Boeing 747: Das Flugzeug, das seinen Hersteller beinahe zerstörte – Komplette Dokumentation

Video from the channel Plane Curious Deutschland about Boeing 747, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 53:10. Language: German. Video type: Documentary.

German-language documentary covering the full history of the Boeing 747, from Pan Am's order to the end of its production. It explains the aircraft's technical solutions, its variants, its rivals and its role in mass tourism, air freight and government and military uses.

In the mid-1960s flying was expensive, and jets like the 707 carried around 140 passengers. Juan Trippe, head of Pan Am, asked Boeing for an aircraft for around 400 passengers capable of crossing the Atlantic non-stop. Boeing started from its proposal for the 1964 military competition eventually won by Lockheed with the C-5 Galaxy. To allow nose-door loading, the flight deck was raised, giving rise to the characteristic hump. In 1966 the company committed to the programme by taking on heavy debt and built the Everett plant, the largest building in the world by volume, before finalising the design. The engineering team was led by Joe Sutter.

The prototype flew on 9 February 1969 with Jack Waddell at the controls. After fixing nose-gear vibrations and other problems, the FAA certified it in December 1969. The first commercial flight, from New York to London with Pan Am, took place on 22 January 1970. The early years were difficult because of JT9D engine reliability, airports' lack of readiness and falling demand. Versatility as a freighter helped keep the programme afloat.

The documentary covers the 747-200 (1971), the 747SP (1976, 45 units), the 747-300 (1983, with Swissair as launch customer), the 747-400 (1989, with a glass cockpit, two pilots and 694 deliveries) and the 747-8, launched in 2005, with 155 units. It compares the aircraft with the DC-10, the L-1011, the A340, the A380 and the 777, and attributes its retirement to the efficiency of twinjets and the evolution of ETOPS rules. It also mentions the VC-25A, the E-4B, the Space Shuttle carrier aircraft and the 1991 Operation Solomon. The last 747 left the production line on 6 December 2022 and was delivered in January 2023 to Atlas Air. In total, 1,574 units were built.