Notes for film #2 National Geographic: Great Planes Boeing 747

and 777 Discovery Science Documentary (46 min) 1989, 2002

By: Science Fiction Documentales and National Geographic
Produced by: Job Rustenhoven
Directed by: Mike Bennett
I only watched the first part on the 747
For almost 40 years the jumbo 747 was the queen of the skies.
(0:45)
Lost that crown recently (2007) to the bigger A380, and Boeing
wants it back! (0:55)
They are going to completely redesign the 747 in the worlds
largest building in Everett Washington, the Boeing mega factory.
(1:03)
747-8 is the latest and most technologically advanced version of
the companys flagship. It will be the worlds longest airliner, and
the greenest in its class. (1:49)
Boeing mega factory could hold Disneyland inside it and still
have room for parking.(2:08)
There is lots of demand for new airplanes(5:10)
Because of soaring fuel costs, the 747 has become expensive
and dirty to fly. (emissions) (6:00)
Instead of designing a new plane they are making a greener and
better jumbo.(6:15)
The dash 8 will fly faster, travel 1/3 of the way around the world
without refueling and burn cleaner than any 747 before. (6:30)
Boeing looked 40 years before A380 at double decker but was
many negatives, so decided to go wider with 2 aisles instead of
higher. Pan-Am signed up for 25 jumbos cause they needed
longer range aircraft, so Boeing had to build mega factory in
1966.(9:15)
Workers started building original 747 while factory is still being
built. (10:00)
Build first ever 747 from scratch in 28 months. (10:35)
Since 1968 Boeing has built 1,400 jumbos. (12:50)
Building the jumbo is still hands on work, not a robot in sight.
(13:20)
Parts come from all over. Germany, China, Australia. 6 million
parts. (14:03)

 Wing assembly area takes up of factory space, new wings are

the largest Boeing has ever built.(16:05)
Wing is made of 3 spars which run length wise, and 55 ribs, this
provides great structural integrity.(17:06)
The solution for vortices or dirty air at wing tips is slanted or
raked wing tips, so vortices develop at very end of wing to
reduce drag. (19:02)
The wings had flutter which could be deadly, but they used
planes computer systems to cancel out the vibrations. Fly by
wire is the system. Pilot moves column, sends signal to wire and
then the actuator moves the surface. They can use the system to
make small adjustments to wing controls to cancel out the flutter.
(21:18)
On the new 747 the iconic hump (thought could use that second
level for crew rest area, or passengers) was expanded even
more. (24:03)
In delicate process, after fuselage is together the wings are
joined to the center fuselage, they span almost the entire factory
floor (5cm from each wall), which is why its done at night so less
risk for workers. (27:52)
Next tail is joined up to rest of plane to form outline of 747-8
which is 76 meters long, and 68 meters across. (28:17)
Boeing came close to bankruptcy in early years, layoffs, pressure
to hold development, but Joe Sutter made good decision not to
cut more people, and saved company. (29:00)
In 2008, 27,000 Boeing workers went on strike for 2 months,
each day lost costs Boeing 1 million dollars. This forces Boeings
deliveries to be delayed for 2 years. (29:54)
The old 747 engines consumed 12,000 liters of fuel an hour.
(30:35)
General Electric made their most efficient engine compatible for
the 747 but they cost 20 million dollars each. (31:15)
Fewer fan blades, and lower turning speeds, they are the
quietest engines GE has ever made. (31:46)
They can push through more air with less work, which means less
fuel burnt. (31:55)
10% of air is mixed with fuel, and 90% is pushed out back for
thrust. Despite less burnt fuel the 4 can power the 747-8 at over
1,000 kmh. (32:10)
Massive concrete blocks hang where engines go otherwise plane
would tip onto tail. Each engine weighs 7 tons. (33:00)
It only takes 8 bolts to hang the huge engines. (34:40)

 The front 4 are torqued less, so if engine should shear of the

front will fall first and fly back, so it doesnt hit the wings and
take everything out. (35:10)
Each circuit has to be checked, the plane uses enough electricity
to power over 50 houses. (214 kilometers of wiring) (35:55)
The pilot can override the fly by wire computer, and there are
multiple layers of backup if something goes wrong. Hydraulic,
then Air/Pneumatic, or electricity.(36:33)
The interior is borrowed from its little sister, the Dreamliner. New
colors, more space, and mood lighting are inside. (37:55)
In the massive paint booth, the green protective coating from
production is washed off. A base layer is sprayed by hand,
followed by several coats of color. (500 kilos of paint, and should
last 4 years) (38:28)
If too much paint is applied it could hide signs of metal fatigue,
and increase fuel consumption. (39:10)
Test pilots push the plane to the limits, which will never be
endured by passengers. (39:50)
The flight load test is the most grueling. It tests weight loads
across the plane, using water. The pilots pitch plane up and
down, stressing the fuselage, and wings. (40:40)
The velocity min. on stick test, test if the pilot takes off too slow,
and the tail scraps runway, if plane can still take off safely.
(41:45)
Next the flutter test pushes the fly by wire system to its max.
(42:32)
Thousands of workers, put together 6 million parts to form the
747-8. (44:00)
Cost of $333 million. (44:22)
The mega factory is delivering its 3,381 aircraft. (45:00)
Ready to reclaim title as queen of the skies! (45:14)
Interviews in film:

Chief 747 engineer

First 747 test pilot
Test pilot as of recent
Workers/Technicians
Joe Sutter father of the 747 Chief engineer from past.