B747 WITH SHUTTLE MODEL

The Boeing 747, also known as ""Jumbo Jet"", is a commercial airliner made by Boeing and is considered to be a wide body aircraft. The B747 is known for its impressive size and it is one of the worlds most recognizable aircraft. In 1970, the B747 had its first flight and held the passenger capacity record for 35 years.

American first lady Pat Nixon was the first one who used the B747 at the Washington Dulles International Airport. Red, white and blue water was sprayed on the aircraft instead of breaking a bottle of champagne. The first commercial flight of B747 took place on January 22, 1970 which was headed to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

The Boeing 747 was designed in such a way that it could easily adapt to carrying of shipments so when sales of passenger version dried up, the plane could remain production as a cargo transport. The cockpit of B747 was placed on a shortened upper deck thus this created a unique bulge for the B747. The B747 was expected to become obsolete after sales of 400 units but it passed the critic’s expectation and the production passed the 1000 mark in 1993. As the year 2006 ended 1380 planes were built. The latest one was the B747-8.

Throughout its history, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA has used several different types of aircraft on a permanent, semi-permanent, or short-term basis. The agency has three 747s: a 747-100, a 747-100SR, and a 747SP. The 747-100 and 747-100SR are currently used as Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) while the 747SP is in use as Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

The SCAs are used to ferry space shuttles from landing sites back to the launch complex at the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, and to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transport. The 747-100 was was acquired from American Airlines in 1974 and was extensively modified in 1976. Its cabin was stripped, mounting struts were added, the fuselage was strengthened, and vertical stabilizers were added to the tail. The avionics and engines were also upgraded. In 1988, in the wake of the Challenger accident, NASA procured the 747-100SR from Japan Airlines on recommendation from the review board. It entered service with NASA in 1990 after similar modifications. It was the first used to ferry the new shuttle Endeavour in 1991.