| Boeing Dreamlifter | |
|---|---|
_Dreamlifter_-_PAE_(19833251496).jpg) Boeing 747-400 LCF Dreamlifter | |
| General information | |
| Type | Boeing 747-400 LCF |
| Manufacturer | |
| Status | In service |
| Primary user | Atlas Air under contract withBoeing |
| Number built | 4 (all converted aircraft) |
| Registration |
|
| History | |
| Introduction date | 2007 |
| First flight | September 9, 2006 |
| Developed from | Boeing 747-400 |
TheBoeing Dreamlifter, officially the747-400 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), is awide-bodycargo aircraft modified extensively from theBoeing 747-400 airliner. With a volume of 65,000 cubic feet (1,840 m3)[1] it can hold three times that of a747-400F freighter.[2] The outsized aircraft was designed to transportBoeing 787 Dreamliner parts between Italy, Japan, and the U.S., but has also flown medical supplies during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Boeing Commercial Airplanes announced on October 13, 2003, that, due to the length of time required by land andmarine shipping, air transport would be the main method of transporting parts for the assembly of theBoeing 787 Dreamliner (then known as the7E7).[4] Boeing 787 parts were deemed too large for standard marineshipping containers as well as the Boeing 747-400F,Antonov An-124 andAn-225.[5] Initially, three used passenger 747-400 aircraft were to be converted into an outsize configuration in order to ferry sub-assemblies from Japan and Italy toNorth Charleston, South Carolina, and then toWashington state for final assembly, but a fourth was subsequently added to the program.[6] The Large Cargo Freighter has a bulging fuselage similar in concept to theSuper Guppy and theAirbus Beluga andBelugaXL outsize cargo aircraft, which are also used for transporting wings and fuselage sections.
The LCF conversion was partially designed by Boeing's Moscow bureau andBoeing Rocketdyne with the swing tail designed in partnership withGamesa Aeronáutica ofSpain.[7] The cargo portion of the aircraft is unpressurized.[8] Unlike the hydraulically supported nose section on a 747 Freighter, the tail is opened and closed by a modified shipping container handling truck, and locked to the rear fuselage with 21 electronic actuators.[citation needed]
Modifications were carried out inTaiwan byEvergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation,[2] a joint venture ofEvergreen Group'sEVA Air andGeneral Electric.[9] Boeing reacquired the four 747-400s; one formerAir China aircraft,[10] two formerChina Airlines aircraft,[11][12] and one formerMalaysia Airlines aircraft.[13]
The first 747 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) was rolled out of the hangar atTaipei Taoyuan International Airport on August 17, 2006.[9] It successfully completed its first test flight on September 9, 2006, from this airport.[14]
The 787 Dreamliner parts are placed in the aircraft by the DBL-100cargo loader, the world's longest cargo loader.[15][16][17] In June 2006, the first DBL-100 cargo loader was completed.[18]
The 747 LCF's unusual appearance has drawn comparisons to theOscar Mayer Wienermobile and theHughes H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose").[6] Due to its ungainly form—exacerbated in that the first airplane remained unpainted for some time, due to the need for immediate testing—Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Scott Carson jokingly apologized to747 designerJoe Sutter that he was "sorry for what we did to your plane."[6]
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On September 16, 2006, N747BC arrived atBoeing Field,Seattle to complete the flight test program.[2] Swing-tail testing was done at the Boeing factory in Everett.[19] The second airplane, N780BA, made its inaugural test flight on February 16, 2007. The third began modification in 2007.[20] The first two LCFs entered service in 2007 to support the final assembly of the first 787s. Another747-400 came fromMalaysia Airlines, originally registered as 9M-MPA, before becoming N718BA.[20]
Delivery times for the 787's wings, built in Japan, was reduced from around 30 days to just over eight hours with the Dreamlifter.[21]Evergreen International Airlines (unrelated to EVA Air or EGAT), a U.S. air freight operator based inMcMinnville, Oregon, operated the LCF fleet[6][22] until August 2010. ThenAtlas Air, which was awarded a nine-year contract for the operation of the aircraft in March 2010, took over LCF operation.[23] Evergreen had achieved a 93% on flight schedule performance with the LCF,[24] and sued Boeing for $175 million,[25][26] which the court mostly dismissed.[27][28]
In December 2006, Boeing announced the 747 LCF would be namedDreamlifter, a reference to the 787's name, Dreamliner. It unveiled a standard livery for the aircraft that included a logo reminiscent of the 787's Dreamliner logo.[29]
Certification was initially planned for early 2007, but was pushed back to June 2007. The aircraft'swinglets were removed to resolve excess vibration and other handling characteristics prior to final certification. In the meantime, as part of the flight test program, LCF delivered major sections of the 787 from partner sites around the world to the Boeing factory inEverett, Washington for final assembly.[30] The 747 LCF was grantedFAA type certification on June 2, 2007. From its first flight in 2006 until certification in 2007, the Dreamlifter completed 437 hours of flight testing along with 639 hours of ground testing.[31]
Of the four 747 Dreamlifters Boeing acquired,[32] three were complete and operational by June 2008,[33] and the fourth became operational in February 2010.[34][35]
On July 1, 2020, a Dreamlifter arrived atSalt Lake City International Airport, carrying 500,000 face masks to be used by Utah school children and teachers as part of the state's response to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The flight was a joint effort between Boeing, Atlas Air, H.M. Cole, Cotopaxi,Flexport,UPS and the state of Utah.[36]
On November 20, 2013, Dreamlifter N780BA operated byAtlas Air inadvertently landed atColonel James Jabara Airport, a smallgeneral aviation airport inWichita, Kansas. Its intended destination wasMcConnell Air Force Base, 9 miles (14 km) past Jabara Airport on the same heading. The aircraft was able to successfully take off again from Jabara's 6,101-foot (1,860 m) runway the following day and landed at McConnell without incident.[37][38]
On October 11, 2022, Dreamlifter N718BA operated by Atlas Air lost a wheel from its main landing gear while taking off fromTaranto, Italy. The wheel bounced outside the airport perimeter and ended up in a vineyard. The plane continued on to North Charleston, South Carolina (CHS) and made a safe landing.[39][40]
The 747 LCF main cargo compartment has a volume of 65,000 cubic feet (1,840 m3) and the maximum payload capacity is 250,000 pounds (113,400 kg).[41]
| Model | 747 Dreamlifter | 747-400 |
|---|---|---|
| Cockpit crew | Two | |
| Length | 235 ft 2 in (71.68 m) | 231 ft 10 in (70.7 m) |
| Wingspan | 211 ft 5 in (64.44 m) | |
| Height | 70 ft 8 in (21.54 m) | 63 ft 8 in (19.4 m) |
| Fuselage width | 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) | 21 ft 4 in (6.50 m) |
| Spec Operating Empty Weight | 180,530 kg (398,000 lb) | 179,015 kg (394,661 lb) |
| Maximum take-off weight | 364,235 kg (803,001 lb) | 396,890 kg (874,990 lb) |
| Cruising speed | Mach 0.82 (470 kn; 871 km/h; 541 mph) | Mach 0.855 (490 kn; 908 km/h; 564 mph) |
| Takeoff run at MTOW | 9,199 ft (2,804 m) | 9,902 ft (3,018 m) |
| Range fully loaded | 4,200 nmi (7,800 km; 4,800 mi) | 7,260 nmi (13,450 km; 8,350 mi) |
| Max. fuel capacity | 52,609 US gal (199,150 L) | 57,285 US gal (216,850 L) |
| Engine models (×4) | PW 4056 | PW 4056 GE CF6-80C2B5F RR RB211-524G/H |
| Engine thrust (per engine) | 63,300 lbf (282 kN) | PW: 63,300 lbf (282 kN) GE: 62,100 lbf (276 kN) RR: 59,500 lbf (265 kN) |
Sources:Boeing 747-400 specifications,[42]Boeing 747 Airport Report,[43] 747 LCF fact sheet[21]
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Media related toBoeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter at Wikimedia Commons
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