There are many things wrong with this picture. 747s were not flown commercially until 1970. NO plane has ever been this wide, and I doubt bench seats were ever a feature.
I'm sure you're right. I flew in the late 60s and never saw a plane that looked like this. It looks more like an airport waiting room. There are some great old photos on the web of 747 on-board lounges though.
The fuselage of a 747 IS that wide, and that one in the pic is a full scale pre-production mock-up. But you're right about the seats. The airlines, in the early seventies when the crunch came, and OPEC turned off the fuel taps, the airlines went back to the manufacturers, and said "We need to pack more fare-paying customers in!" Those wide seats can be done, because there's a whole row missing. 747 normal layout is 3 seats either side, and four across the middle. In the pic, the far side has only two seats. Another odd thing in the pic, I can't see any seat belts!
The pod on the top... came about because the boss of Pan-Am thought that Concorde, and Boeing's never built SST, the new era of supersonic airliners would take almost all the passenger trade for which the 747 was being built. So, he told Boeing to design the planes so they could have an opening nose, to load cargo containers, and to stick the pilots in a pod on the top. But a cockpit sized pod proved to be an aerodynamic problem, and boieing found the only way to make it stable and quiet, and reduce drag, was to extend the hump back and taper it... At first, it was mooted as crew sleeping quarters, that crews, like on ships would have one watch on duty, one asleep. The airlines liked the idea of a bar-lounge. Then along came that seventies hike in fuel, and seats seats seats became the mantra.
Your pic in COLOUR!: https://worksthatwork.com/2/boeing-747
There are many things wrong with this picture.
ReplyDelete747s were not flown commercially until 1970.
NO plane has ever been this wide, and I doubt bench seats were ever a feature.
I'm sure you're right. I flew in the late 60s and never saw a plane that looked like this. It looks more like an airport waiting room. There are some great old photos on the web of 747 on-board lounges though.
ReplyDeleteThe fuselage of a 747 IS that wide, and that one in the pic is a full scale pre-production mock-up.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right about the seats. The airlines, in the early seventies when the crunch came, and OPEC turned off the fuel taps, the airlines went back to the manufacturers, and said "We need to pack more fare-paying customers in!"
Those wide seats can be done, because there's a whole row missing. 747 normal layout is 3 seats either side, and four across the middle. In the pic, the far side has only two seats.
Another odd thing in the pic, I can't see any seat belts!
The pod on the top... came about because the boss of Pan-Am thought that Concorde, and Boeing's never built SST, the new era of supersonic airliners would take almost all the passenger trade for which the 747 was being built. So, he told Boeing to design the planes so they could have an opening nose, to load cargo containers, and to stick the pilots in a pod on the top. But a cockpit sized pod proved to be an aerodynamic problem, and boieing found the only way to make it stable and quiet, and reduce drag, was to extend the hump back and taper it...
At first, it was mooted as crew sleeping quarters, that crews, like on ships would have one watch on duty, one asleep.
The airlines liked the idea of a bar-lounge. Then along came that seventies hike in fuel, and seats seats seats became the mantra.
Your pic in COLOUR!: https://worksthatwork.com/2/boeing-747
Mr. Nag remembers the roomy lounges. I don't but I do wish they'd bring them back. I'm 5 ft tall and feel packed like a sardine in a can when I fly
ReplyDeleteIts a mock up without doubt, and definitely a 'Hollywood size'
ReplyDelete