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Show o 1 i v . If ! 5 wvr j:'' , a, v , X ' i. 4) 'I o ?Y. IV. G V -- 'V att.-.The 747 umbo jet has three ;. : coach . sections, each accommodating: about 100. SEATTLE. WASH, arly next year, most probably in Jan-uary, the era of the jumbo jet will F arrive with the roar of a Boeing 747. The largest passenger jet ever built 73 yards long, 65 yards in wingspan, 21 yards in height, and $23 million in cost the 74 7 will race down a runway at John Kennedy International Airport in New York, soar to an altitude of 45,000 feet and head for Lonw don. The first of 33 superjets ordered American World Airways, it will carry 362 passengers 58 in first class, 304 in economy class, a crew of three, and 12 to 15 hostesses. It will arrive in London ten to 20 minutes faster th.fi the smaller 707 jet. but, according to understandably enthusiastic airline pa-s- agents, "It will provide n by-Pa- s the ultimate in comfort." Instead of coach passengers sitting six abreast as in todays 707, they will sit nine abreast. There will be two aisles going down the length of the plane instead of one. These two aisles will divide each row of seats into one group o seats, one t. group, and one Each coach seat will be 19 inches wide instead of 17 inches wide as on 747 will offer apprecithe 707. ably no more leg room than the 707. lack rf ieg rcom is one of the most frequent and possibly the single major complaint made by jet passengers on two-abrea- four-abrea- st three-abreas- But-th- e flights today. Pan Am, of course, could have con long-ha- 4 ul st seating, figured its 747 for but in the words of its president, Najeeb Halaby, "We picked what we thought was the optimum combination of comfort and economy." Test pilot Don Knutson, who flew the 747 from Seattle to Paris and back this past June, says, "It's the most stable plane, also the heaviest 710,000 pounds Ive ever flown. You position it where you want, and it stays there. "Unlike smaller jets, it's not disturbed very much by wind gusts. In turbulent air, it behaves beautifully. It provides passengers with an easy ride. For my g money it is the plane in existence." ten-abre- nicest-flyin- Why it was built Since the jumbo jet flies at approximately the same subsonic rate of speed h as other jets in the range and since it does not now offer the passenger a cheaper fare it still costs $375 first class and $210 coach. New York to London, no matter which jet you fly in why was the 747 built in die firM 600-mp- place? The airline most responsible for its construction is Pan American. In 1965 Pan Ams board of directors, convinced that air travel was burgeoning throughout the world, began to plan for larger aircraft that would operate at about 30 e than the percent less cost per seat-mil- 707. In addition to wanting a more profitable aircraft. Pan Am figured that by the year 1980 some 600 million people would be traveling by air. This would aircraft were mean, if present-size- d used, about 25 million plane departures a year, an impossible number for the world's airports to handle. One answer was.fewer planes but with larger passenger loads that could limit plane departures to 15 million by 1980. Pan Ain was faced with three choices (1) a stretched-ou- t version of an existing jet, (2) a commercial passenger the military adaptation of the cargo giant being built by Lockheed in Marietta, Ga., (3) a new jet designed to carry about 500 passengers, with about the same speed and range of the 707 The basic advantage in choosing an entirely new aircraft was that it could be built pretty closely to Pan Am's requirements. On Dec 22, 1965, after long and intensive study. Pan Am gave Boeing, which had lost out to Lockheed on the bidding, the happy an order for 25 jumbo jets ct about $20 million per jet Soon TWA and 26 other airlines followed with their orders. Boeing thereupon performed miracles. It cleared 780 acres in Everett, Wash., constructed the woriu's largest building in which to assemble the world's largest passenger jet, kept 2500 engineers busy at their boards, conquered all sorts of weather and supply delays, and by December, 1968, had the 747 prototype in the air. The plane was certified by the FAA C-5- C-5- A d, earlier this year, and Pan Am was given the word that it could take delivery of its first three 747's early this month. The airline thereupon announced that its inaugural flight to London would take place on Dec 15th, 1969. The inaugural has now been postponed. The reason: performance difficulties in the Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines. Dilemma Explains a Boeing spokesman: "Originally we asked Pratt & Whitney tc supply an engine with a thrust of 41 ,500 pounds. As the various airlines altered specifications, calling for a heavier plane, our engineers had to ask for a more powerful engine, ow with 43,500 pounds of thrust. "That much power distorted the engine casing, reducing the amount of thrust and increasing the fuel consumption by 5 percent Pratt & Whitney's engineers are working on the problem. They should have it solved any day now. Once they do, the Federal Aviation Administration will have to okay the changes. Then the planes will go, most probably in late January or early February." In appearance the jumbo jet is not a particularly revolutionary aircraft. It loolc 'ike a giant version of the Boeing 707 with four massive jet engines mounted under the wings. "It constitutes, however," says test pilot Knutson, "a great advance in the development of PARADE NOVEMREt 2. 1 |