Believe it or not, people are still interested in Quad Engined jets still. But why?
A few reasons :
No ETOPS requirement. ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) of extending twin engine aircraft that at points during the journey are greater than a 60 minutes’ flying time from an diversion point with one engine inoperative. There are different grades of ETOPS Type Certification (90, 120, 180), and also different grades of ETOPS operator. Examples of ETOPS aircraft are the 737, 757, 767, 777, the A320 Series and the A330 Series.
They can lift heavy amounts. Believe it or not, there’s an lot of cargo shifted by air. 747’s are good at shifting stuff around either in the cargo bay… or as a cargo plane
C’mon. It’s big and better! Well it’s what you do with the size that matters to be honest – but in civil terms, the Boeing 747 is a very popular cargo and passenger plane.
So there are few Quad Engined large aircraft in common service – the Airbus A380 (which to lift that hulk in the air, 4 engines wouldn’t a bad idea), the Airbus A340 (with those ammeniac engines and very low climb speed, it’s still a wonder that can get in the air) and of course – the Boeing 747 Series (various subclasses).
And so, Boeing announced the 747-8 to the world – and the first airframe is slowly coming together.
The visible design change is that winglets are now out of fashion, and we’re off to raked wingtips (turblance control… saves a lot of fuel in the long run). In addition, there are stretches of the main body too – and of course a new plane means new engines – this time 787 derived engines (a lot of 787 technology has made its way into this design – hence the 8 designator) from GE (GEnx class)
The 747-8 project has two major forks in it
| 747-8F – The Freighter version – this is the aircraft that seems to have garnered the most interest (and the most orders). In simple terms, it’s a 5.7 meter stretch (one beyond the Upper deck, one behind the wingbox), a predicted MTOW (Max Take Off Weight) of 440,000 kg, 140,000 kg actual load weight and a range of 4,475 nmi when loaded. It also has a smaller upper deck section than a 747-400/747-8. | 747-8I – The Intercontinental (Passenger) Version – Designed for 467 people in a 3 class configuration, this will be Boeing’s largest passenger aircraft. Again – it has a longer stretch in it (another 5.6 meters – in the twin deck and post the wingbox). However, the 747-8 in passenger terms has been overshadowed by its newer sibling – the 787 – which in many respects has cannibalised sales of of the 747-8I (the only airline ordering them in mass numbers i Lufthansa). With the development costs of an aircraft, this does open up questions about the future of this part of the project. However, there could be one little thing that does help it push ahead – the replacement VC-25 Aircraft (best known as Air Force 1) |
My short analysis. The 747 is alas fading fast from view as a passenger airliner, and in fact is heading more towards its 2nd view when the 747 project was initiated those years ago – as a cargo jet.
Whilst the future of twinjet engined aircraft is assured thanks to ETOPS and the cost savings of not have four engines pushing at full power, there will still be a need for heavy jets that can take the cargo back and forth – and thus the need for more efficient and lower running cost aircraft. Hopefully the 747-8 will have some part in that.
(787 Update Analysis later on when I have time to translate the news into English)
