If there was an aircraft has rocked the world like what A380 does now, it must be Boeing B747, the Jumbo Jet, in the 70s.

 

The ancestor of B747 was the prototype Boeing used to compete for the USAF heavy lift transport contract, but eventually Lockheed's C-5 Galaxy won the race.  However, Boeing foresaw the bloom of commercial jet transportation, led by enormous popularity of Boeing 707, in terms of distance and capacity, so it decided to develop a giant airliner twice as big as B707 base on the military version to save costs.  The plan was backed by Pan Am, the first customer of B747, who placed an order of 25 aircrafts just in the first time.

 

From the present view, B747 can be considered as the most successful project conducted by Boeing, but it is also the biggest gamble in the history of Boeing.  Having promised Pan Am to deliver the aircrafts in 1970, Boeing only had 4 years to design, construct, test and apply the licence from FAA.  Besides the time constrain, space was another problem.  It is because Boeing had never built an aircraft in that size, so it had to construct a whole new plant in Everett, Washington, Seattle, first.  Obstructs didn't stop there, with the huge size of B747 fuselage, Pratt & Whitney's powerful high bypass turbofan engine, JP9D, which was orignially used on B52 bomber, was the only option.  But the pylon design was so faulty that it could not carry the weight of the engine, so the design had to be scrapped and started all over again.  There was a time that about 30 B747 fuselage parked inside the plant with concrete blocks hanging on the wings.  To make things worse, at the end of 60s, recession hit America.  Boeing had invested about 1 billion dollars on B747 project, and it almost bankrupted this legendary company.  Despite all these difficulties, B747-100 conducted its maiden flight on 9th Feb 1969 and entered service on 21st Jan 1970.  Maybe this is the reason why all those who worked on the development of B747 were given the nick name of "The Incredibles".

 

 In order to achieve the requested capacity, engineers studied various fuselage designs, double-bubble or superimposed single tube with two decks.  Finally the configuration settled at double decks with smaller upper deck used for cockpit and business class passengers.  At the main deck, passengers can easier be seated with 10 abreast all the way to the nose section.  This layout not only increases capacity tremendously but also provides the privileged feeling to the business class customers.  Moreover, B747 can be easily converted to freighter with its optional nose loading door, large size side cargo door and automatic cargo loading system.  It is because at that time, B747 was living in the shadow of supersonic transport (Concorde and Boeing 2707). 

 

To appease concerns about the safety and flyability of such a massive aircraft, B747 was designed with four backup hydraulic systems, split control surfaces, multiple structural redundancy, triple-slotted trailing edge flaps, full leading edge kruger flaps, 37.5 degrees sweep back to achieve the maximum Mach number, and 17 wheels in 5 units to comply with existing runway condition.  All these factors lowered B747's operation cost significantly.  Pan Am has calculated that a B747 Combi can make money with fully loaded cargo without carrying a single passenger.  Airlines are also attracted by B747's long range and high capacity.  With its intercontinental configuration, B747 can easily fly from New York to Hong Kong (one third of the way around the globe).  A typical three-class layout accommodates 416 passengers while a two-class layout accommodates a maximum of 524 passengers. A single-class layout could seat up to 624 passengers.  In 19991, one Israeli B747 airlifted a staggering 1,087 refugees from Ethiopia.

 

B747 has many variants.  It started with 100, and soon upgraded to 200.  The 300 model is also called SUD, stretched upper deck, which has 91 passengers on the upper deck.  For 400 model, winglets were added to the wing; digital instruments and two-man operation concept were used in cockpit design.

 

B747's outstanding performance makes it favourable not only in civil aviation, but also in other areas.  As we all know, Air Force One, the legendary ride of the President of the United States, is B747-200B.  Six B747 were modified as National Emergency Airborne Command Posts, which can command the US military in the nuclear war.  B747 can also be modified as aerial refueling tanker.  NASA uses B747 to transport space shuttle to 50000 feet and launch it from there.

 

The latest model of B747 is B747-8, which was announced on 14th Nov 2005, which will use the same engine and cockpit technology, and wing designs as B787, the Dreamliner.  Boeing claims that the new design will be quieter, more economical and more environmentally friendly. But Airbus quipped that it was just the same old story and Boeing was lack of innovation.

 

When an airline is shopping for an aircraft, there are so many factors it has to consider, such as price, range, capacity, operation cost, maintenance, crew training, etc, and as you can see, technologies can barely make to the list.  For 30 years, B747 has been proved to be a wonderful flying machine, and I believe there is no doubt that it will continue rocking the world.

I got sun burn, why? Because I went to catch the 13th and the last Asian Airspace Show, well, in Singapore.  After 25 years of marriage, Reed Exhibition decided to divorce Singapore Government, and move the Asian Airspace Show to Hong Kong.  But no worries, Singapore will organise its own air show.  To be frank, I am not sure whether it is a good idea or not.  Is this project really feasible?  Or just Singapore Government can't swallow the embarrassment of being dumped by a party organiser?  Anyway, why did I have to go there?  It is all because of the shitty business I am in.

 

Disregard the sun burn, it is always good to see some of the state-of-the-art flying machines, especially the one and only fully double decker superjumbo, the one "you know who", and the one "will shape the landscape of future aviation" - A380.  This is the first time A380 was shown to Asian public, and let me tell you this, its size and manoeuvrability are really impressive.  For its free flying show DVD, please dial 1800-918918-A380, Ooh... come on, you know I am kidding!

 

If A380 is the cream of the corn in civil aviation, then that in military terrain must be AH-64D Apache Longbow attacking helicopter on this show.  In May 2002, Singapore Air Force bought 20 Apaches from the United State.  Since then, pilots and ground crew have been sent to oversea for training, and last week's air show was its debut on its new motherland.  I still remember the first time I read about Apache on a military magazine during secondary school, I was so shocked by its unconventional shape, prima firing power and its nick name - the flying tank.

 

Apache is developed by Boeing (McDonnell Douglas, former Hughes), and it is the US Army's primary attack helicopter.  It is a twin-engine, four bladed, multi-mission attack helicopter designed to fight and survive during the day, night, and in adverse weather throughout the world. It is a quick-reacting, airborne weapon system that can fight close and deep to destroy, disrupt, or delay enemy forces. With a tandem-seated crew consisting of the pilot, located in the rear cockpit position and the co-pilot gunner, located in the front position, the Apache is self-deployable, highly survivable and delivers a lethal array of battlefield armaments.

 

The Apache can carry up to 16 Hellfire laser designated missiles. With a range of over 8000 meters, the Hellfire is used primarily for the destruction of tanks, armored vehicles and other hard material targets. The Apache can also deliver 70, 2.75" folding fin aerial rockets for use against enemy personnel, light armor vehicles and other soft-skinned targets. Rounding out the Apache’s deadly punch are 1,200 rounds of ammunition for 30MM M230 chain gun. The Apache has a full range of aircraft survivability equipment and has the ability to withstand hits from rounds up to 23MM in critical areas.  This is why AH-64 was given the code name of the most intrepid indian tribe.

 

Powered by two General Electric gas turbine engines rated at 1890 shaft horsepower each, the Apache's maximum gross weight is 17,650 pounds which allows for a cruise airspeed of 145 miles per hour and a flight

endurance of over three hours.

 

The Apache features a Target Acquisition Designation Sight (TADS) and a Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS) developed by Lockheed Martin. The turret-mounted TADS provides direct view optics, television and three fields of view forward looking infra-red (FLIR) to carry out search, detection and recognition. PNVS consists of a FLIR in a rotating turret located on the nose above the TADS. The image from the PNVS is displayed in the monocular eyepiece of the Honeywell Integrated Helmet And Display Sighting System (IHADSS) worn by the pilot and co-pilot gunner. (Sounds like a 3D game, doesn't it?)

 

The AH-64 fleet consists of two aircraft models, the AH-64A and the newer Longbow, AH-64D. AH-64A model full-scale production began in 1983, and the production line in Mesa, Arizona was shift to AH-64D in 1997. The primary modifications to the Apache are the addition of a millimeter-wave Fire Control Radar (FCR) target acquisition system, the fire-and-forget Longbow Hellfire air-to-ground missile, updated T700-GE-701C engines, and a fully-integrated cockpit, which make AH-64D 400 percent more lethal, and 720 percent more survivable than the AH-64A. Besides being deployed in the US Army and National guard, Apaches were exported to Egypt (A/D), Greece (A), Israel (A/D), Japan (D), the Netherlands (A/D), Saudi Arabia (A), Singapore (D), South Korea (A), United Arab Emirates (A) and the United Kingdom (A).

 

The Apache does not just look good on paper.  Since it joined the Army, the Apache has demonstrated its supreme capabilities in Panama, Kuwait (Operation Restore Hope and Operation Desert Storm), Iraq (Operation Provide Comfort), and Bosnia (Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Joint Guard and Operation Joint Forge).

 

The Russian-developed Mi-24 HIND is the Apache's closest couterpart. The Russians have also developed the KA-50 HOKUM as their next generation attack helicopter. The Italian A-129 Mangusta is the nearest NATO counterpart to the Apache. The Germans and French are co-developing the PAH-2 Tigre attack helicopter, which has many of the capabilities of the Apache.

 

So as a peace loving country like Singapore, why did it want to buy this war machine anyway?  It is because Singapore has money and the US likes this economy driven community.  Anyway, as the Apache is flying around Woodland, the whole JB can hear it.  There for sure will be no water or bridge disputes between Singapore and Malaysia anymore.  Haha... I am just kidding lah!