Boeing 747: It just keeps going and going...

[elaw]

Looks like one 744 has got a really cool new lease on life: https://youtu.be/Yi-fBKK7nME

[Not_Karl]

Looks like one 744 has got a really cool new lease on life: https://youtu.be/Yi-fBKK7nME

"Virgin Reaches Orbit With The Help of Cosmic Girl"
So... Are we, 50-year-od virgins, going to be put in orbit too?
I hope the pull-up after rocket release is Not_relentless and that rules and procedures are carefully followed...

[J]

PICTURED! WE FIND EVERY QANTAS 747 STILL IN A BONEYARD
July 27, 2021

While most boneyards heavily restrict access and most satellite images are too fuzzy, Google Earth and its Microsoft rival, Zoom Earth, regularly send aircraft with long lenses to snap most of the world, including off-limit plane storage facilities. As luck would have it, both seem to have updated recently with new photos. It means we can check in on the retired Queens of the Sky to see how they are doing. Luckily, Qantas’ 747s are easily identified by their unique red tail livery that swooshes across the fuselage (though, you have to be careful not to confuse them with Air Malta’s).


Mojave

Mojave Air and Space Port is located in the California desert, about 150 kilometres north of LA. First opened in 1935 as a rural airfield serving local gold miners, it’s grown into one of the world’s most notable boneyards. In total over the last decade, Qantas has sent nine 747-400s there, including five sold to General Electric in 2020: VH-OEE, VH-OEG, VH-OEH, VH-OEI and VH-OEJ (click the links to see the final flights). Prior to that, the flag carrier banished VH-OJI, VH-OJM and VH-OJO there in 2015,2017 and 2019 respectively.

Victorville

Victorville – technically known as the Southern California Logistics Airport – is located 90 miles northeast of LA, on the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. The site was the old home of George Air Force Base from 1941 to 1992 before being converted into arguably the world’s most famous boneyard. In the last decade, Qantas has sent eight of its 747s to Victorville, all in 2012 and 2013: VH-OJQ, VH-OJP, VH-OJO, VH-OJF, VH-OJE, VH-OJD, VH-OJC and VH-OJB.

Google Earth’s images are from Victorville were taken long after all three arrived, on 10 March last year. We’ve found two – both of which are likely to have been sat in the desert for at least seven years.

Tupelo

Tupelo Regional Airport is a public-use airport located six kilometres west of Tupelo, a city in Lee County, Mississippi. Qantas sent one 747 here in 2019, VH-OEB. Named Phillip Island, The GE-powered VH-OEB was the last 747 that had Qantas’s old first-class seats in the nose, with the remaining 747-400s and -400ERs having been reconfigured with a three-class layout comprising business, premium economy and economy. It was built for Asiana in 1993 and acquired by Qantas in 1998.

(article continues with several other locations)

https://australianaviation.com.au/2021/ ... -boneyard/

[J]

The last 747, a 7478-F is scheduled to be delivered in October 2022 - presumably after the final A380. In the meantime, a 747-400 is going to have its wings sheared off and parked between a couple of Seattle apartment buildings and used as office space.

Boeing 747 to park in Seattle high-rise
Excerpt with a few photos and a rendering of the new design.

The iconic jumbo jet that once marked a new era in international travel will arrive in 39 pieces atop two dozen flatbed trucks.

Over the course of several weeks, crews will fashion the puzzle back together, piece by piece, suspended in the air between two South Lake Union high-rises.

“Each time somebody walks by, they may see a new piece of the airplane in place,” said Michael Chaplin, local development manager for Vancouver-based Westbank.

Westbank’s new mixed-use project taking shape at Stewart Street and Denny Way will include the fuselage of a Boeing 747 hanging 14 feet above the ground — a nod to Seattle’s industrial past in the heart of its new tech capital.


https://www.seattletimes.com/business/r ... high-rise/

[J]

Includes a video of it taking off from Basel - (about halfway through the video). They could have sold tickets.
The article speculates that Boeing might repurchase it. I await Verbal's views.


Royal Junk: Brand-New, Custom $300 Million Boeing 747-8 Arrives at Scrapyard

Delivered in 2012 to the Saudi Arabian Royal Flight group for the personal use of prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, N458BJ was never even used as it was meant to. The Boeing 747-8 was ordered new, but that was never enough for royal heads, so it was sent for a full VIP refit.

The Sultan passed away before the customization was complete, so the jumbo jet was abandoned – and seemingly forgotten – at the Basel airport in Switzerland for a full decade. N458BJ only ever clocked 42 hours of flight time, which, according to Simple Flying, is what a commercial airline totals in a matter of days and a private jet in weeks – and they consisted mostly of test flights.

Last week, the 2012 Boeing took off for what will most likely become its final flight, arriving at the Pinal Airpark in the Marana desert 11 hours later. The video below shows the final takeoff of this brand-new, majestic aircraft that never got put to proper usage, but which is believed to have cost over $300 million.

Pinal Airpark is a single-runway airfield outside of Tucson, Arizona, which also happens to be one of the most famous aircraft graveyards in the world and, because of it, home of some of the most iconic flying machines ever. The same media outlet notes that N458BJ is probably scheduled for part-out, which means it will be disassembled and sold piece by piece.

There is a chance that it might be repurposed if Boeing buys it back, and the move to the U.S. could be indicative of such an intent. However, even if Boeing does buy it back, there is little interest in such a large aircraft right now for commercial purposes, since the international health crisis sealed the fate of the 747 as a commercial plane.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/roya ... 87297.html

[Verbal]

[Speculation mode = on]

This airplane will never see commercial service for a number of reasons. As a VIP aircraft, its interior would have been highly bespoke. The article doesn't indicate how far that customization progressed before the work was stopped. So the airplane would need extensive rework to reconfigure it.

Also? No one wants these 747-8I's. The only airlines with any possible interest would be an existing 747-8I customer (Lufthansa, Korean, etc.). Not happening.

Presumably the owners attempted to sell the airplane to someone else looking for a VIP jumbo. However, there is a limited number of sheikhs and oligarchs in the world who have the coin and interest in making such a purchase. And they would probably be loathe to pick up someone else's half-finished airplane.

The only possible future for the airplane would be to reconfigure it as a one-off military derivative. Also highly unlikely.

Since everything on it is brand new, it will be harvested for the parts that can be removed, then chopped.

{Speculation mode = off}

[Gabriel]

It seems that the 747-8 will remain alive and highly appreciated in the freight industry.

I've read somewhere that now, with 747 production discontinued including for the freighter variant, and with airlines getting rid of their passenger versions, pax-to-freight conversions was expected to become the source of 747s for the freight industry.

Any chance of that happening with this airframe or in general?

[flyboy2548m]

[Speculation mode = on]

This airplane will never see commercial service for a number of reasons. As a VIP aircraft, its interior would have been highly bespoke. The article doesn't indicate how far that customization progressed before the work was stopped. So the airplane would need extensive rework to reconfigure it.

Also? No one wants these 747-8I's. The only airlines with any possible interest would be an existing 747-8I customer (Lufthansa, Korean, etc.). Not happening.

Presumably the owners attempted to sell the airplane to someone else looking for a VIP jumbo. However, there is a limited number of sheikhs and oligarchs in the world who have the coin and interest in making such a purchase. And they would probably be loathe to pick up someone else's half-finished airplane.

The only possible future for the airplane would be to reconfigure it as a one-off military derivative. Also highly unlikely.

Since everything on it is brand new, it will be harvested for the parts that can be removed, then chopped.

{Speculation mode = off}

Any indication of an STC for cargo conversion for the -8?

[Verbal]

Any indication of an STC for cargo conversion for the -8?

That's a hard no. Same thing. A -8 cargo conversion would be a one off. No one is set up to do it, since -8 pax airplanes are years away from being cargo conversion candidates.

[Gabriel]

-8 pax airplanes are years away from being cargo conversion candidates.

Why is that? I would have thought that with Boeing not taking more orders for the 8F, the recent evolution of the fright industry with increased demand, the recent evolution of the airline pax operations moving to smaller planes (and getting rid of anything with more than 2 engines), there would be demand for more XL freighters, no availability from the manufacturers, and an opportunity for the cargo conversion.

Not claiming that my "analysis" is correct. It is just what I would have suspected without having actual data.

[flyboy2548m]

Not claiming that my "analysis" is correct.

That's a good thing because it's not. The operators who ordered -8 passenger versions did so for a reason.

[Gabriel]

The operators who ordered -8 passenger versions did so for a reason.

Well, the operators that ordered the A380 also did so for a reason and many of them are being returned / grounded for good.

I thought that something similar was happening with the 747-8i (at a smaller scale).

[J]

Boeing Is Currently Assembling The Last Ever 747 Jumbo Jet
According to the article it will be delivered in October.

The last Boeing 747 will soon roll off the manufacturer's production line as it is nearing completion on assembly as the freighter variant. Once the finishing touches are tidied up, and the aircraft gets rolled off, the final Boeing 747-8F will be delivered to Atlas Air as the cargo carrier's final delivery of the aircraft type, marking the end of an iconic half-century-long era in the aviation industry.



https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/b ... da7d4cad1b

[Gabriel]

the final Boeing 747-8F will be delivered to Atlas Air as the cargo carrier's final delivery of the aircraft type, marking the end of an iconic half-century-long era in the aviation industry.

Production may end but the 747 ear will survive strong for several more decades.

[J]

Rolls-Royce axes testbed conversion plan for ex-Qantas 747-400

Excerpt:

Rolls-Royce has ditched plans to turn a former Qantas Boeing 747-400 into a flying testbed and will now dispose of the aircraft which has sat idle at Moses Lake airport in Washington state for over two years.

Announcing the acquisition of the Jumbo Jet (VH-OJU) in October 2019, the UK-based engine manufacturer said it would invest $70 million to acquire and refurbish the aircraft, turning it into a “flying digital hub” for the testing of commercial and business jet powerplants.

Conversion of the 747-400 by Moses Lake-based AeroTec was meant to take two years, Rolls-Royce said at the time.
* * *
"...we have taken the decision to stop this activity and continue our future flight testing on our existing 747-200, which will be reconfigured to meet these requirements.”

https://www.flightglobal.com/engines/ro ... 39.article

[Verbal]

VH-OJU was delivered to QANTAS in January 2000. It last showed 93k airframe hours and 9.5 flight cycles. 747s commonly get flown past 100k hours, but by then they are on borrowed time.

Regards, Dr. Sigmund von Verbal

[Gabriel]

VH-OJU was delivered to QANTAS in January 2000. It last showed 93k airframe hours and 9.5 flight cycles. 747s commonly get flown past 100k hours, but by then they are on borrowed time.

Regards, Dr. Sigmund von Verbal

And how many years / hours / cycles has Rolls-Royce's 747-200?

[Verbal]

And how many years / hours / cycles has Rolls-Royce's 747-200?

79k/23k.

[Gabriel]

And how many years / hours / cycles has Rolls-Royce's 747-200?

79k/23k.

85% the hours. 250% the cycles. Is that better or worse?

[Verbal]

Is that better or worse?

Yes.

[J]

Verbal Vindicated Regarding the now discontinued Rolls Royce 747-400 Test Aircraft

A 22-year-old plane
According to ch-aviation.com, the aircraft due to be scrapped is 22.65 years old, having first flown on January 18th, 2000. It was delivered to Qantas just six days later and has only ever flown for the Australian flag carrier before it was transferred to Rolls-Royce. During its time at Qantas, it clocked some 92,262 flight hours, equivalent to 10.53 years in the skies. It completed 9,419 flight cycles during its time with the carrier, while Rolls-Royce said the jet had flown more than 70 million kilometers carrying 2.5 million passengers, which equates to more than 100 return trips to the moon.

Rolls-Royce will continue flying its existing Boeing 747-200 testbed, registered N787RR. According to ch-aviation.com's data, this is the 10th oldest active Boeing 747, though, with the retirement of NASA's SOFIA pending, it will shift up the list. The aircraft is 42.45 years old, having first flown on April 7th, 1980. Cathay Pacific took delivery of the plane on April 24th, 1980, and flew the aircraft for 19-and-a-half years until it transferred to Air Atlanta Icelandic in October 1999. It moved across to Rolls-Royce on June 16th, 2005.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/f ... acaa710767

[Gabriel]

... 22.65 years old ... 10.53 years in the skies

That is an OUTSTANDING utilization for a long-range widebody.

[J]

I recall recently reading that Boeing is down to the last 2 or 3 747-800 deliveries. Hopefully Verbal can send us a photo of the last one leaving the plant in the coming months. In the meantime, here is an article about another engine with those chevrons being tested on a 747-200.

Rolls-Royce Is Testing A Low-Emission Combustion System On Its Boeing 747
Excerpt with photos and a video:

Rolls-Royce has sent its ALECSys (Advanced Low Emission Combustion System) attached to a testbed Boeing 747, complete with a team of engineers, to altitude in Tuscon, Arizona. The program now includes flights at 40,000 feet, as well as several engine relights at different conditions - all of which have been successful.

The Boeing 747 took to the skies in Arizona following a comprehensive ground testing program, including icing, water ingestion, ground operability, and measuring emissions of ALECSys, all on a borrowed Trent 1000. Furthermore, Rolls-Royce has tested its ALECSys on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

So what is special about ALECSys? It is a lean-burn combustion system, which improves the pre-mixing of fuel and air prior to ignition. This results in cleaner combustion of the fuel, which in turn lowers NOX and particulate emissions. It is part of Rolls-Royce's UltraFan engine program, which is expected to lower fuel burn by 25% compared to the first-generation Trent engines

Simon Burr, Director of Product Development and Technology, Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, commented on the program's milestone,

“We are very pleased to see the ALECSys engine now flying. This flight testing is a key part of our drive to not only improve engine efficiency but all aspects of environmental performance. It is part of the wider Rolls-Royce sustainability strategy, which also includes support for the increased use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and intensive research into alternative propulsion architectures and technologies.”

The Rolls-Royce UltraFan demonstrator engine is the largest in the world, with a fan diameter of 140 inches. It entered final assembly in July this year and boasts a 14:1 bypass ratio. However, while most aerospace engines are designed with a specific aircraft in mind, the UltraFan has been designed to prove that the technology works. As such, this giant will most likely not power a plane in its current form. Given that the GEX9 is selected for the largest commercial airliner still (or soon to be) in production, the 777X, it is indeed hard to imagine what jet would take an even larger engine.

The Boeing 747 Rolls-Royce uses as a testbed was originally delivered to Cathay Pacific in April 1980 as VR-HIA. The plane was then bought by Air Atlanta Icelandic, which leased it to Saudia Arabian Airlines, AirAsia, and Air Atlanta Europe before selling it to Rolls-Royce in 2005. It is a 747-200 that now, somewhat ironically, carries the registration N787RR.

Initially, Rolls-Royce had intended for a second 747 testbed aircraft. However, with significant investments required to acquire and outfit the former Qantas 747-400 it was eyeing for the job, it decided to maintain its current, trusted quadjet instead.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/compani ... 7a3d120195

[J]

Joe Sutter Decal Applied to Final 747F
(With several photos)

December 2022 was a particularly tough month for commercial aviation geeks. Indeed, Boeing dismissed the production of one of the most loved commercial aircraft of all time, the Boeing 747. This aircraft, also known as "jumbo" for its majestic size, was not an ordinary aircraft but a real masterpiece that conquered the heart of aviation enthusiasts and millions of passengers worldwide.

Joe Sutter, the father of the jumbo jet, has come to be considered more a hero than the head engineer who played a pivotal role in the development of the Boeing 747 project. To celebrate his genius, a Joe Sutter decal has been applied on the front, right-handed side of the very last jumbo jet ever to be produced. The aircraft, with registration N863GT, has been delivered to one of the leading contract freighter operators, Atlas Air, which will fly the last Boeing 747 on a wet lease basis for the cargo company after it has completed all test flights.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/j ... a3817f494a

[Gabriel]

Forever Incredible. Very appropriate. The title of this thread is also very appropriate. Most, if not all, of us, will be retired before the 747 is.