The Boeing 747 is Boeing's biggest plane - or is it? Turns out, Boeing has a bigger aircraft called the Boeing Dreamlifter. Created for the express purpose to transport Boeing 787 parts, this platform holds the most interior space of any Boeing aircraft
So why don't we put some passengers in it? After all, with more space than even the proposed Boeing 747X, this plane would change the landscape of aviation and commercial freight forever - let us dive into it.
The Boeing Dreamlifter, proper name, the Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF), is an engineering marvel. Created from the shell of a Boeing 747-400, the dreamlifter has a greatly expanded internal cargo area that can carry entire plane fulsages across the great American continent, from smaller Boeing 737s up to Boeing 787 Dreamliners - especially those that can't fit on rail or trucks. Boeing uses them to link its international production line from Japan and Italy to North Charleston and Washington.
It is essentially the Boeing equivalent of the Airbus Beluga. Fascinatingly, unlike Airbus, these aircraft are not built from scratch but rather from existing conversions. The four Dreamlifters that exist are from Air China, China Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines - Boeing acquired the 747-400s and converted them to Taiwan, hence why all of them come from Asia.
The Boeing 747 dream lifter nearly has all the same specifications as the 747-400, slightly longer by 1 meter, or 3 or so feet. It is taller, however, at 21.54 meters or 70 feet and 8 inches and is wider at 8.38 meters, 27 feet and 6 inches, approx 2 meters more than the 747-400. This gives us a total empty space of 65,000 cubic feet (1,840 m³).
If the upper level has a width of 838 cm, and the average seat is 17 inches across or 43 cm, then we can fit a total of 16 seats across, factoring in twin aisles. Now that's quite complicated as it would mean a configuration of 5 - 6 - 5 which is unrealistic, but we could fit in a third row in exchange for an extra seat and end up with 4 - 4 - 4 - 4. Brutal, but not outrageous. A more realistic option would be a 3 - 4 - 4 - 3, giving room for the bulkhead.
At 45 rows of passengers on the upper deck, this would be 14 x 45 or 630 passengers.
But what about the lower deck? The lower level has the same width as a Boeing 747, and thus, we can assume the same configuration of 3-4-3 across with 17 inches of width. Now for the rows, the plane likewise has a similar lower level and we can assume around 45 rows, giving us 450 passengers on the lower deck if all economy.
In combination, this is just over a thousand passengers, or 1070 souls.
There would likely be room for business class passengers. Looking at how Lufthansa laid out its 747-400 series, they reduced the economy down to 308 and 53 business class seats on the lower deck. Bringing out a new realistic total, with two classes, to 811. Still insane and still bigger than the A380!
The great thing about the 747 Dreamlifter as it actually has the existing power of the 747-400 and is a preferred aircraft for cargo operations. With these four engines, the aircraft has a range of 4,200 nmi (4,800 mi; 7,800 km) fully loaded with a maximum payload capacity is 250,000 lb (113,400 kg)
811 passengers, divided roughly 50/50 would be 83.5 kg per person, for a total of 67,718.5 tonnes, or 149.2 thousand pounds. That's half our weight gone from the maximum payload. With the other half we need to include luggage, say 20kg per person, so 16,220 kg or 35,000 pounds. Giving us only 29.4 thousand kilos for the rest of the plane - bulkhead, seats, toilets, entertainment systems, food, beverages - it all adds up.
There are other issues.
First of all, the main cabin is totally unpressurized. As in, everyone on board would be freezing in flight and wouldn't be able to breath in flight.
That being said, there are some unsung advantages of this plane. For one, at airports this aircraft could simply open up its tail when at the gate and allow many passengers to board and leave instantly.
It is also possible that the plane could be turned into a combi aircraft and used for passengers on the top deck, and cargo on the bottom deck - a tantalizing prospect for airlines in 2021 who require commercial freight to survive. After all the Boeing 747-400 was actually used as a Combi aircraft by KLM for many years for its trans-Caribbean routes from Europe.
Overall, the Dreamlifter really just shows us how flexible the actual 747 platform is. It is incredible that not only have we have multiple generations of passenger 747s, but also all these insane wacky designs like the 747 missile carrier and the 747 dreamlifter. Its for these reasons that while we might be saying goodbye to trijets, goodbye to the A380, the 747 queen of the skies will be sticking around for a bit longer yet.