5 ms·

The 747 is one of mankind's crowning achievements. It's not only a technical marvel but an aesthetic one -- it looks truly beautiful while an A380 looks like it

by qq66 10y ago

The 747 is one of mankind's crowning achievements. It's not only a technical marvel but an aesthetic one -- it looks truly beautiful while an A380 looks like it just got punched in the stomach. Along with the massive network of airports, air traffic controllers, mechanics, regulators, pilots, engineers, forensic analysts, financiers, etc... I think that commercial air travel is a more impressive achievement than the moon landing and the 747 its glorious peak moment.

jdale27 10y ago
What a great comment. I went through a period in my life where I hardly traveled at all, and more recently I've been traveling frequently for work. I still feel the same childish joy every time I feel the plane leave the ground -- we're actually flying! And the fact that basically on a whim, I can buy a ticket, show up at an airport, wait a bit, sit on a plane for a while, and then basically show up on the other side of the world in a few hours, what it used to take humans months, or even years, to do, when it became possible at all. So yeah; from someone who's a geek about it, but outside of the aviation industry: it's cool.
- rdtsc 10y ago
  > I still feel the same childish joy every time I feel the plane leave the ground -- we're actually flying! I aways remember this bit by Louis CK about flying. It is just so true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dYS7PcAG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dYS7PcAG4
  - mercer 10y ago
    I'm a grown man and I still often ask if I can sit by the window (if I can't make sure I'll be assigned a window seat for a reasonable price)!
- MattRogish 10y ago
  I have over 500,000 BIS lifetime miles and I'm still exited by the takeoff roll. Airlines are starting to retire 744s. If you have a chance, find a way to ride in the upper deck. It's quite something!
  - tcas 10y ago
    AirFrance does coach on the upper deck -- you might need to pay a tiny bit more to get them, but definitely not the same as a business class ticket. I highly recommend trying to get a seat up there as well. It has less seats than a regional jet in a coach config, and you feel completely isolated from the chaos below.
    - coob 10y ago
      In coach on the upper deck with Virgin if you're by the window seat you get a nice extra shelf too.
asimuvPR 10y ago
I've always felt each 747 flight I've taken has been special. Dunno why. The thing just speaks to me aesthetically.
WalterBright 10y ago
The 747 brought global air travel to ordinary people. There was a most definite before and after.
- tonyedgecombe 10y ago
  When we emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in the early seventies we flew by 747, my Aunts who had gone out a year earlier had to make the journey by ship.
omnibrain 10y ago
The Technik Museum in Speyer (Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technik_Museum_Speyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technik_Museum_Speyer has a 747 (and a Buran). It's a sight to behold. It throwns over the museum. You can climb the stairs all the way up and see the inner workings of the fuselage and walk on the wing.
lostlogin 10y ago
I'd point to The Concorde. Loud, fast and fantastic until it literally and metaphorically became a flaming wreck.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  ... Because a DC10 had dropped a chunk of Titanium on the runway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590
stcredzero 10y ago
it looks truly beautiful while an A380 looks like it just got punched in the stomach. I read the opinion of an aeronautical engineer that the 747 gets its grace from physics, while the A380 goes a little against physics. Apparently, its wings are a little too short for its heft, but the engineers made it work. This is why it costs 50% more to operate per nautical mile, while having 700 nm less range. (Than the 747-8I)
- pravda 10y ago
  >This is why it costs 50% more to operate per nautical mile Is that a useful metric? Cost per passenger mile is what matters. The A380 is larger then the 747, one would expect it to cost more to fly. I do think the 747 is nicer-looking. The nose of the A380 just doesn't work aesthetically.

by qq66 10y ago

jdale27 10y ago

What a great comment. I went through a period in my life where I hardly traveled at all, and more recently I've been traveling frequently for work. I still feel the same childish joy every time I feel the plane leave the ground -- we're actually flying! And the fact that basically on a whim, I can buy a ticket, show up at an airport, wait a bit, sit on a plane for a while, and then basically show up on the other side of the world in a few hours, what it used to take humans months, or even years, to do, when it became possible at all. So yeah; from someone who's a geek about it, but outside of the aviation industry: it's cool.

rdtsc 10y ago
> I still feel the same childish joy every time I feel the plane leave the ground -- we're actually flying! I aways remember this bit by Louis CK about flying. It is just so true. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dYS7PcAG4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dYS7PcAG4
- mercer 10y ago
  I'm a grown man and I still often ask if I can sit by the window (if I can't make sure I'll be assigned a window seat for a reasonable price)!
MattRogish 10y ago
I have over 500,000 BIS lifetime miles and I'm still exited by the takeoff roll. Airlines are starting to retire 744s. If you have a chance, find a way to ride in the upper deck. It's quite something!
- tcas 10y ago
  AirFrance does coach on the upper deck -- you might need to pay a tiny bit more to get them, but definitely not the same as a business class ticket. I highly recommend trying to get a seat up there as well. It has less seats than a regional jet in a coach config, and you feel completely isolated from the chaos below.
  - coob 10y ago
    In coach on the upper deck with Virgin if you're by the window seat you get a nice extra shelf too.

asimuvPR 10y ago

I've always felt each 747 flight I've taken has been special. Dunno why. The thing just speaks to me aesthetically.

WalterBright 10y ago

The 747 brought global air travel to ordinary people. There was a most definite before and after.

tonyedgecombe 10y ago
When we emigrated from the UK to New Zealand in the early seventies we flew by 747, my Aunts who had gone out a year earlier had to make the journey by ship.

omnibrain 10y ago

The Technik Museum in Speyer (Germany) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technik_Museum_Speyer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technik_Museum_Speyer has a 747 (and a Buran). It's a sight to behold. It throwns over the museum. You can climb the stairs all the way up and see the inner workings of the fuselage and walk on the wing.

lostlogin 10y ago

I'd point to The Concorde. Loud, fast and fantastic until it literally and metaphorically became a flaming wreck.

jacquesm 10y ago
... Because a DC10 had dropped a chunk of Titanium on the runway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_4590

stcredzero 10y ago

it looks truly beautiful while an A380 looks like it just got punched in the stomach. I read the opinion of an aeronautical engineer that the 747 gets its grace from physics, while the A380 goes a little against physics. Apparently, its wings are a little too short for its heft, but the engineers made it work. This is why it costs 50% more to operate per nautical mile, while having 700 nm less range. (Than the 747-8I)

pravda 10y ago
>This is why it costs 50% more to operate per nautical mile Is that a useful metric? Cost per passenger mile is what matters. The A380 is larger then the 747, one would expect it to cost more to fly. I do think the 747 is nicer-looking. The nose of the A380 just doesn't work aesthetically.