Air Force One (Boeing 747)

First of all, I would like to clarify one thing so that you can understand my explanation of one of the planes that appear in the 2012 film, the Boeing 747 that is part of Air Force One. Air Force One is the code that gives control of the air traffic to any aircraft of the United States Air Force that transports the President of the United States and only when he is on board can adopt that call sign, meanwhile it will be considered as a civil aircraft. It is a common mistake to think that Air Force One refers to a specific aircraft. The presidential fleet has consisted of two specifically configured aircraft from the highly customizable Boeing 747-200B series, designated as VC-25A.

The Boeing 747, commonly nicknamed "Jumbo", is a trans-continental wide-body commercial airplane manufactured by Boeing. It is known for its large size, being the largest passenger plane for more than three decades until the company Airbus created the A380. It is also among the most famous aircraft in the world, known as the Queen of the Skies, and it realized its first commercial flight in 1970. With a typical distribution of three classes of passengers, it carries 416 people, while a two class arrangement can accommodate a maximum of 524 passengers. The 747-8, the newest version in service, flies at subsonic speeds of Mach 0.85 (about 913 kilometers per hour), and offers an intercontinental flight range of 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 kilometers). In addition, it was the first civil wide-body aircraft, the largest, the heaviest and the pioneer in the use of turbofan engines of high derivation ratio, less polluting and noisy than conventional turbojets. By January 2015, 1502 aircraft had been built, with another 35 units of the 747-8 variant waiting to be delivered.

Design

The Boeing 747 is a large, wide-body passenger jet, which means it has two aisles, with four wing-mounted engines. The wings have a large angle of wings in an arrow of 37.5 degrees for a fast and efficient cruise, which goes from Mach 0.84 to 0.88 depending on the variant. This angle also allowed the 747 to fit in existing hangars. The cockpit jutted out and created a hump that made the 747 distinctive. The cab was thus made to allow the opening of the nose in the cargo variants.

The 747 has many structural redundancy components including four hydraulic systems and a four-armed main gear with 16 wheels, which provide a soft landing and safety in case of bursts in the wheels, allowing to land with two arms of wheels without the need of use the other two if they are malfunctioning. In addition, the 747 has divided control surfaces and sophisticated three-layer flaps that minimize the speed of landings and allow the plane to land on common runways. To have spare engines, the first 747 could accommodate a fifth engine shut off under the wing of the aircraft between the first functional engine and the fuselage.

Types of Boeing 747

The 747-100 was the original variant, launched in 1966, followed by the 747-200 in 1968. The 747-300 was launched in 1980 and the 747-400 in 1985. More recently, the 747-8 was announced in 2005. Han Several versions of each variant have been produced, and many of the first variants were produced simultaneously.

747-100

Class 100 aircraft can travel more than 9000 km without refueling. The 100 was equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3A engines. Although no cargo version of this model was developed, many 747-100 found a secondary life converted into freighters. A total of 167 747-100s were built

747-100SR

The variant 747-100SR (Short Range) was created for the Japanese market, where its flights are oversaturated. It has lower fuel capacity and greater payload capacity. The 747SR had a lifetime of 52,000 flights over 20 years of operation, compared to 24,600 flights in 20 years for the 747 standard. The initial 747SR model, the -100SR, had a reinforced structure and a landing gear to support the additional accumulated stress of a greater number of take-offs and landings. Additional structural support was built on the wings, fuselage and landing gear, along with a 20 percent reduction in fuel capacity.

747SP

The 747SP is 14.73 m shorter than the 747-100. Fuselage sections were removed to the bow and stern of the wing, and the center section of the fuselage was redesigned. The SP flaps used a simplified single-slot configuration. The 747SP had longer vertical and horizontal stabilizers. Power was provided by the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 or Rolls-Royce RB211-524 engines.

747-200

The demand for longer range aircraft with higher payload quickly led to the -200 improvement, which offered more powerful engines and greater range than -100.

The 747-200B was the basic version of passengers, with greater fuel capacity and more powerful engines (Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7). The scope with a full passenger load started at more than 5,000 nmi (9,300 km) and increased to 6,000 nmi (11,000 km) with subsequent engines.

747 Supertanker

A variant of 747-200 is the Supertanker. This model was modified by the American company Evergreen International Aviation as a firefighting aircraft capable of operating with 94,850 liters of retardant.

747-300

The 747-300 has a top cover 7.11m longer than the -200. The stretched top cover has two emergency exit doors and is the most visible difference between the -300 model and previous models. The minor aerodynamic changes allowed the cruising speed of the -300 to reach Mach 0.85 compared to Mach 0.84 in the -200 and -100 models.

747-400

The 747-400 is an improved model with a greater range. It has wing extensions of 1.8 m and winglets of 1.8 m, which improves the fuel efficiency of the type by four percent compared to previous versions 747. The type also has tail fuel tanks, engines improved, and a new interior.

747LCF

The 747-400LCF or Dreamlifter is a modification designed by Boeing of the existing 747-400 to a larger configuration to transport subsets of the 787 Dreamliner.

747-8

Boeing announced a new variant of the 747 to compete with the Airbus A380 on November 14, 2005. The 747-8 uses the same engine and cab technology as the 787. The variant is designed to be quieter, more economical and more respectful with the environment. The fuselage of the 747-8 extends from 70.8 to 76.4 m.

As a derivative of the already common 747-400, the 747-8 has the economic benefit of similar training and interchangeable parts.

Accidents and incidents

Until 2015, the Boeing 747 has been involved in 122 incidents, including the loss of 48 aircraft, resulting in a combined figure of 2,850 fatalities. There have been 35 hijackings of 747 aircraft, which caused a total of 882 deaths.