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The Boeing 747-8 is the final series of the large, long-range wide-body airliners in the Boeing 747 family from Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the largest model variant of the 747 and Boeing's largest aircraft overall. Following the introduction of the 747-400, Boeing explored larger 747 versions as potential competitors to the proposed double-deck Airbus A3XX, later developed as the Airbus A380. The stretched aircraft, initially called the 747 Advanced was officially launched as the 747-8 on November 14, 2005, with the designation reflecting its technological ties to the 787 Dreamliner. At the time, Boeing forecasted a market of 300 aircraft.
The 747-8's maiden flight was made by the freighter version, the 747-8F, on February 8, 2010, followed by the passenger version, the 747-8I Intercontinental, on March 20, 2011. The freighter version was delivered in October 2011, and the passenger variant entered commercial service in June 2012.
The aircraft's fuselage was stretched by 18 feet (5.5 m), reaching a total length of 250 feet (76 m), making it the longest airliner in service until the debut of the 777X in 2020. While retaining the basic structural design and wing sweep of its predecessors, the 747-8 features a deeper and thicker wing, allowing for greater fuel capacity, and larger raked wingtips for improved aerodynamics. It is powered by a more efficient, smaller version of the General Electric GEnx turbofan engine from the 787 Dreamliner. As a result, its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) increases to 975,000 pounds (442 t), making the 747-8 the heaviest Boeing airliner.
The Freighter version, with a shorter upper deck, can haul 308,000 pounds (140 t) over 4,120 nautical miles [nmi] (7,630 km; 4,740 mi). The Intercontinental version can carry 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration with a range of 7,790 nautical miles (14,430 km; 8,960 mi). A total of 155 aircraft were built including 107 freighters and 48 passenger airliners. The final aircraft, a 747-8F, was delivered to Atlas Air on January 31, 2023.
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Comments The current VC-25A's, tail numbers 28000 and 29000, were ordered in the Reagan administration's second term in 1985. 28000 was delivered and first flown as Air Force One in September of 1990. and 29000 followed a few months later in 1991. That's 5 years and a few months to build from scratch a highly modified 747 with all of the security and classified features contained in it. They were both heavily upgraded and updated in 2002 after the 9/11 attacks and it was found that the communications systems were woefully out of date and the planes were not effective as an airborne white house and command center during a time of attack as they were supposed to be. The 2 VC-25B's were ordered in 2017 and started with 2 existing airframes that were built and never delivered to the airline that ordered them. They were sitting in storage at Boeing's Renton field.
It has already been 8 years, Boeing is billions over budget and they say they need another 4 years to complete the conversions? I understand that it's a special plane with tons of classified modifications that are both structural and functional, but more than 10 years to modify two existing airplanes when it took just over 5 years from order to delivery of the current planes and they actually had to build the damned planes??? Am I missing something here? Boeing is a mess. That's no secret. You would think that they would seek to polish their image and perhaps redeem themselves with 2 such high profile aircraft, but apparently not. I'm sorry, over 10 years to modify 2 existing airframes is ridiculous no matter how complicated it may be. Boeing needs to get its shit together. This is unacceptable. The current airframes are 35 years old and reaching the end of their useful lives. They are spending more and more time out of service for maintenance and repairs. They are actually becoming unreliable. This is also unacceptable. I understand why an interim plane is being sought.
- Don't discount the possibiity that King Donald was looking at a 747-8 to replace his old 757 private jet as opposed to shopping for an official air Force plane.
With regards to Official contract: Imporant to remember that Trump 1.0 cancelled original contract and forced Boeing to use undelivered already built 747-8s AND use a contractor that was friend with trump but with no experience for the interior fittings and that said contract ened up bankrupt, unable to do the work. Having to disassemble the alreaydy built 747s so they can be retrofited with all the measures/wriing costs a lot of money and time, more so than building from scratch and sending almost naked aircraft to military to be fitted with the fancy gadgets to turn he passenger jet into the lair of the evil person.
Lack of refueling is normal when you consider the range difference between 747-200 and 747-8 where he later wouldn't need refueling to get to places around he world. I think the only issue here is whether there is a still a mission of keeping the president in the air for a week at a time while situation on ground becomes safe enough to land.
- If this is true, long term I bet they will keep all 3 planes. Originally the AF wanted 3, but when they ran the numbers 3 new 747-8s were massively better expensive. I bet this ex-qatar plane would be bought at a steep discount. It’s hard to sell a 747 nowadays.
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