Boeing 747-400ER (Extended Range)

Type
Long-range airliner (Großraum-Langstreckenverkehrsflugzeug)

Country (Land)
USA

Manufacturer (Hersteller)
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group
1901 Oaksdale Avenue Southwest
Renton, WA 98055

Phone: 001-206/655-9800
Fax: 001-206/655-9700

General (Allgemeine Angaben)
Crew (Besatzung): 2
Passengers (Passagiere): 416 in typical three-class configuration, 524 in two-class arrangement
Cargo capacity, main deck (Fracht im Hauptdeck): 30 pallets, 96x125 in (244x318 cm) for the freighter
Cargo hold below deck: 137 cu m to 158,6 cubic m

Power plant (Antrieb): 4 x General Electric CF6-80C2B5F or Pratt & Whitney 4062 or Rolls-Royce RB211-524H6-T-19
Thrust (Schub): 59500 lbs (RB211), 62100 lbs (CF6-80) or 63300 lbs (PW4062)

Dimensions (Abmessungen)
Length (Länge): 70,67 m
Height (Höhe): 19,41 m
Span (Spannweite): 64,44 m
Wing area (Flügelfläche): 541,1 sq m

Main deck cargo hold (Frachtraumvolumen, Hauptdeck): 605 cu m

Weights (Massen)
Max. payload (max. Nutzlast): 112,760 kg, optional 123,650 kg available with maximum take-off-weight limitation (freighter)
Max. fuel (max. Kraftstoff): 241140 litres in passenger version with auxiliary tanks, 203515 litres for the freighter
Max. take-off weight (max. Startmasse): 412775 kg
Max. landing weight (max. Landemasse): 302100 kg

Performance (Flugleistungen)
Typical cruise speed (Reisegeschwindigkeit): Mach 0.855 / 912 km/h or Mach 0.845 / 900 km/h at 35000 ft for the freighter
Range (Reichweite):
- 14205 km (passenger version with auxiliary tanks)
- 9215 km (freighter)

Costs (Kosten)
In late 2002, the 747-400ER list price was in the range of maybe 200 – 211 million US-Dollars while the 747-400ERF sold at around 200 – 214,5 million US-Dollars.

Customers (Kunden)
By the time of the first flight in July 2002, Boeing had the following customers for the 747-400ER (both passenger and freighter variants):

Air France: 2 freighters (747-400ERF), signed up on 24 April 2001 and announced on 14 May 2001 for delivery in November 2002
International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC): 3 freighter airplanes, ordered 17 April 2001. Delivey scheduled for October 2002.
KLM: 1 freighter (747-400ERF), ordered June 14, 2002
Qantas Airways: 6. Ordered Nov. 28, 2000. Delivery commenced in October 2002 as planned
Unidentified: 3 freighters, ordered 31 December 2001

Competitors (Konkurrenz)
Airbus A380

Remarks (Bemerkungen)
The 747-400ER is an improved version of the 747-400 with the gross weight pushed to 412770 kg, an increase of 15875 kg. It allows another 982 km range or an additional 9980 kg payload.
Changes from the 747-400 include:

Strengthened nose gear and wheel well
Strengthened main landing gear and new radial tyres and wheels
Localized fuselage strengthening
Localized outboard wing strengthening
Strengthened empennage
A new cabin interior with 777-style overhead "pivot" bins increasing stowage. Passengers will also appreciate the lavatory enhancements found in the new interior.
Auxiliary fuel tank (and a second optional auxiliary tank) located in the lower lobe's forward cargo compartment (in the passenger version only).
Horizontal tail fuel tank adds 12390 litres
Revised avionics software and Liquid Crystal Displays.

History (Geschichte)
After offering various new 747 versions with higher weights and stretched fuselages to counter the Airbus A3XX (now A380), lack of airline interest forced Boeing to abandon these ambitious plans in the spring of 2001.
What remained was an incremental development of the existing 747-400, at first dubbed the "Longer Range” version. The passenger model was launched on 28 November 2000 with an order for six from Qantas.
The freighter equivalent was given the go-ahead on 30 April 2001, with the announcement that ILFC has confirmed an order for five of the aircraft, valued at 1 billion US-Dollars at list prices. It now seems that two of these are actually bought by Air France direct.
Boeing engineers completed 90 per cent of the design work for both the passenger and freighter versions of the new "Longer Range” 747-400 family in mid-December 2001. Major assembly started in February 2002 (747-400ER) and May 2002 (747-400ERF).
The first 747-400 had its major sections joined in early May 2002 and was rolled out at Everett on 17 June 2002. It is the 1308^th 747 to be built.
On July 31, 2002 the new 747-400ER (extended range) took off from Paine Field for the first time, formally beginning its flight test program. Capt. Joe MacDonald, 747 chief pilot, was at the controls when the aircraft lifted off the runway at exactly 10 a.m. "Whatever the phase of flight, this airplane handles effortlessly and flawlessly," MacDonald said. "It's a 747 with a Boeing pedigree. That's as good as it gets." Alongside MacDonald in the cockpit was Capt. Mark Feuerstein, 747 assistant chief pilot. Together, they flew the airplane known internally at Boeing as "RF001" for several hours and perform a series of tests on the airplane's systems before landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. The new 747-400ER's tail number is, appropriately, N747ER.
At the time of the first flight, the second 747-400ER was in the final stages of assembly. Together, the two test airplanes racked up more than 275 hours of flight-testing and about 400 hours of ground tests.
The first 747-400ER was handed over on 30 October 2002 to Qantas Airways. Accepting the airplane on behalf of Qantas was the airline's goodwill ambassador and actor John Travolta. "The 747 has been a key to our long-haul success for more than 30 years and this latest model with its enhanced performance capability will continue to give Qantas a competitive edge, especially on long-haul trans-pacific routes," said David Forsyth, executive general manager - Aircraft Operations, Qantas Airways, Ltd.
The first cargo model 747-400ERF (extended range) freighter, was is in service with Air France by early November. This aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corporation. "The 747-400ER will allow us to fly freight non-stop on routes to North and South America and Asia that have previously required refueling stops," said Marc Boudier, Air France Cargo executive vice president. "We plan to use the airplane to reach such destinations as Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Mexico City and Houston."

Last updated 12 November 2002

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