Hi guys.

Firstly I appologize if this has been posted in the incorrect forum but this one seemed the most appropraite for my query. In preparing for application to a pilot training program Im researching into the different types of commerical aircraft that have been/are in use and am having a bit of difficulty looking at boeing aircraft. Does anyone know of a site that advises of the launch date of each of the aircraft and the major differences between the series, reasons for purchasing a 747 over a 737 for example. Also, Im trying to find out what the difference is between aircraft such as 737 - 400 and 737 - 500 for example.

Before anyone shouts the obvious yes I have trawled the boeing website but you can only learn so much from a company website and would preffer an unbiased one which shows the cons as well as the pro's of each individual aircraft.

Thanks in advance

Minor differnces between B737-300/500

Check out this website http://www.b737.org.uk/

Choosing an aircraft is all about route structure - how many pax, what size runways, terminal limits, nonstop distance flown etc. When these are givens, there are relatively few choices left.

Try http://www.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!/info/

thanks guys, will have a butchers

If you thought the 380 was ugly...

http://www.boeing.com/commercial/new...60909a_nr.html

TAIPEI, Sept. 09, 2006 -- The Boeing [NYSE: BA] 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter took to the skies for the first time at 10:38 a.m. (UTC/GMT +8 hours) today, initiating the flight test program that will culminate in U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification.

The two-hour, four-minute flight was the first of 250 expected flight test hours for the unique freighter, a specially modified 747-400 that will transport major composite structures of the all-new 787 Dreamliner.

The enormous jet -- with its enlarged upper fuselage that can accommodate three times the cargo by volume of a standard 747-400 freighter -- gracefully took off under rainy skies from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (formerly Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport). Boeing flight test pilots, Capts. Joe MacDonald and Randy Wyatt, took the airplane north, and then flew roughly 150 miles south following along the east side of the island before heading north again.

"It went beautifully," MacDonald said after the flight ended. In fact, the airplane handled so well, "quite often during the flight, it was easy to forget you were in an LCF rather than a regular 747-400," he said.

Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp., part of Taiwan's Evergreen Group, is modifying the fleet of three airplanes at its facility at the airport.

"This is a key moment in the Dreamliner program," said Scott Strode, 787 vice president of Airplane Development and Production. "The LCF fleet is the foundation of our lean, global production system and enables us to meet the unprecedented customer demand for the 787. I congratulate the global LCF team -- our design and production partners, our modification partner EGAT, and our incredible Boeing team -- for this remarkable achievement."

The flight test program is expected to last through the end of the year. The LCF also will complete more than 500 hours of ground testing in Taipei and Seattle combined. This comprehensive test program will ensure the LCF's reliability and ability to fly its intended mission.

After completing initial flight tests in Taiwan, during which the airplane's handling characteristics will be evaluated as well as ensuring the LCF is free from flutter and excessive vibration, the airplane will fly to Seattle's Boeing Field to complete the remainder of the flight test program. The ferry flight to Seattle is expected to occur mid-month. A fleet of three LCFs will ferry 787 assemblies between Nagoya, Japan; Grottaglie, Italy; Wichita, Kan. and Charleston, S.C., before flying them to the Boeing factory in Everett, Wash., for final assembly. The first two LCFs will enter service in early 2007; the third will follow later.

so this is what happens when a 747 and beluga have a love child!!

It's just 'big-boned'..

Big-boned yes........like most dinosaurs

"Big-boned"... you kidding? It's what happens when somebody gets the "max cabin pressure" setting wrong during acceptance testing.... and they decide to keep the result.
Not quite fair.... there are entire generations of those big beasts around now. Remember the Guppy that started it all?
And as to dinosaurs.... they stayed around an awfully long time....

Vertical fin appears to be borrowed from a 747SP.

From the write-up I saw, they extended the existing fin, rather than borrow one from another aircraft.

Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp., part of Taiwan's Evergreen Group, is modifying the fleet of three airplanes at its facility at the airport.

A fleet of three LCFs will ferry 787 assemblies between Nagoya, Japan; Grottaglie, Italy; Wichita, Kan. and Charleston, S.C., before flying them to the Boeing factory in Everett, Wash., for final assembly. The first two LCFs will enter service in early 2007; the third will follow later.

Her Majesty needs Weight Watchers it proves Boeing can beat the a380
I can't wait to see the 747-8


To The Max Brake Energy Limits And Beyond
rhov

Are they going to paint it then? Might look somewhat easier on the eye then..

Don't tell me it is already painted!?

Judging by the first pic, they just coated it with grass seed and watered it.
A whole new environment-friendly technology!

It's geting painted when it gets back to Seattle.

I had something similar on my back once. You should have seen what came out when I squeezed it!!

How on earth do they load it? Is it like a coffin? Or does the front forty feet of fuselage swing open on two dodgy Ikea hinges?
McH

Hinged Swing Tail. Look for the line on the fuselage aft of the wing.

There's other threads describing it. Look for LCF.