6 years ago i watched this documentary as a high school kid and it inspired me to be an aerospace engineer. now that i am doing a high school diploma in aircraft maintenance, i cant explain the feeling of seeing this documentary again.
Okay, I thought it was really good, too, but what makes it the best ever? Are you guys pilots or something, allowing you to enjoy it on a totally different level? Could I recommend some other documentaries for you (and I'd like to get your recommendations in return) ? Seriously, do you mean, like EVER? Or, like it's the best airplane documentary, or science doc, or some other genre? Now I'm trying to think of one that I would call 'the best ever.' When I think of it, I'll have to come back and let everyone know. My mind is blanking out right now. Who knows, maybe this IS the best documentary in the history of television....? I'm suspecting both of you know a bit about airplanes, and on some level, perhaps the facts represented here are 100% perfect reporting, as only an engineer (etc.) could totally comprehend without doing any additional research. Am I close, or do you, like me, simply find airplanes fascinating? Like, you can watch them take off and land from a safe (but close) vantage point near an airport over and over again? I may be overthinking your comments. That's also a distinct possibility.
God bless these men and women. I've never flown British Airways, but its wonderful to know the pride and care they take in making sure the flying public are traveling in a safe and thoroughly inspected piece of machinery. God bless all of you.
The most beautiful, aircraft ever designed, in my opinion. I was so glad to learn recently that the next generation of Air Force One will still be a Boeing 747.
The 747 is the most wonderful/beautiful plane ever built. Period. My favorite memory in life, was sitting behind my dad(Captain) in the jumpseat taking off out of Rome and landing in Kennedy.
The 747 is my favorite airplane. It is truly an engineering marvel. I'm so very proud of the men and women that we see in this documentary. They took that plane apart, inspected it from top to bottom, repaired and up graded it, and put it back together. They did it in 5 weeks and 30,000 work hours. To me, that is a staggering accomplishment. They have the knowledge, skill, dedication, and love of doing a first class job. God bless them for looking after our safety.
You had me at the opening shot of the throttle levers. For which I had design responsibility for about 15 years at Boeing. The Queen of the Skies will live forever.
I have been flying all over the world since a small child and I am an old ..., The 747 is my favorite of all planes. They were awesome. Too bad rarely used any longer.
My most favorite Aircraft ever. Thank you for publishing the D-Check on this powerful Boeing 747-400 Aviation and engineering wonder that changed the world. It's amazing to see all the thousands of components, technology, engineering and proud technicians who make this huge flying machine run smoothly.
I can say that I had the privilege of being able to work on even bigger aircraft , the mighty B-52. Loved every day of it as well. I was engine run certified also. Talk about a thrill!
I have been in love with aviation since I was about 8 years old and I realized later on that this was my passion and that I wanted to work with planes. I even remember seeing this documentary in middle school as well. In the second half of high school, though, I decided I wanted to go into Computer Science to make video games (which was not the best move I've made in my life). But I found a cardstock model of G-CIVX in my last year. If it wasn't for this plane, I would've never got that passion to be reignited, nor would I be an official aerospace engineering major right now or realize that the 747 was my favorite plane. It essentially saved me and lead me to a better path in life. I owe it all to that model and this plane. I hope I can get a piece of her before she's scrapped as a way to remember her and connect with her in a way.
Do 333 people not have a clue about anything? This was great! Learned so much! My brother is committed to becoming a pilot. I love learning about the aviation industry and very interested in being a part of it myself. My first plane ride was on a British Airways aircraft. It was amazing to see all the work put into getting people from point A to point B safe and sound. A very gracious and heartfelt thank you to everyone who works in the aviation industry.
I love aviation in my eyes it is one of our greatest achievements as a species, the 747 is a testament to that achievement, although i do like a good old DC-9
This is honestly the best documentation about aviation I have seen so far. Thanks for sharing and thanks to BBC and BA for making this possible. Thank you.
I flew on this BA747 tail #GCIVX from Seattle to London right after this video was published in 2012. I flew on it October of 2012. Very Beautiful plane and very special knowing that I flew on this exact plane.
I'm sure then that your dad and my Grandpa knew each other. He started at Boeing after the Air Force. He helped starting with the second airframe N747PA. The same one that had the incident at San Francisco.
This is amazing,thank you guys for a job well done.It is such a miracle to see these planes lift the ground and come back in one piece.Thank you Boeing for such a video
I installed many of the fuel tubing and pumps in the right hand wing and the CWT of this very aircraft. Its great to see some of the work ive done still in service and working
I remember watching this nearly 8 years ago as a small child… fell in love with planes. I have since been studying the engineering behind them and have gotten a private license and hopefully will soon get a license for airliners. Rip 747, the queen of the skies.
Totally agree with many of the comments below...this is one of the best Engineering documentaries I've seen in a while. I don't think they could have found better presenters than Rob and Tom. (Tom looks nothing like Weird Al, btw).
Why can't the taller shaggy presenter say his "r"s??? I find that many British people have trouble with their "r"s. You would think that would have been corrected when he was learning to speak. Much like some people who can't say their "l"s.
No matter what anyone says, the Boeing 747 was NASAs transport aircraft to get the Shuttle back to Florida if she landed elsewhere. It has also been Air Force One for the American President (there are actually two planes; both go, so if a problem develops, the backup plane is used. They can also be used to confuse any enemy that tries to shoot it, and the President, down. This guy on scene had to have considerable clearance to be that close to the plane while under refurb. Maintenance people are rather possessive about the planes they are responsible for. When being flown by an airline, it is a flying hotel. IIRC, a "D-Check" costs almost more than its original cost. It is b/c every nut and bolt is removed, inspected, and replaced. The fuselage is tested for cracks at the atomic level by a mass spectrometer, and any apparently worn item found internally is replaced b/c after the aircraft is re-assembled, it can be impossible to replace it.. Many years ago, a much smaller jet turbine was removed by the maintenance crew, and dropped. the drop put a crack into the bracket by which the engine is attached to the bracket used to attach it to the wing. Some time later, the plane was on take-off, and the jet engine broke off from the wing. The plane rose, then the pilot lost control, and then the plane went down, killing all on board. The NTSB examination found the broken bracket, checked the records, and saw that the engine had been dropped. There was much weeping and knashing of teeth. When torn apart, the melted aluminum is the most prized metal, b/c aluminum ore is very expensive to process; it takes a fortune in electric power to heat it up, purify it, then pour it off into ingot blocks for transport to a raw metal broker. During the life of any airplane, the mechanics who take pride in their work, will call it "their airplane", and when it is signed over to its crew to fly, they go with it as well. They are along for the ride in spirit, b/c they helped give birth to it.
Salute to these guys for their hardwork and passion in what theyre doing. Checking every single part of a 747 with roughly about 6million parts is not an easy task. It requires a lot of patience, 100% attention and energy and power. Thousands of lives saved by these brilliant men... salute!!
I must say British Engineers are very smart, This is a great way to advertise the 747 in these turbulent times in the air industry, Safety is the most concern, Its a beautiful aircraft and 4 engines are safer..
British Engineers ? It’s a Yankee plane, the only British thing I see here is the RR engines, usually 777 use standard GE engines, actually the engine brand and other specifications are decided by the company buying the plane...
@@alfredopurinos9562 They all had British accents which makes them British engineers does it not? Also, that Yankee plane wouldn't even get off the ground without the jet engine which is a British invention as well as Britain being the first to make a jet powered passenger aeroplane. Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. Just to note, there is a bit of controversy as to who invented the jet engine first, the Germans or the British. What should be highlighted is the fact that the Nazi's had spies in British engineering works so there is strong evidence that von Ohain was given a set of Whittles blueprints.
So sad to see the old girl now in her twilight years, and the last new plane (a freighter) recently delivered in 2023. It was my very great pleasure to fly these- absolutely fantastic aeroplane. It is also by far the easiest commercial aeroplane to fly that I’ve ever flown. ❤
I must admit this is one awesome documentary well done good camera and audio work and dedicated staff who were so much willing to share and explain of how they do the overhaul of planes with the little they have to complete job they could still find a min or so to explain things and allowing the camera to show viewers some areas of the plane we hardly see or know of.... All in all this was awesome.. keep up the good job engineers for your dedication and love for the safety of the passengers...
I started work for BOAC in 1957 and spent 49 years there at LHR. Over that period worked on many different aircraft, but since my retirement day, I've not been near a plane, not like the old days, when chaps used to come back for a chat. So this video was a refresher of things that I've done many times on all the different series of Jumbo's
I guess it's true if you are in a shithole country. Now days it has mostly been outsourced to China, even all the way from NZ (soon to be/well on the way to being a shithole country)
Brilliant documentary, I have taught aircraft engineering for 7 years and apart from getting Bernoulli slightly wrong this is top notch. One very minor gripe though. Can people please stop saying that air has to travel faster over a wing because it has further to go. It travels faster because the airflow is constricted by the curve of the wings upper surface causing a venturi effect and increased airflow velocity. This is explained well in how the slides inflate in another part of the same documentary. The part about Newtons laws is spot on. Overall an excellent video and very well made.
Really appreciate your efforts to show that which became a major part of our lives at Avalon/Geelong/Australia. Lap joints ,section 41 rebuild, A-D checks etc at ASTA ,thence similar later with Qantas/Avalon working 747SP,100,200,300,freighter,combi, 400,400ER, all heavy checks,gear changes ,nitrogen centre fuel tank mod, cabin reconfig etc,with too much more to mention.Congratulations to the BA boys ,well done! Life is not the same without our beloved Jumbos.............
Having worked on some of the avionics systems during a D check, I stood in the cargo hold during the engine tests and it was a truly earth-shaking experience!
Besides learning about the Universe and how many star's are in one galaxy and then finding out how many galaxy's are in the universe this was one amazing show.I had no idea how complex the Boeing 747 is and to see it in the hanger all taken apart and put back together in just 5weeks was incredible.I never thought for a moment that they were going to meet the deadline to get it back into service. I have to admit that my favorite part was when they tested the shoots and got them to inflate in less than 5seconds was astonishing. Great show in getting to see a I t get inspected taken apart and then put back together! I loved it when he said it was every school boys dream to visit the cock pit. I was fortunate to go to the cockpit in a brand new 747 while I was in the Marine Corps doing flight operations while I was stationed in California. It was operated by Trans America Airlines.
I used to work on the ground crew with this aircraft. VX has been one of my favorite BA 747s to work with she's been really great to me. I hope she doesn't leave soon
I've been a design engineer for the engine build-up (EBU) since 1991. And after so many new projects from the ground up and re-engining programs, it still fascinating and blows my mind how those engines are able to push the heavy bodies through the air for so many hours non-stop. Kudos to those women and men that put them together and to maintain them in such a good condition!
Precision at it's finest, the attention to detail is just mind blowing, these guys are true professionals. I enjoyed every second of this video, thank you so much. Greetings from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
To the best of my knowledge, this 747-400 model probably may not typically carry over 500 passengers, as you say. However, there is also an older 747 model that does carry over 500 like those introduced in domestic flights in Japan. I remember seeing the figure on a timetable as a curious small school boy.
@@wizardry.wealth Much older than 400. If my memory serves me right, it was commonly called 747-SR for short range, based on 100 or 200, with higher passenger capacity over 500 something people and reinforced landing gears to stand frequent domestic flights.
@@aldente2011 Yes, the Boeing 747-146SR could carry at least 500 passengers. This plane was for the Japanese Market, before moving to the Boeing 747-446D and 747-481D.
In the late 80's/ early 90's, I worked at Boeing (Everett, WA.) and helped build and functional test the 747-400, which, may still be the true Queen of the Skies! Our team did functional tests on the first -400 (N661US) after flight testing and before NWA delivery refit. Very proud to say that I was lucky enough to be the leader of the crew that did Change Incorporation (last minute upgrades) on these beauties, right before factory roll-out. We did all the British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas and Northwest birds, 1988-92 (Functional test, Change Incorporation and a host of mundane but important tasks) before these Queens went across the runway to Pre-Flight.
Oliver Coughlan Whale it is, lumbering it ain't. It is very manoeuvrable and a peach to fly. Huge amount of power from those Trent 895's and construction that is the most advanced in the world. A blend of Aluminium and CFRP or GLARE as Airbus calls it. Beauty is skin deep with this machine. Happy days :)
This is a rare machine that just doesn’t seem to age. You see an airbus a380 and although much newer this design 40 odd years old still looks more pleasing.
Such an amazing documentary. Seriously beautiful and well done. I know what would've been great to see, yet completely unrealistic, is to see a time-lapse of the whole process.
A380 just doesn't have any cool things. like the very classic hump on the 747. And A380 just came out so of course it have better safety history. also 747 was a challenge considering the time period of which it was built.
***** you are comparing a pineapple with a boat. There are almost twice as many A380 then 747-8. The 747-8 isn't in service full fledged like the A380. And the fun thing is, the A380 doesn't have crashes at all. The only thing that happened which was potentially deadly was Qantas flight 32. Cause: a manufacturing fault in one of the RR engine, where as the oil pipe wasn't molded correctly, therefore creating a weak link which causes it to leak over time, the oil came on the main turbine disc, which causes it to rotate at speeds beyond design limits, therefore creating fatigue cracks, the shaft reduction gear had to work harder and the disc exploded. NOT Airbus fault, but RR. And it could have happened on the 747-8 too if it had a defective RR engine.
It is strange they used Tom Wrigglesworth as a presenter. He wore the same jacket and shirt for 5 weeks and did not fit the professional nature of the documentary.
Jan 2019 : A BA 747 is being repainted in classic BOAC “gold speedbird” livery at Dublin airport paint shop. It is expected to fly into LHR on 18th Feb to re-enter BA service. It will keep the livery until it is retired.
The removal of the name BOAC and its livery was a mistake in my opinion. It stood out , all other carriers are ............. Airways or .............Airlines. And the colour scheme was a classic and stood out at airports. Ah well that's progress !!!
It takes 2 weeks 9 to 5 to build one. Including folding and they are tested upon manufacturing. But after emergency deployment, they get replaced. Thing about the airbag of your car, those are actually controlled better then airplane escape slides as they use more reliable pre-flight diagnostics to ensure max safety, and they never get tested physically.
All my admiration and respect to all the staff that works in taking care of these gigantic state of the art beautiful flying machines always prioritizing first the safety of passengers. Thank you all!!!!
A really fascinating documentary of the hugely complex work done on a Boeing 747-400 D check ! Very interesting. The Boeing 747 is my all-time favorite aircraft ! Very many thanks for providing this excellent video
Hmmm I had to head to London and Heathrow at that. Boy did it put a smile on my face when I realized that they were putting us on their 400s. We tip toed to the end of Miami's runway and when our crew push that throttle I was amazed at the excess power this old queen had. What was even more amazing was hurrying along at 700mph at 38,000ft. Never in my wildest dream did I think this heavy could move that fast.
Because it cannot. That's faster than the speed of sound at 38,000 ft. Max speed of a 747-400 is Mach 0.92 - so it could BARELY do 700mph at sea level, theoretically! Loaded with Pax and fuel... now way.
@Jim Thompson Correct. But that's not what was said - what was said was "700mph at 38,000ft." No mention of ground speed and since the speed was stated "at 38,000ft" therefore the assumption is air speed. Although if a non-aviator made the statement I'll admit it is possibly ambiguous.
@Jim Thompson Yes, also worked in industry, and yes, my experience is different - if ground speed isn't explicitly stated, air speed is assumed. Remember the earth is rotating, do you want to fact in about 1000mph (at the equator) for that as well? What about the rotation of the earth around the sun? Or the Solar system rotation? Or the galaxy rotation. It's all relative to an inertial frame of reference. We just picked different ones. If you are trying to wok out how fast you are going to get somewhere, then I agree, ground speed is your kidde! But if you are concerned about pulling the wings off, for example, air speed is what you want.
Really?!? A woman is a living breathing angel who will make love to you every night and look after you. A plane is just metal, sure it's beautiful but it's inanimate....
Great documentary and such an impressive aircraft! Majestic! In a 747 you feel on top of the world. In any other commercial aircraft, including the Airbus 380, you’re “merely flying”. Can’t believe BA will now retire the entire 747 fleet - the “new normal”. So sad 😞
Both of you gentlemen did a great job discrimination of the deep inspection and repair of this 747 aircraft! I need to disclose to you that I was a aircraft maintenance field for the USAF. I worked mainly on the Boeing B52G & H models. I enjoyed your presentation very much, including your different styles. Both of you were entertaining and not boring! Thank you for your lovely help and great efforts!!!
I was a mechanic (L.A.M.E) for 30 + years. First up, the test flight after a D check (which normally involves a the Landing gear replacement/overhaul.) requires a Landing gear free fall test (alternate extension). One time on a test flight we had the RH wing gear not lock down, (or indicate it was not locked down) Everything would indicate normally when the hydraulic sys extension was done. So after the test flight we had to pull the aircraft back into the hangar and do a swing and check what was wrong. When we extended the gear, we had to push extra hard on the RH wing gear wheels as shown at 10:37 on the video, and then everything inicated "down and locked". Some extra lubrication was applied. Several days later after the aircraft was back flying, the QA department flagged it and wanted the aircraft pulled back into the hangar for positive rectification of the defect. We then found that the Hydraulic Extension Cylinder had high internal resistence friction and when we replaced that, the gear would easily lock into place after a free fall. Luckily I wasn't directly involved although I was on the test flight and wrote up the defect and was scolded by my senior for not telling the pilot to throw the aircraft around to "get the gear to lock down".
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
6 years ago i watched this documentary as a high school kid and it inspired me to be an aerospace engineer. now that i am doing a high school diploma in aircraft maintenance, i cant explain the feeling of seeing this documentary again.
Abdul Rahman, good luck with your education on and career in aircraft! Don't pay attention to people who give you a hard time. :-)
Hey man, I need your help! These engineers are called aircraft maintenance engineers right? And to be one, what do we take in B. E?
@kamal ks lagta he pura copy paste karr k aaye he
6 months ago I decided to go back to school... Avionics is now my dream.
I am also in ame field
I have to say, out of all the documentaries I've ever watched, this has to be one of the best ever.
+Jerry Dodge i like the fact that they actually got the Theory of Lift right, 99% calls pressure differential the main factor.
Agreed.
Okay, I thought it was really good, too, but what makes it the best ever? Are you guys pilots or something, allowing you to enjoy it on a totally different level? Could I recommend some other documentaries for
you (and I'd like to get your recommendations in return) ?
Seriously, do you mean, like EVER? Or, like it's the best airplane documentary, or science doc, or some other genre? Now I'm trying to think of one that I would call 'the best ever.' When I think of it, I'll have to come back and let everyone know. My mind is blanking out right now. Who knows, maybe this IS the best documentary in the history of television....?
I'm suspecting both of you know a bit about airplanes, and on some level, perhaps the facts represented here are 100% perfect reporting, as only an engineer (etc.) could totally comprehend without doing any additional research. Am I close, or do you, like me, simply find airplanes fascinating? Like, you can watch them take off and land from a safe (but close) vantage point near an airport over and over again?
I may be overthinking your comments. That's also a distinct possibility.
Joey Stuka The best ever out of all the documentaries I've watched. Well, now the second best, after watching "Pump".
Check out Werner Herzog's Gulf War doc. Lessons of Darkness. Totally different type of doc, but something every American should watch.
I worked on this machine for 20 years covering A, C & D checks, I love this aircraft, no doubt it is a marvel of American Engineering
God bless these men and women. I've never flown British Airways, but its wonderful to know the pride and care they take in making sure the flying public are traveling in a safe and thoroughly inspected piece of machinery. God bless all of you.
The most beautiful, aircraft ever designed, in my opinion. I was so glad to learn recently that the next generation of Air Force One will still be a Boeing 747.
Doesnt it look a bit stupid if the President of the USA buys his airplanes in Europe?
*****
Yes, i meant if he'd buy an Airbus.
SirJavaGaming No, that wouldn't look stupid, but he's buying a *BOEING 747* not an Airbus..
iLordOfAviation No he has bought a b747
That's what I meant, sorry.
I work for TWA at JFK for 22 years, this video brings back some great memories for me when I worked on 747's
Iconic aircraft, and BA the worlds largest 747 operator. Makes you proud to be British!!
The 747 is the most wonderful/beautiful plane ever built. Period. My favorite memory in life, was sitting behind my dad(Captain) in the jumpseat taking off out of Rome and landing in Kennedy.
The 747 is my favorite airplane. It is truly an engineering marvel. I'm so very proud of the men and women that we see in this documentary. They took that plane apart, inspected it from top to bottom, repaired and up graded it, and put it back together. They did it in 5 weeks and 30,000 work hours. To me, that is a staggering accomplishment. They have the knowledge, skill, dedication, and love of doing a first class job. God bless them for looking after our safety.
You had me at the opening shot of the throttle levers. For which I had design responsibility for about 15 years at Boeing.
The Queen of the Skies will live forever.
They are backdriven and move automatically to the actual thrust position right? That's novel.
I have been flying all over the world since a small child and I am an old ...,
The 747 is my favorite of all planes. They were awesome. Too bad rarely used any longer.
As a career aviation mechanic, I must say this is the best video production of its kind that I have ever seen. Very well done. Regards from Florida.
Spot on
Like how you're going to break the plane
Watching getting broken
My most favorite Aircraft ever. Thank you for publishing the D-Check on this powerful Boeing 747-400 Aviation and engineering wonder that changed the world. It's amazing to see all the thousands of components, technology, engineering and proud technicians who make this huge flying machine run smoothly.
*favoUrite
@@adolflenin4973 *favorite*
With exception of Concorde, the Boeing 747 is the greatest engineering achievement in airline history.
Nope, the SR 71 was the greatest achievement...
SR71 isnt a commercial airliner tho
I cannot find my words... It is really amazing. What a satisfaction to see the Jumbo flying back again.
I can say that I had the privilege of being able to work on even bigger aircraft , the mighty B-52. Loved every day of it as well. I was engine run certified also. Talk about a thrill!
You DO realise that the B52 is the size of a 737...
747 , this simple number is legendry. 747 always connected to this aircraft for me. Thank you BOEING for creating this masterpiece ❤️❤️❤️
I have been in love with aviation since I was about 8 years old and I realized later on that this was my passion and that I wanted to work with planes. I even remember seeing this documentary in middle school as well. In the second half of high school, though, I decided I wanted to go into Computer Science to make video games (which was not the best move I've made in my life). But I found a cardstock model of G-CIVX in my last year. If it wasn't for this plane, I would've never got that passion to be reignited, nor would I be an official aerospace engineering major right now or realize that the 747 was my favorite plane. It essentially saved me and lead me to a better path in life. I owe it all to that model and this plane. I hope I can get a piece of her before she's scrapped as a way to remember her and connect with her in a way.
Do 333 people not have a clue about anything? This was great! Learned so much! My brother is committed to becoming a pilot. I love learning about the aviation industry and very interested in being a part of it myself. My first plane ride was on a British Airways aircraft. It was amazing to see all the work put into getting people from point A to point B safe and sound. A very gracious and heartfelt thank you to everyone who works in the aviation industry.
I love aviation in my eyes it is one of our greatest achievements as a species, the 747 is a testament to that achievement, although i do like a good old DC-9
Yes, also I like the old Dc-10s
boffis123 yeah, they just look awesome
Tom Price boffis123 how about the A380? that is the masterpiece that even i doubted could fly when i first saw the launch....
A380 is my second favorite plane, after Dc-10 and MD-11.
Saad Ghiba yes the A380 is also good, i just love the DC-9 :P
Superb documentary, free on UA-cam. Brilliant!
The British really know how to make a educational and compelling documentary.
shame about there accents!
Sean Thompson Shame about your spelling.
Intrepidation the British gave credit to an American icon as an example of American exceptionalism
Intrepidation All thanks go to ze Germans...
It's actually BBC (Not JPD Inc).
This is honestly the best documentation about aviation I have seen so far. Thanks for sharing and thanks to BBC and BA for making this possible. Thank you.
Those men and women are the real heroes. Thank you for your love and passion for aviation and safety!
I flew on this BA747 tail #GCIVX from Seattle to London right after this video was published in 2012. I flew on it October of 2012. Very Beautiful plane and very special knowing that I flew on this exact plane.
Did it smell like new?? Haha
Is it hard to flew a aircraft?
Zhao Jay what do you mean?
Zhou zak, grammar!
I mean jay
My dad helped build the first 747 and every one after until he retired in 99. Great video!
I'm sure then that your dad and my Grandpa knew each other. He started at Boeing after the Air Force. He helped starting with the second airframe N747PA. The same one that had the incident at San Francisco.
This is amazing,thank you guys for a job well done.It is such a miracle to see these planes lift the ground and come back in one piece.Thank you Boeing for such a video
I installed many of the fuel tubing and pumps in the right hand wing and the CWT of this very aircraft. Its great to see some of the work ive done still in service and working
I remember watching this nearly 8 years ago as a small child… fell in love with planes. I have since been studying the engineering behind them and have gotten a private license and hopefully will soon get a license for airliners. Rip 747, the queen of the skies.
Totally agree with many of the comments below...this is one of the best Engineering documentaries I've seen in a while.
I don't think they could have found better presenters than Rob and Tom.
(Tom looks nothing like Weird Al, btw).
Why can't the taller shaggy presenter say his "r"s??? I find that many British people have trouble with their "r"s. You would think that would have been corrected when he was learning to speak.
Much like some people who can't say their "l"s.
No matter what anyone says, the Boeing 747 was NASAs transport aircraft to get the Shuttle back to Florida if she landed elsewhere. It has also been Air Force One for the American President (there are actually two planes; both go, so if a problem develops, the backup plane is used. They can also be used to confuse any enemy that tries to shoot it, and the President, down. This guy on scene had to have considerable clearance to be that close to the plane while under refurb. Maintenance people are rather possessive about the planes they are responsible for. When being flown by an airline, it is a flying hotel.
IIRC, a "D-Check" costs almost more than its original cost. It is b/c every nut and bolt is removed, inspected, and replaced. The fuselage is tested for cracks at the atomic level by a mass spectrometer, and any apparently worn item found internally is replaced b/c after the aircraft is re-assembled, it can be impossible to replace it..
Many years ago, a much smaller jet turbine was removed by the maintenance crew, and dropped. the drop put a crack into the bracket by which the engine is attached to the bracket used to attach it to the wing. Some time later, the plane was on take-off, and the jet engine broke off from the wing. The plane rose, then the pilot lost control, and then the plane went down, killing all on board. The NTSB examination found the broken bracket, checked the records, and saw that the engine had been dropped. There was much weeping and knashing of teeth.
When torn apart, the melted aluminum is the most prized metal, b/c aluminum ore is very expensive to process; it takes a fortune in electric power to heat it up, purify it, then pour it off into ingot blocks for transport to a raw metal broker.
During the life of any airplane, the mechanics who take pride in their work, will call it "their airplane", and when it is signed over to its crew to fly, they go with it as well. They are along for the ride in spirit, b/c they helped give birth to it.
Salute to these guys for their hardwork and passion in what theyre doing. Checking every single part of a 747 with roughly about 6million parts is not an easy task. It requires a lot of patience, 100% attention and energy and power. Thousands of lives saved by these brilliant men... salute!!
This presentation is top notch.
I must say British Engineers are very smart, This is a great way to advertise the 747 in these turbulent times in the air industry, Safety is the most concern, Its a beautiful aircraft and 4 engines are safer..
British Engineers ? It’s a Yankee plane, the only British thing I see here is the RR engines, usually 777 use standard GE engines, actually the engine brand and other specifications are decided by the company buying the plane...
@@alfredopurinos9562 They all had British accents which makes them British engineers does it not? Also, that Yankee plane wouldn't even get off the ground without the jet engine which is a British invention as well as Britain being the first to make a jet powered passenger aeroplane.
Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these.
Just to note, there is a bit of controversy as to who invented the jet engine first, the Germans or the British. What should be highlighted is the fact that the Nazi's had spies in British engineering works so there is strong evidence that von Ohain was given a set of Whittles blueprints.
I worked for British Airways from 1997 until 2007 enjoyed my time with that company
So sad to see the old girl now in her twilight years, and the last new plane (a freighter) recently delivered in 2023.
It was my very great pleasure to fly these- absolutely fantastic aeroplane. It is also by far the easiest commercial aeroplane to fly that I’ve ever flown. ❤
I must admit this is one awesome documentary well done good camera and audio work and dedicated staff who were so much willing to share and explain of how they do the overhaul of planes with the little they have to complete job they could still find a min or so to explain things and allowing the camera to show viewers some areas of the plane we hardly see or know of.... All in all this was awesome.. keep up the good job engineers for your dedication and love for the safety of the passengers...
I started work for BOAC in 1957 and spent 49 years there at LHR. Over that period worked on many different aircraft, but since my retirement day, I've not been near a plane, not like the old days, when chaps used to come back for a chat. So this video was a refresher of things that I've done many times on all the different series of Jumbo's
First time in a long time that I hear that a person is loving his/her job. I wish I had that feeling.
ALL AEROPLANE ENGINEERS LOVE THEIR JOB. i KNOW COS i WAS ONE. Planes ARE IN THEIR BLOOD UNTIL THEY DIE
I guess it's true if you are in a shithole country. Now days it has mostly been outsourced to China, even all the way from NZ (soon to be/well on the way to being a shithole country)
I will have that feeling when I become I pilot
@@fezachary4519. What was it like I’m becoming a pilot. It most feel really good
Sadly this exact 747 has been sitting in storage at Teruel Airport since April 2020
Brilliant documentary, I have taught aircraft engineering for 7 years and apart from getting Bernoulli slightly wrong this is top notch. One very minor gripe though. Can people please stop saying that air has to travel faster over a wing because it has further to go. It travels faster because the airflow is constricted by the curve of the wings upper surface causing a venturi effect and increased airflow velocity. This is explained well in how the slides inflate in another part of the same documentary. The part about Newtons laws is spot on. Overall an excellent video and very well made.
The Boeing 747 is my favorite plane.. always will be
I find this video very comforting.....people, care enough about my safety to complete take this massive plane apart and put it back together again!!!
After the accident of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, all airlines globally required to perform C and D checks on every single airplane
Really appreciate your efforts to show that which became a major part of our lives at Avalon/Geelong/Australia. Lap
joints ,section 41 rebuild, A-D checks etc
at ASTA ,thence similar later with Qantas/Avalon working 747SP,100,200,300,freighter,combi, 400,400ER, all heavy checks,gear changes ,nitrogen centre fuel tank mod,
cabin reconfig etc,with too much more
to mention.Congratulations to the BA
boys ,well done! Life is not the same
without our beloved Jumbos.............
Having worked on some of the avionics systems during a D check, I stood in the cargo hold during the engine tests and it was a truly earth-shaking experience!
Besides learning about the Universe and how many star's are in one galaxy and then finding out how many galaxy's are in the universe this was one amazing show.I had no idea how complex the Boeing 747 is and to see it in the hanger all taken apart and put back together in just 5weeks was incredible.I never thought for a moment that they were going to meet the deadline to get it back into service. I have to admit that my favorite part was when they tested the shoots and got them to inflate in less than 5seconds was astonishing. Great show in getting to see a I t get inspected taken apart and then put back together! I loved it when he said it was every school boys dream to visit the cock pit. I was fortunate to go to the cockpit in a brand new 747 while I was in the Marine Corps doing flight operations while I was stationed in California. It was operated by Trans America Airlines.
chutes
Wow, a full hour of quality content with no ads. And I've learned a few things. Bravo!
In my humble opinion the 747`s are and will be the best aircraft.
And the next Air Force One pair in the 747-8 variant as Airbus has announced the fore coming END of A380 production!!!
Thank you for such an amazing production!
The ending made me cry. Hats off to everyone in the airline industry. Love from 🇮🇳
I used to work on the ground crew with this aircraft. VX has been one of my favorite BA 747s to work with she's been really great to me. I hope she doesn't leave soon
Oh no…
Sensational doco on an equally sensational airplane! Nice work to all involved.
I've been a design engineer for the engine build-up (EBU) since 1991. And after so many new projects from the ground up and re-engining programs, it still fascinating and blows my mind how those engines are able to push the heavy bodies through the air for so many hours non-stop. Kudos to those women and men that put them together and to maintain them in such a good condition!
That was a truly great and enjoyable documentary. Thank you.
I don’t know why but I always find myself coming back to this video.
Precision at it's finest, the attention to detail is just mind blowing, these guys are true professionals. I enjoyed every second of this video, thank you so much. Greetings from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼
Great program....I really enjoyed it, thank you for uploading it
To the best of my knowledge, this 747-400 model probably may not typically carry over 500 passengers, as you say. However, there is also an older 747 model that does carry over 500 like those introduced in domestic flights in Japan. I remember seeing the figure on a timetable as a curious small school boy.
The Boeing 747-400D.
@@wizardry.wealth Much older than 400. If my memory serves me right, it was commonly called 747-SR for short range, based on 100 or 200, with higher passenger capacity over 500 something people and reinforced landing gears to stand frequent domestic flights.
@@aldente2011 Yes, the Boeing 747-146SR could carry at least 500 passengers. This plane was for the Japanese Market, before moving to the Boeing 747-446D and 747-481D.
In the late 80's/ early 90's, I worked at Boeing (Everett, WA.) and helped build and functional test the 747-400, which, may still be the true Queen of the Skies! Our team did functional tests on the first -400 (N661US) after flight testing and before NWA delivery refit. Very proud to say that I was lucky enough to be the leader of the crew that did Change Incorporation (last minute upgrades) on these beauties, right before factory roll-out. We did all the British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas and Northwest birds, 1988-92 (Functional test, Change Incorporation and a host of mundane but important tasks) before these Queens went across the runway to Pre-Flight.
You can really tell that they take pride in their work and are proud about what they do
It is awesome to think that the full stretched upper deck of a 747 is equivalent in size to the fuselage of a 737.
I love and I adore the B 747-400! Best plane ever!
Boeing 747, Still the Queen of the skys. The main hauler of the worlds travelers. Reliable , proven after millions of flying miles.
Airbus A380 the king
and the Antonov 225 Mriya the king of kings
Josue Trujillo Exactly. One god.
Abin Nixon A380 is not the king of the skies it's the lumbering wale. lol
Oliver Coughlan Whale it is, lumbering it ain't. It is very manoeuvrable and a peach to fly. Huge amount of power from those Trent 895's and construction that is the most advanced in the world. A blend of Aluminium and CFRP or GLARE as Airbus calls it. Beauty is skin deep with this machine. Happy days :)
true
The 747 is a beautiful bird! Still love the old lady!
Engineering at its best.Boeing is by far best Aircraft Manufacturer the world has ever seen
Proud to say i am an aircraft mechanic...
Gopikrishnan easwaran Thank you for what you do!
Gopikrishnan easwaran I am currently studying to be a Aircraft mechanic!
Ur welcome Brotein Enhancement Formula
All the best for you TheDONAge
+TheDONAge
Hi Guys,
and I am an aerospace technology Diplomingenieur :)
747 is the most iconical plane ever built....king of the sky !!
If you think 747 is most iconical then you google videos about antonov 225 your perception will change.
@@tapasmishra2256 no
anyone watching this in 2021? i remember when this came out , great doc
The true queen of the skies ✈️❤️ one of my favourite aircraft (including the A380 😍👌🏼)
The beautiful RR RB-211s engines on that beautiful 747 :)
This is a rare machine that just doesn’t seem to age. You see an airbus a380 and although much newer this design 40 odd years old still looks more pleasing.
11 years ago I watched this documentary. Today I’m a captain on the 747-400, and what an impressive machine this is.
With what airline?
@@charlesincharge6512 BA retired all their 747s in 2020 so no
I love when they re-fold the emergency slide with the help of high-tech tools such as standing on it.
Such an amazing documentary. Seriously beautiful and well done. I know what would've been great to see, yet completely unrealistic, is to see a time-lapse of the whole process.
This plane is so much better than A380. Better history looks better and everything
A380 has a better safety history but that's obviously. But damn the A380 ain't bad and looks sexy
A380 just doesn't have any cool things. like the very classic hump on the 747. And A380 just came out so of course it have better safety history. also 747 was a challenge considering the time period of which it was built.
Lorenzo van het Hul a380 does not have a better safety record...
Lorenzo van het Hul 747-8 came out about the same time as the a380. The 747-8 has zero crashes while the a380 has a fee
***** you are comparing a pineapple with a boat. There are almost twice as many A380 then 747-8. The 747-8 isn't in service full fledged like the A380. And the fun thing is, the A380 doesn't have crashes at all. The only thing that happened which was potentially deadly was Qantas flight 32. Cause: a manufacturing fault in one of the RR engine, where as the oil pipe wasn't molded correctly, therefore creating a weak link which causes it to leak over time, the oil came on the main turbine disc, which causes it to rotate at speeds beyond design limits, therefore creating fatigue cracks, the shaft reduction gear had to work harder and the disc exploded.
NOT Airbus fault, but RR. And it could have happened on the 747-8 too if it had a defective RR engine.
2:19 It's nice to see 'Weird Al' Yankovic getting some work outside of the music business.
It is strange they used Tom Wrigglesworth as a presenter. He wore the same jacket and shirt for 5 weeks and did not fit the professional nature of the documentary.
He copied chris tarrant.
Goggles, goggles everywhere.....I wonder if the cameraman wore them?
FMichael1970 qqq
This documentary is a good reminder to make the most of every BA 747-436 you see from now through to 2023 when our big girls finally leave the skies.
Jan 2019 : A BA 747 is being repainted in classic BOAC “gold speedbird” livery at Dublin airport paint shop.
It is expected to fly into LHR on 18th Feb to re-enter BA service. It will keep the livery until it is retired.
The removal of the name BOAC and its livery was a mistake in my opinion. It stood out , all other carriers are ............. Airways or .............Airlines. And the colour scheme was a classic and stood out at airports. Ah well that's progress !!!
Still the Queen of the skies. Damn she is a beauty.
Im I the inly one that felt sad when they destroyed 747 at the scrapyard
As an A&P I completely relate to the feeling experienced when the ship you have worked on rotates on the take-off roll. Love my job!
Daughter: Daddy what did you do today
Dad: I fixed an engine, not just any engine an RB-26 🤣🤣
haha great quote
The worst part about testing an escape slide is folding it back up again lol
its funny to open it and yeah they have to pay the price lmao
It takes 2 weeks 9 to 5 to build one. Including folding and they are tested upon manufacturing. But after emergency deployment, they get replaced. Thing about the airbag of your car, those are actually controlled better then airplane escape slides as they use more reliable pre-flight diagnostics to ensure max safety, and they never get tested physically.
Anthony Kernich because it takes them a long time
Lorenzo van het Hul
@Jess W - It had better be. Imagine all those skid-marks left by frantic asses in a frantic situation!
All my admiration and respect to all the staff that works in taking care of these gigantic state of the art beautiful flying machines always prioritizing first the safety of passengers. Thank you all!!!!
This airplane is very elegant. It makes me a little bit sad BA hasn't ordered the 747-8 for passengers yet.
She is so pretty ! The best plane in the sky
A really fascinating documentary of the hugely complex work done on a Boeing 747-400
D check ! Very interesting. The Boeing 747 is my all-time favorite aircraft ! Very many thanks for providing this excellent video
Hmmm I had to head to London and Heathrow at that. Boy did it put a smile on my face when I realized that they were putting us on their 400s. We tip toed to the end of Miami's runway and when our crew push that throttle I was amazed at the excess power this old queen had. What was even more amazing was hurrying along at 700mph at 38,000ft.
Never in my wildest dream did I think this heavy could move that fast.
And that was doubt with somewhat derated thrust considering it was only Miami>London! Glad you enjoyed the experience.
So you are telling me you like old queens? For an armchair commentator on commercial aviation you really are quite the sailor, aren't you deary.
Because it cannot. That's faster than the speed of sound at 38,000 ft. Max speed of a 747-400 is Mach 0.92 - so it could BARELY do 700mph at sea level, theoretically! Loaded with Pax and fuel... now way.
@Jim Thompson Correct. But that's not what was said - what was said was "700mph at 38,000ft." No mention of ground speed and since the speed was stated "at 38,000ft" therefore the assumption is air speed. Although if a non-aviator made the statement I'll admit it is possibly ambiguous.
@Jim Thompson Yes, also worked in industry, and yes, my experience is different - if ground speed isn't explicitly stated, air speed is assumed. Remember the earth is rotating, do you want to fact in about 1000mph (at the equator) for that as well? What about the rotation of the earth around the sun? Or the Solar system rotation? Or the galaxy rotation. It's all relative to an inertial frame of reference. We just picked different ones. If you are trying to wok out how fast you are going to get somewhere, then I agree, ground speed is your kidde! But if you are concerned about pulling the wings off, for example, air speed is what you want.
More beautiful than any woman on Earth! The 747 Jumbo Jet which my Uncle flew as Captain for 15 years!
Really?!? A woman is a living breathing angel who will make love to you every night and look after you. A plane is just metal, sure it's beautiful but it's inanimate....
Who is still watching this masterpiece in 2021?? Ur all legends if you are. Have a good day
I flew in my first 747 last year upper deck with virgin Atlantic what an experience it was
747 jumbo jet
Greatest aircraft even been built
Since my view of point, technicians and engineers are better than pilots, they deserve all the credits for keeping the aircraft flying.
A Well presented, very informative documentary 👌👍👍
Great documentary and such an impressive aircraft! Majestic! In a 747 you feel on top of the world. In any other commercial aircraft, including the Airbus 380, you’re “merely flying”. Can’t believe BA will now retire the entire 747 fleet - the “new normal”. So sad 😞
Both of you gentlemen did a great job discrimination of the deep inspection and repair of this 747 aircraft! I need to disclose to you that I was a aircraft maintenance field for the USAF. I worked mainly on the Boeing B52G & H models. I enjoyed your presentation very much, including your different styles. Both of you were entertaining and not boring! Thank you for your lovely help and great efforts!!!
Bowing 747 is the most beautiful and the sexiest air plane in the world..
REALLY? 😂 Only of there wasn't the 380..
I was starting to tear up when they were destroying and salvaging that 747.
I was a mechanic (L.A.M.E) for 30 + years. First up, the test flight after a D check (which normally involves a the Landing gear replacement/overhaul.) requires a Landing gear free fall test (alternate extension). One time on a test flight we had the RH wing gear not lock down, (or indicate it was not locked down) Everything would indicate normally when the hydraulic sys extension was done. So after the test flight we had to pull the aircraft back into the hangar and do a swing and check what was wrong. When we extended the gear, we had to push extra hard on the RH wing gear wheels as shown at 10:37 on the video, and then everything inicated "down and locked". Some extra lubrication was applied. Several days later after the aircraft was back flying, the QA department flagged it and wanted the aircraft pulled back into the hangar for positive rectification of the defect. We then found that the Hydraulic Extension Cylinder had high internal resistence friction and when we replaced that, the gear would easily lock into place after a free fall. Luckily I wasn't directly involved although I was on the test flight and wrote up the defect and was scolded by my senior for not telling the pilot to throw the aircraft around to "get the gear to lock down".
Great Documentary so much more to an aircraft than i imagined!
It's because of this video I know what I want to do when I leave school...
Nowherestocksy same
Good for you. I hope you got there.
Nowherestocksy so u reached there?
How did it work out?
You Wanna be a Bobsleigh Driver...WHY