As High As A Six-Story Building

The 747-400’s tail towers 63 feet and eight inches

The average height of a story is around 10 feet, although stories can be 15 feet tall. With a tail height of 63 feet and 8 inches, the Boeing 747-400 stands as one of the tallest aircraft out there, at around five or six stories tall. However, the Boeing 747-400 does not boast the tallest commercial aircraft tail. The Airbus A380 ‘superjumbo’ outdoes its US rival, standing 79 feet tall at the tail.

Still, the Boeing 747’s tail rises above other commercial jet aircraft tails. The Airbus A350-1000’s tail reaches 56 feet, while the Boeing 777’s tail almost reaches 61 feet. The Lockheed Galaxy C-5’s tail (the largest US Air Force airlifter) rises to 65 feet. The largest military aircraft in service is the Antonov An-124 Ruslan (built by Ukraine in the USSR), and its tail reaches 68 feet, 2 inches.

The World’s Fastest Commercial Jet

The Boeing 747-8 has a maximum speed of Mach 0.86

According to Boeing, the Boeing 747-8 is the world’s fastest commercial jet, being just a smidgen faster than its other rivals. Boeing says the 747-8 has a top speed of Mach 0.86, which is a little faster than the Mach 0.85 achieved by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and faster than the Mach 0.84 that the 777 can reach.

BBC Science Focus provides slightly different maximum speeds. According to that publication, the fastest commercial passenger aircraft are the Boeing 747-8 at 706 mph, the Boeing 787 at 690 mph, the Airbus A380 at 683 mph, the Boeing 777 at 683 mph, and the older Boeing 747-400 at 656 mph. The fastest business jet listed was the Bombardier Global 8000, which maxes out at 721 mph (or Mach 0.94).

Millions Of Parts

The 747-400 has six million parts

Like every aircraft, the Boeing 747-400 is made up of lots of little pieces. In fact, there are around 6 million individual parts in the Boeing 747-400, of which around half are fasteners. These components include some 171 miles of wiring and some 5 miles of tubing. For comparison, there are around four million individual parts found in the Airbus A380 produced by 1,500 companies.

Not all aircraft are the same. While the Boeing 747-400 consists of 147,000 lbs of high-strength aluminum and its fuselage is built out of aluminum, the Boeing 787 relies much more on composite materials. The fuselage of the Dreamliner is made up of single-piece sections joined together.

Many More Tires

The Boeing 747-400 has 18 tires

The Boeing 747-400 rests on 16 main landing gear tires and two nose landing gear tires. While these are far more tires than the average motorcycle or car, it is not that many for the world’s largest aircraft. For comparison, the now-destroyed Antonov An-225 Mriya had a total of 32 tires across its landing gear.

The largest transport aircraft in the US Air Force inventory, the C-5M Super Galaxy, comes with 28 tires arranged in five sets of landing gear. The Airbus A380 also outdoes the jumbo in tire count, with a total of 22 tires. The smaller Boeing 777 has four fewer tires, with a total of 14 tires. Interestingly, the A350-900 has ten tires while the A350-1000 has 14.

A Thirsty Aircraft

The Boeing 747-400ER carries around 63,500 gallons of fuel

The Boeing 747 needs plenty of fuel to satisfy its four thirsty engines. The Boeing 747-400ER can carry over 63,500 gallons of fuel (240,370 liters). Boeing 747s come in many variants, and their fuel capacities vary between 48,400 and 63,636 gallons of fuel. However, here again, the Airbus A380 outdoes the Jumbo Jet with its capacity to carry a whopping 84,535 gallons of fuel (320,000 liters).

It’s worth remembering that fuel inefficiency is part of the reason why quad-engined aircraft have given way to twin-engined aircraft. The Boeing 787 carries around 33,380 gallons of fuel, while the Airbus A350 typically carries around 37,200 gallons (the ultra-long-range variant carries 44,000 gallons).

Many Destinations

The 747-8 is approved at over 271 airports

The Boeing 747-8 was the final variant of the Boeing 747 family of jets. The 747-8’s key geometric similarities with other 747 variants meant that airports did not need to be modified to operate it. Its engine, span, and wheel track width meant that aircraft that could receive other 747 variants were able to receive the final variant.

According to Boeing, there are around 271 airports able to handle the Jumbo Jet. For comparison, there are 140 airports around the world that can run scheduled A380 operations. Technically speaking, however, around 400 airports would feasibly be able to land and unload an A380.

Laser Usage

One 747 was modified as a laser testbed

Boeing 747s were modified to serve a range of special roles, perhaps most famously to be Air Force One and to be the Shuttle carrier. While many may be familiar with the specially modified Boeing 747s, many may not be familiar with the Boeing YAL-1. The YAL-1 was a modified Boeing 747-400F airborne laser testbed.

The Boeing YAL-1 was fitted with a chemical oxygen iodine laser to test its feasibility as a missile defense system in destroying tactical ballistic missiles in the boost phase. However, funding for the special purchase 747 was cut in 2010, and it flew for the final time in 2012. It flew to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where it was scrapped.

A Long-Haul Pioneer

45 Boeing 747SPs were built

While the Boeing 747 may no longer be the longest-range commercial aircraft, it was the original one. The Boeing 747SP (Special Performance) was a shortened version of the Boeing 747 designed for longer range. The aircraft boasted a range of 7,652 miles so that it could serve scheduled nonstop routes (such as the 6,122-mile route between New York and Tehran).

It was also the highest-flying subsonic passenger airliner with a service ceiling of 45,100 feet. The variant first flew in 1975 and entered service with Pan Am in 1976. It was 47 feet shorter than the original 747 variant and could carry 276 passengers in three classes over 6,709 miles.

Reduced Flight Deck Clutter

The Boeing 747-400 has 365 lights, gauges, and switches

According to Boeing, the 747-400 has a total of 365 lights, gauges, and switches in its flight deck. While this may seem like a lot, it is actually a massive reduction. Earlier 747 models came with a whopping 971 lights, gauges, and switches. The new technology used on the Boeing 747-400 allowed the engineers to declutter the flight deck.

Analog systems were replaced with digital avionics. Programmable displays and simpler cockpit procedures also helped reduce the crew workload on the flight deck. This enabled the number of crew members to be reduced from three to two.

1,500 Hours Of Test Flights

75,000 engineering drawings were required to build the 747

The Boeing 747 was developed before the age of computers. 75,000 engineering drawings were used to produce the first 747 and the first 747 completed over 15,000 hours of wind-tunnel testing before entering service. Five aircraft were used over a period of 10 months to receive the aircraft’s certification for commercial service in December 1969.

During that period of testing, those five aircraft completed more than 1,500 hours of flying. Even so, there were teething issues with the new jumbo jet when it entered service. Pan Am completed the first transatlantic revenue-generating flight with the Boeing 747 in 1970.

It had planned to complete the flight with its new 747-100 called ‘Clipper Young America’. However, it suffered technical issues just before takeoff, forcing it to return to the gate and for Pan Am to get the replacement ‘Clipper Victor’ to fly the historic flight.