Video: 747-8F - Heaviest AND Lightest 747, All In The Same Day!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 12:52PM This recent Boeing video shows the 747-8F (F for 'freighter') going thru 'flight load survey' tests to make sure it's all up to the task of encountering any extreme flight condition, even at gross weight. So, with a load of flight test engineers on board, the 8F is flown rollercoaster fashion for hours, putting both the airframe, and the FTE's stomachs to the test.
When you consider that essentially every 747 flying on that day around the world was probably pretty far from '0' g at the one end, and 2 to 2-1/2 g's at the other end, it's pretty safe to say this 747 was both the heaviest and lightest all in the same flight! Pretty amazing actually since the tests are flown at gross weight... image the stresses of twice the force of gravity on an airframe weighing almost 1 million pounds!
Reader Comments (1)
We see this baby here at Edwards on a regular basis. Boeing has been doing a lot of the flight testing here and at Palmdale/Plant 42.