Boeing 747-400 Large Capacity Cargo Freighter

[nopassn]

coming along I guess...

Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter Taking Shape

SEATTLE, April 17, 2006 - Modifications continue on the 747-400s that will transport major components of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The distinctive look of the aircraft crystallized late last month with the installation of the brow, the section just behind the cockpit. The brow, joined to the other enlarged upper fuselage sections, is what makes the freighters ideal for shipping the large composite sections and wings of the Dreamliner. The volume of the Large Cargo Freighters main deck will be 65,000 cubic feet (1,845m3), three times the cargo by volume as the 747-400 freighter.

Two of the three airplanes that will be converted are undergoing modification at Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. in Taiwan. The third will follow later. The freighter will make its first flight this summer and be certified by the end of the year. The first two airplanes begin supporting 787 final assembly in 2007.

edit: found some CG mock-ups...

[McLareN]

Thats a huge plane...

[6'bore]

And yes it is truly staggering.

[McLareN]

Originally Posted by 6'bore

And yes it is truly staggering.

That typo never happened, OK?

[6'bore]

Originally Posted by McLareN

That typo never happened, OK?

Haha...if you say so

[Jonny Flash]

that is gonna use so much fuel

[Zondaboy1]

that looks sweet.
btw over the weekend i saw/touched an A12 blackbird. the first production model too. it is earlier than the SR 71 but it flies higher and faster

[SLoppYJeeP]

looks like an awsome peice of technology....but why dont they just ship the parts of the new plane on a boat instead of constructing a brand new air plane for the task?

[BjD]

I imagine because the factories are closer to an airstrip than they are to a harbour Plus, building something like this or the Airbus Beluga would be an 'in house' job and probably work out a lot cheaper than having a boat modified to carry the parts.

The Airbus plant near my parents house has had to resort to using boats to ship the A380 wings to Toulouse as I gather they wont fit in the Beluga. Its a hell of an operation, moving them on a special jig along a purposely built road, across a couple of main roads (and a railway line IIRC) to a barge, then up to Mostyn docks. Then onto a boat, which can only dock at certain times of the month due to the tides. Thats a lot more hassle and expense than building planes like this to shoot parts around the place.

[cmcpokey]

reminds me of the super guppy... used by nasa to take stuff, like parts of space stations, around the world.
http://m2reviews.cnsi.net/reviews/civil/dorrguppya.jpg

[IBrake4Rainbows]

It looks like it's taking a suppository, but it's still fairly awesome.

[matek]

1)Super Guppy
2)Super pregnant Guppy
3)Balooga
4)And now this wow may i just ask whats the point how many do you need?

But still rather cool.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Bigger transports = bigger cargo loads = bigger planes.

Soon, one wonders, that Antonov 225 won't be the biggest plane in the world.....

[matek]

I wana see what transport plane they use when they start building monowinged planes, if you look on the Rolls-Royce website ull see.

/instead of having a fusalarge you just have it built into one big wing being more aerodynamic and efficent, it will also have its engines on the top of the wing increasing top flow, which is how an aerofoil works.

My step dad work in the aeronautical industry as an editor of mainstream magazine and ive been to a few confrences and he brings back some press packs so im intrested in this kinda.

[Matra et Alpine]

Designed in Russia, built in Taiwan ........ William Boeing spinning faster than a Pratt&Whitney