It seems odd to me that so little on this thread has been written from the pilot's point of view about the flying qualities of the 747.
I first flew it in 1981, and it was my third large jet transport, the previous two being the VC10 and the 707. Both in their ways excellent aircraft but not as magnificent as the 747. It was not just its size that made it so. In contrast to the various earlier types of jet transports, which all had some handling vices, the 747 had none. And, again, in contrast to the earlier types, it had more system redundancy than any of them. Its handling was exceptional, the only vice that I could find (if it was a vice at all) was that the nose wheel could skate along the surface if one tried to turn when taxiing at too fast a speed.
It was very stable to fly, was an excellent instrument flying platform, yet had sufficiently powerful controls to handle in a sprightly fashion like a much smaller aircraft. In fact, when seated in the snug cockpit it was hard to believe there was so much aircraft following along behind! And, with the cockpit being so small, everything was within easy reach. Perhaps it could have done with a little more headroom but who was I to complain.
I spent 14 years flying it on long haul routes and was privileged to be IRE/TRE and airworthiness test qualified. It was during C of A air tests that one really became able to appreciate its exceptional handling qualities. It stalled immaculately in all configurations, except when clean – when it wouldn’t stall at all! The minimum speed had been defined by the point when the slow and stately buffeting was considered unacceptable. One would have had to be very ham-fisted to come anywhere near the stall speed. Unlike the 707, it had no Mach tuck, even at M0.97. Unlike the VC10, it had no pronounced Dutch Roll. And, unlike most T-tail aircraft, there was no concern over it becoming locked into a deep stall. It was also very gentlemanly on three engines and would even perform well with two failed on the same side.
It was a truly wonderful aircraft to fly, all the more remarkable when one remembers how long ago it was designed.
Joe Sutter and his team got it absolutely right.
Last edited by Bergerie1; 13th Dec 2022 at 14:19.