Top 10 MODIFIED Boeing 747's Ever Built

as of today there are only 441 Boeing 747 aircraft in active Airline service and that number is decreasing rapidly as time goes on so we're going to explore the top 10 modified Boeing 747s if you've seen one of these aircraft in your lifetime you can be considered to be one of the lucky few let's get into it starting with number 10 on our list is the quanta 747 with five engines Yes you heard that right a plane with five engines but it's not exactly what you might think in 2016 Quantas faced an urgent need to transport an engine to Johannesburg their solution was to attach the spare engine to the left wing of the 747 this unconventional configuration resulted in an unusual imbalance for the aircraft with the additional engine providing no power and increasing drag on the left side the plane required careful handling Pilots had to compensate for the imbalance by applying larger Rudder inputs in the opposite direction while the the autopilot helped maintain balance by adjusting the rudder trim manually controlling the aircraft posed a non-routine challenge for the flight crew despite the unusual setup the 6-ton Rolls-Royce engine was successfully transported to Johannesburg on a passenger flight it must have been quite a sight for the fortunate passengers on board witnessing this extraordinary moment in aviation history moving on to number nine we have Pikachu's Garden in 1998 Japan's largest Airline all nipon Airways unveiled its Pokémon themed Livery to the world during the peak of the cartoon's popularity the boing 747400 D was revealed on the same day as the release of Pokémon the first movie it featured all 151 original Pokémon on its exterior and the interior was decked out with a Pokémon theme including themed headrests food containers and souvenir bags The Experience didn't stop there even the flight Crews were Pokémon style Uniforms over the years as Pokémon evolved so did the themes in 1999 a contest was held for a new Pokémon design to coincide with the launch of Pokémon the Movie 2000 although all nipon Airways retired at 747s in 2013 those planes sporting the original Pokémon Livery left a lasting impression at number eight on our list is NASA's Space Shuttle carrier also known as the shuttle carrier aircraft or SCA in short these were two Boeing 747s Modified by NASA to transport space shuttles from their Landing sites back to the Kennedy Space Center one was a 747-100 while the other was a 747-100 Sr in the 1970s the Boeing 747 was chosen over lockheed's C5 Galaxy as NASA's official shuttle carrier due to its lower wing design and NASA's ability to to purchase the 747 outright the ownership of the c5s would have remained with the US Air Force if chosen the 747 underwent extensive structural and avionics upgrades to fulfill its role the ska holds a significant place in American Aerospace history its final mission took place on February 8th 2012 delivering parts for NASA's Sofia which stands for stratospheric Observatory for infrared astronomy to the dren flight research facility in Palmdale California the space shuttle carrier is now preserved and displayed in Palmdale serving as a reminder of the exciting era of space flight in the 1970s and 1980s number seven on our list is Air Force 1 one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world since 1987 Air Force 1 has symbolized the might of the US military technically Air Force 1 is the official call sign used by air traffic control for any aircraft carrying the president of the United States otherwise known as vc25a the Air Force 1 designation is only used when the president is aboard these aircraft boast impressive features both mechanically and aesthetically the vc25a can fly 7,800 nautical miles without refueling thanks to its inflight refueling system practically granting it unlimited range however there's speculation that future versions of the VC 25A won't have this feature inside the interior is luxuriously appointed featuring amenities such as an office conference room and private quarters for the president moving on to number six we have the Boeing dreamlifter the Boeing 747 dreamlifter is a heavily modified cargo freighter used exclusively to transport aircraft components for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner it's often compared to the Airbus Beluga XL the dreamlifter was born out of the necessity to transport 7 87 parts that were too large for conventional land or sea Transportation it can carry roughly three times the cargo of a standard 747-400 freighter apart from the expanded cargo space the dreamlifter doesn't differ much from the 747-400f the first dreamlifter took its inaugural flight on August 17th 2006 and completed its first flight a month later from taipe International Airport now let's explore number five on our list the Rolls-Royce 747 test bed Rolls-Royce acquired a retired 747-400 passenger aircraft from kantas to use as a platform for testing their engines over 2 years Aerotech modified the aircraft extensively stripping out its interior including 364 seats and the cabin area and installing instrumentation and data acquisition systems to measure engine performance in Flight these new instruments enable Rolls-Royce to test a wider range of electrical and hydraulic conditions moreover this modified aircraft can fly faster and higher allowing Rolls-Royce to conduct tests in diverse scenarios to Aid in the development of future engines now let's talk about number four on our list the Boeing KC 33a the KC 33a is a modified super tanker based on the 747-100 originally intended for midair refueling operations by the United States Air Force it was ultimately rejected in favor of the kc1 extender however four of these aircraft were sold to the Iranian Air Force the KC 33a was equipped with a boom for refueling and could carry payloads of around £200,000 another configuration featured an aerial refueling receptacle at the front end and to facilitate loading and unloading it had a front noose cargo door due to its substantial size and weight the KC 33a required long runways for takeoff and Landing a factor that influenced the Air Force's decision to opt for the kc1 instead additionally 4 engine aircraft typically require more maintenance making them more costly to operate moving on to number three on our list is the Virgin orbit Cosmic girl 747 the cosmic girl is a modified Boeing 747-400 that was previously utilized for passenger transport as part of Virgin Atlantic's Fleet before being acquired by Virgin Galactic in 201 15 now it serves as the first stage launch platform for launcher one the smallest orbital launch vehicle designed to carry small satellite payloads into Suns synchronous orbit the cosmic girl carries the rocket to a high altitude over the Pacific Ocean before releasing it modifications to the aircraft mainly focused on strengthening the wings to accommodate the heavy rocket which weighs approximately 300 kg or about 660 lb the unique aspect of this setup is that the the cosmic girl structure is particularly suitable for carrying a fifth engine under the inner part of the wing originally designed for fitting a spare engine for fing purposes this space is now utilized to mount the rocket under the left wing between the inner engine and the fuselage very impressive let's continue with number two on our list the 747 Sr this aircraft was developed primarily for the Japanese Market with a focus on smaller fuel tanks and larger payload capabilities the initial 747-100 Sr featured a stretched Upper Deck allowing for seating of up to 498 passengers in early models and 550 in later versions to accommodate the increased stress from more takeoffs and landings the body structure landing gear and wings were reinforced with a 20% reduction in fuel capacity between 1973 and 1975 a total of 47747 D100 Sr aircraft were built all for Japan Airlines these planes were designed with a 20-year life expectancy and were capable of completing over 52,000 flights during that period surpassing the typical long range Boeing 747 in terms of flight frequency and finally at the top of our list is number one the night watch the nightwatch is a designation given to the Boeing e4b when the president of the United States is on board this military 747 also known as the Doomsday plane has been in service with the US Air Force since 1974 it is equipped with specialized Electronics designed for survival serving as a mobile survival command post for the president nightwatch is capable of withstanding an EMP blast and is equipped with direct fire counter measures remarkably it can accommodate a crew of up to 112 people the largest crew of any United States Air Force aircraft in history similar to Air Force 1 nightwatch also features a refueling system that enables it to remain Airborne for an entire week in case of an emergency this aircraft represents yet another impressive addition to the United States military's formidable aerial Arsenal don't forget to like And 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Channel: Aviatrix

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Keywords: B747, Boeing 747, Jumbo jet, Modified Boeing 747, Pikachu Boeing 747, Dreamlifter, Boeing YAL-1, NASA space shuttle carrier, AirForce one, B747 Super Tanker, B747 Nightwatch, B747 SOFIA, Aviation, airline, Lufthansa B747, boeing 747 take off, boeing 747 landing, boeing 747 crash, aviation facts, biggest aircraft in the world, largest airplane in the world, jumbo jet, jumbo jet landing, boeing 747, boeing, airplane, aviation, b747 super tanker, sultan boliah b747

Id: Eo5H2-ICQJE

Length: 10min 23sec (623 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 19 2024