Boeing 747-100: The Plane That Changed the World

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the history of the development of one of the most prolific and influential commercial aircraft of the 20th Century: the 747-100 “Jumbo Jet.” We will review the need for a sub-sonic jet with greater comfort, convenience, range and capacity by the mid-1960s (after the launching of the commercial “Jet Age”) with the introduction of the Boeing 707 in 1958 – the first jet airliner offering regular trans-Atlantic service. The role of the 747 as an interim or “stop-gap” aircraft to fill the void between the first generation jet airliners (sub-sonic) and second generation (super-sonic) and the series of events that led to the cancellation of the Boeing SST and rise to prominence of the 747 (in the wake of the SSTs demise) will be of great interest. As well, the history of the Boeing Company itself; from its inception in 1916 through to the present day and the rise of commercial aviation in the inter- and post-war years will provide historical context for the creation of the first 747 and latter-day variants.

As well, we will discuss in depth and detail the infrastructure and technologies used in the development of the 747 as an entirely new aircraft: conceived, designed and produced in a twenty-nine month time frame. This will include the development from scratch of the Everett, Washington wide-body facility and the production techniques used to manufacture and test wide-body aircraft such as the 747 and later model Boeing wide-body aircraft. We will examine the influence of the C-5A Galaxy on the design of the 747, in particular as it concerns High-Bypass Turbofan Engine development and the influences of previous civilian and military aircraft produced by Boeing in the design of the 747-100. The design of the airframe, wings, control surfaces, egress, seating arrangements, avionics, communications etc. will be discussed in depth and detail as will be the first integral use of the Carousel IV Inertial Navigation System (INS). The legacy of aerial navigation leading up to INS and of the 747-100 itself to the aviation industry will also be of great interest and importance.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At The conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the origins of the Boeing Company as an innovator and producer of both commercial and military aircraft from its creation (in 1916) through to the present day;
• Understand/appreciate the development of commercial aviation in the inter-war and post-WWII years including technological advances, airport development etc.;
• Understand/appreciate the technological leap from the propeller to the jet age and how WWII fostered technological advances in a compressed amount of time;
• Understand/appreciate the life, career and achievement/s of the two men most responsible for the creation of the 747: Juan Trippe – Chairman of Pan American Airways, and Bill Allen – Chairman of the Boeing Company;
• Understand/appreciate three commercial Boeing aircraft that heavily influenced the design of the 747-100: B314 Flying Boat / B377 Stratocruiser / B707;
• Understand/appreciate the high-risk development by Boeing of the first successful commercial jet airliner – the 707, and how it launched the “Jet Age” of commercial aviation in the late 1950s;
• Understand/appreciate the development of the Super Sonic Transport (SST) in both America and Europe, the nationalistic rivalry it fostered and the development of the Boeing 2707 as America’s answer to the Anglo/French Concorde SST;
• Understand/appreciate the need for an interim/stop-gap sub-sonic airliner to be the “bridge” between the first generation sub-sonic jet airliners and the second generation super-sonic jet airliners and how the design of the 747-100 satisfied that need;
• Understand/appreciate the design of the 747 to serve as a freighter, passenger, convertible (passenger-to-freighter and vice-versa) and “combi” (part freighter, part passenger) and the relative successes/failures of these variants;
• Understand/appreciate the use of an upper deck “hump” for the flight deck and lounge/passenger seating as part of the need to allow the main deck to be easily on/off-loaded and as a safety measure (in case cargo became loose in flight);
• Understand/appreciate the plan to convert the 747 passenger fleet into freighters when the SSTs arrived in the early 1970s;
• Understand/appreciate the demise of the Boeing SST as a result of economic and environmental concerns and the resulting rise to prominence of the 747 as the Boeing flagship product;
• Understand/appreciate the resulting increase in commercial aviation after the introduction of the 747 due to greater range and capacity resulting in lower per-mile passenger cost;
• Understand/appreciate the need for the 747 to be able to operate from existing airport infrastructure;
• Understand/appreciate the use of multiple wheels for the main and nose landing gear to distribute the weight of the 747 allowing it to operate from existing airports;
• Understand/appreciate the “weight creep” of the 747 design and the problems associated with the increasing weight (i.e. insufficient engine thrust);
• Understand/appreciate the differences between Low and High-Bypass Turbofan engines;
• Understand/appreciate the development of the Turbofan engine for the C-5A Galaxy and the application of R&D done by Boeing for this large military transport in its unsuccessful bid for the contract and how it applied the R&D previously done for the C-5A to the design of the 747-100;
• Understand/appreciate the problems encountered by Boeing and Pratt & Whitney in the development of the JT9D High-Bypass Turbofan engine and how problems (i.e. “Ovalizing”) were successfully resolved;
• Understand/appreciate the efforts made in the design of the 747 power plant/s to reduce noise levels significantly;
• Understand/appreciate the short time frame of 29 months – from design to production for the 747 and the creation of completely new infrastructure (i.e. Everett facility, spur lines, docks, workforce relocation etc.) to support 747 production;
• Understand/appreciate the out-sourcing of components to both domestic and international suppliers for both major and minor 747 component parts;
• Understand/appreciate the swept-back wing design of the 747 including its control surface, hydraulics, fuel system etc. and how/why “Dutch Roll” (a problem associated with swept-back wings) was not encountered during test flights;
• Understand/appreciate the evolution of the 747 design; from double-deck to wide-body;
• Understand/appreciate the airport infrastructure necessary to support operation of the 747;
• Understand/appreciate the FAA’s egress requirements for evacuating the 747 in an emergency within 90 seconds and how that requirement was met;
• Understand/appreciate the qualifications/training/certification necessary to become a 747 pilot;
• Understand/appreciate the flight-testing protocols of the 747-100 prototype/s, problems encountered/overcome resulting in an FAA Certificate of Airworthiness;
• Understand/appreciate the development of aerial navigation (a/k/a “Avigation”) including Dead Reckoning, Celestial Navigation, Radio Navigation, Doppler Navigation and Inertial Navigation;
• Understand/appreciate the development of AC Electronics “Carousel IV” INS, its roots in Dead Reckoning, proving out in the U.S. space and missile program/s and first integrated use in the 747-100;
• Understand/appreciate accidents associated with 747 aircraft including mechanical/electrical/structural failures and terrorist events;
• Understand/appreciate the development of 747 Short Range (SR) and Special Purpose (SP) variants;
• Understand/appreciate the development of second and third generation 747-series aircraft;
• Understand/appreciate the use of the 747 platform as “Air Force One” and “Command & Control” aircraft;
• Understand/appreciate the never realized proposals during the Cold War to use the 747 platform for airborne launching of cruise missiles and/or ICBMs;
• Understand/appreciate the use of the 747 platform as aerial water bombers, in-flight refueling tankers, laser defense, infra-red telescope and engine testing platforms;
• Understand/appreciate the conversion of the 747 platform into the “Dreamlifter” (for transporting 787 “Dreamliner” components);
• Understand/appreciate the “Blended-Wing-Body” concept for future Boeing commercial aircraft designs, and;
• Understand/appreciate the life and work of Joe Sutter – Chief Engineer of the 747 Project and “Father of the Boeing 747.”

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design/construction professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the development of the world’s first “Jumbo Jet” – the 747-100

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing of several documentary films.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

Boeing 747-100: The Plane That Changed the World (printable handout in PDF, 21 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Boeing 747-100: The Plane That Changed the World (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 106 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Archival/Documentary Film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEFjhLwThmc
(Boeing Promo Film: “707: Year One” ca. 1960 – 45:10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ht1ogFUBLc
(Jumbo – The Plane That Changed the World – 59:16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=845w8O4T9v8
(Boeing 747-8 – Megastructures Documentary – 45:00)

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Course Summary

When the first 747-100 made its formal “roll-out” in September 1968, the gathered crowd looked on in astonishment at the shear size of the plane, many wondering how something so large would ever get off the ground. Get off the ground it did, and just seven years later the 100-millionth passenger took to flight. In the vernacular of the day, it became the “gee-whiz” airplane and, with the changing times, a “groovy” airplane. The Boeing Company (in a joint venture with Pan American Airways - the launch customer) didn’t set out to impress the public so much as they did to simply fill a void. When conceived in the mid-1960s, the “747” was to serve an interim purpose. Referred to by Boeing’s Chairman Bill Allen and PAA’s Juan Trippe as a “stop-gap” airplane, the gap it was to fill was the time needed to develop the second generation of commercial jet aircraft; the Boeing 2707 SST - America’s larger, faster and further flying variable-wing version of the Anglo-French Concorde. Alas, the Boeing SST would never be realized (for various reasons) and Concorde’s glory is of the past. However, the 747 – the world’s first wide-body (a/k/a “Jumbo”) passenger jet airliner, though sub-sonic, went on to become one of the most prolific, recognizable and beloved aircraft of the last and present century. It was in many respects, the plane that changed the world.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747

GENERAL FILMS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0umWIPCPd4
(PAA 707 Promo Film 1959 – 24:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuaZ0SkVf-Q
(JFK phone conversation with Juan Trippe re: SST – 6/4/63 – 06:13)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=13&v=JFwzMvFJYik
(Pan Am’s World ca. 1971 – 24:20)

https://archive.org/details/71162Assignment747
(Assignment 747 – Boeing promotional film ca. 1970 - 27:41)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ht1ogFUBLc
(Jumbo – The Plane That Changed the World – 59:16)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b971zOoIzCs
(Documentary About Air Force One – 45:11)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvBRWTumoZI
(Evergreen Supertanker – 07:09)

INS Tutorial:
Part 1 (08:06): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF0-ZbvjrEw
Part 2 (08:41): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIR9-n-6KnU
Part 3 (06:47): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd9TWI1sOWQ
Part 4 (07:12): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOuClh2CDBA

ACCIDENT RELATED FILMS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl_wXfSwRzM
(PAA B747 San Francisco Accident 1971 – 10:10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVL8RifMQ-s
(Bagram AFB 747 Cargo Crash – 04:45)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmejTSIU_ps
(JAL Flight 123 – 44:55)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkWUIaEoUls
(El Al Flight 1862 – 45:49)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcAiu2FXeEk
(NWA Flight 85 – 12:44)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v92U2F9gbUo
(Boeing 377 Pan Am Stratocruiser Documentary - 24:33)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnxZlS9gyw
(The USAF's 747 Airborne Aircraft Carrier Concept - 10:10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drnxZlS9gyw
(The USAF's 747 Aircraft Carrier Concept - 10:10)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTZcwcQZ_Iw&feature=youtu.be
(Bopeing Ends 747 Program - 03:32)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTUFOvgBxS0
(The 747 Aircraft Carrier - 12:35)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q00XpqBk68g
(Very Low and Very Slow - The Boeing 747 Supertanker - 11:35)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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