is where the elites congregate. Anything that diminishes their status relative to our own is a good thing.

The hump is where business class usually sits. First class is up in the nose.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#34

Post by manigandham »

fsckboy wrote: post #22

the 747-8F freighter will continue, so the title is misleading. The era is not over, at a maximum closing the era of jumbo passenger jets. and as points of interest, the hump on the 747 keeps the cockpit out of the way allowing freight to be loaded more easily and completely, and freighters don't mind stopping to refuel (too expensive to carry all that fuel for the whole trip) and that's what makes the 747 continue t…

Don't takeoff/landing cycles on the engines and airframe counteract the fuel savings?

EDIT: Specifically pressurization cycles and metal fatigue, since that's how aircraft lifespan is measured.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#35

Post by fsckboy »

bobthepanda wrote: post #31
fsckboy wrote: post #22

the 747-8F freighter will continue, so the title is misleading. The era is not over, at a maximum closing the era of jumbo passenger jets. and as points of interest, the hump on the 747 keeps the cockpit out of the way allowing freight to be loaded more easily and completely, and freighters don't mind stopping to refuel (too expensive to carry all that fuel for the whole trip) and that's what makes the 747 continue t…

The A380 also had other issues, in that a freighter version was never developed, and also the dead weight of the plane was a lot heavier than the 747.

The freighter version was offered, it was never developed because the small number of orders it received were cancelled when it was realized it would not deliver economies.

I believe I read that the dead weight issue would not have been as important if freighters didn't stop for refueling because of A380's range; that's why I brought up the stopping.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#36

Post by x43b »

>>The Covid-19 pandemic threatens to leave their manufacturers scrounging to find buyers for the last jumbos built.

This is imply not true. The last 747s built are freighters. Freight demand is at an all time high due to COVID and constraints on supply chians. Even passenger vehicles are being called into freight service (which is far less efficient yet still economical).

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#38

Post by whatgoodisaroad »

sjm-lbm wrote: post #4

I know it's not the most important thing, but I feel that 747s are easily the prettiest passenger airplane in the sky right now. Going to miss the variety they provided at the airport.

Strictly in terms of appearances, I think Antonovs look really nice. Granted, it was rare to see one in a western airport even in the best of times.

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#39

Post by ghaff »

ponker wrote: post #33
Tiltowait-- wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Artistic value? With the ugly hump? That hump isn't just physically ugly, it's socially ugly as well. It is where the elites congregate. Anything that diminishes their status relative to our own is a good thing.

The hump is where business class usually sits. First class is up in the nose.

Though not originally. Upstairs used to be the first class lounge. Over time this generally under-utilized space got changed into business class seating.

(The lounge dates to before business class existed. That said, modern international business class is more comfortable in most ways than first class was at the time.)

Re: Boeing quietly pulls plug on the 747, closing era of jumbo jets

#40

Post by adwww »

bobthepanda wrote: post #31
fsckboy wrote: post #22

the 747-8F freighter will continue, so the title is misleading. The era is not over, at a maximum closing the era of jumbo passenger jets. and as points of interest, the hump on the 747 keeps the cockpit out of the way allowing freight to be loaded more easily and completely, and freighters don't mind stopping to refuel (too expensive to carry all that fuel for the whole trip) and that's what makes the 747 continue t…

The A380 also had other issues, in that a freighter version was never developed, and also the dead weight of the plane was a lot heavier than the 747.

Something to do with volume limits versus weight not being in it's favour IIRC.

That is, you'd fill up it's max weight limit way before filling the empty volume inside the plane with most normal cargo.

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