The Boeing 747 begins its final descent • Hacker News Board

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#101

Post by mjg59 » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:33 PM UTC

GMoromisato wrote: post #87

stouset wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean the justification that they are, in fact, just as safe?

I'm curious about this--wouldn't one expect more engines to be safer? Unless having more engines increases the chance of certain kinds of accidents? Like maybe the chance of an engine failure damaging the hull goes up with more engines? Not questioning the justification--I do believe it--I'm just curious about the details.

All else being equal, potentially - although as I mentioned there have been cases where one engine falling off a 4 engine aircraft hit another in the process. But ETOPS certification is based on it being demonstrated that engines are sufficiently reliable that the probability of an independent failure is incredibly unlikely, and also requires that operators have a stricter maintenance process. The only dual engine failures on modern two-engine aircraft I can think of off-hand have been fuel exhaustion (either actually being out of fuel, or ice blocking fuel filters in the case of BA38), and would have affected 4-engine aircraft just as badly.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#102

Post by decimalenough » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:36 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #89

mrcwinn wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such an absurd statement. What US aerospace has created post 1969 is nothing short of remarkable in comparison. (And we can be proud of the Apollo era too.)

Today’s airliners cruise slower than a 747.

But they do so much more efficiently, and the speed difference is minimal (Boeing 747-8 cruises at 706 mph, 787 Dreamliner at 690 mph).

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#103

Post by aurareturn » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:37 PM UTC

himata4113 wrote: post #86

aurareturn wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flying is much cheaper today. People want low prices over more comfort. They vote with their wallets.

I don't know, having more color doesn't seem that much more expensive? I guess the fabrics are expensive and stain relatively easily, but if public transport can keep them clean so can airlines IMO. Some fabric seats are over 3 decades old and they're still in a really good shape.

Maybe it looks better because there are only 9 seats in an aisle in the picture compared to standard 10 nowadays?

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#104

Post by rootusrootus » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:40 PM UTC

apelapan wrote: post #25

SoftTalker wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah economy class on a 747 sucks as much as it does on any other airliner.

On the A380 you get to enjoy the higher ceiling also in economy. It does make quite a difference for how cramped you feel, even though the leg room might be the same. And both B747 and A380 fly much calmer than the smaller, lighter widebodies, which is equally nice for passengers on all classes.

The A380 is probably the smoothest flying plane I've been in, but in my experience it has one slightly annoying behavior quirk that degrades from my ability to enjoy it. Granted, I've only flown in one a few times, so I may have just been unlucky. But at cruise, the autopilot surges and coasts on a slow repeating schedule. Ease off and float for a bit, get just a little bit low and throttle up slightly to catch it, rinse and repeat. Not terribly noticeable when awake, but when I try to sleep I'm acutely aware of that sensation.

So far my personal favorite is the 787. About the only thing 'bad' I can say about it is that all the mechanical bits are kinda loud, like the flaps and stuff, and are very noisy inside the cabin. But it cruises so nice, and the lower pressurization altitude and increase in humidity is noticeable on a long flight.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#105

Post by rambambram » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:46 PM UTC

microtonal wrote: post #32

thesumofall wrote: post #9

It’s such a beautiful plane. Despite having worked for Airbus, the 747 triggers emotions for me that the A380 simply doesn’t. It represents an era of aerospace engineering that will not come back (in many cases probably for the better - but still!)

As an aside, if anyone is going to Southern Germany, it's worth going to Technik Museum Speyer, where you can really go into the guts of the 747. They also have a Russian Buran space shuttle. The next day you could go to Technik Museum Sinnsheim, which is about half an hour from Speyer, and has both a Concorde and a Tupolev Tu-144 (both of which you can go inside). All truly marvels of engineering.

Very interesting! Looks like nice museums to go to. When I DuckDuckGo these museums, they seem to be related somehow!? https://www.technik-museum.de/

I recently visited Stuttgart to go to the Mercedes Benz Museum. They too have a lot of technical stuff of course, and history. Really recommend it!

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#106

Post by sersi » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:47 PM UTC

vimalbhalodia wrote: post #8

robotnikman wrote: post #4

Guess I probably wont get a chance to fly on one, flying on the 747 was on my bucket list.

Lufthansa still has a number of 747-8 and 747-400 in active operation - while there's evidence that the routes are scaling back, there's at least a few more years to fly one. They're even refurbishing the interiors to have a more competitive long-haul business class offering. Korean Airlines has a handful of 747-8 in active operation but they're making moves to retire them especially post Asiana merger. Air China als…

Lufthansa first class on the 747 is definitely something to try once.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#107

Post by Animats » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:48 PM UTC

sidewndr46 wrote: post #95

GMoromisato wrote: post #67

Anyone interested should read Joe Sutter's book, 747. Sutter was the lead engineer for the development of the 747 and he has some awesome stories. One interesting story is that Juan Trippe (CEO of PanAm) wanted Boeing to create a double-decker airplane. He was enamored with the idea of "ocean liners" cruising the sky. But Sutter (and other engineers) knew that it would be impossible to create what he wanted, so inste…

This seems like an odd version of the story. My understanding is Boeing designed lots of military aircraft, not all reached production. The 747 is the result of some of that design work.

That was also said about the B-707, which was supposed to have some parts commonality with their KC-135 Stratotanker built for the USAF. But as development progressed, the airliner and the tanker diverged.

The B-747 went through a similar process. Boeing was proposing a big cargo aircraft to the USAF (the CX-HLS), but that was never built. Lockheed got the C-5 contract instead, which satisfied the USAF's need for a really big cargo plane. So the B-747 was built as a commercial plane, mostly to Pan Am's requirements.

Military-civilian commonality was mostly wishful thinking at the management levels, as it turned out.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#108

Post by fracus » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:51 PM UTC

sidewndr46 wrote: post #95

GMoromisato wrote: post #67

Anyone interested should read Joe Sutter's book, 747. Sutter was the lead engineer for the development of the 747 and he has some awesome stories. One interesting story is that Juan Trippe (CEO of PanAm) wanted Boeing to create a double-decker airplane. He was enamored with the idea of "ocean liners" cruising the sky. But Sutter (and other engineers) knew that it would be impossible to create what he wanted, so inste…

This seems like an odd version of the story. My understanding is Boeing designed lots of military aircraft, not all reached production. The 747 is the result of some of that design work.

My memory of the 747 was that it was originally the military who paid for the design. They wanted an aircraft that could be loaded from the front. This led to the bubble at the front of the plane. For whatever reason, the military didn't bite so they repurposed it as a commercial aircraft.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#109

Post by llbbdd » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:52 PM UTC

Rover222 wrote: post #92

moojacob wrote: post #31

Didn’t read the full article but it starts with > The jet was perhaps the pinnacle of American engineering excellence. Its retirement signals an end to an era of American culture—and ambition. End of American ambition? SpaceX landing is rockets… today! That’s apples to apples also, both aerospace. In other fields we have literally taught computers how to talk.

Glad to see your sentiment. I’m so tired of the reflexive self flagellation of a lot of Americans. It’s often based in ignorance.

Agreed. A lot of my countrymen have forgotten that America generally kicks ass, it's sad to see.

Re: The Boeing 747 begins its final descent

#110

Post by zabzonk » Sun, Jun 28, 2026, 9:53 PM UTC

GMoromisato wrote: post #67

Anyone interested should read Joe Sutter's book, 747. Sutter was the lead engineer for the development of the 747 and he has some awesome stories. One interesting story is that Juan Trippe (CEO of PanAm) wanted Boeing to create a double-decker airplane. He was enamored with the idea of "ocean liners" cruising the sky. But Sutter (and other engineers) knew that it would be impossible to create what he wanted, so inste…

I hated the top deck when flying east from NY to London. The rising sun poured in every time a crew member opened the cockpit door, waking me up. Best seat for me was the single one in the lower deck at the very nose of the aircraft.

The 747 was a great aircraft to fly in though. The tower of power effect on take-off really reassured you that you were going to get where you were going.