Boeing 747: Legacy

The Boeing 747 is a truly iconic plane.  

In the 1960s, the demand for air travel had grown due to jet airliners.  Because of this demand, airlines wanted a bigger plane.  Boeing started working on a new jumbo jet that could carry over 400 passengers, allowing ticket costs to be lower.  The Boeing 747 was so large and luxurious that it earned the nickname Queen of the Skies. 

At the time, however, supersonic aircraft such as the Concorde were being built.  Boeing feared that these supersonic aircraft would make their slow jumbo jet obsolete, so they focused on making the airliner a good cargo plane as well.  This way, even if airlines no longer wanted to fly subsonic planes, the 747 would still have customers.  The 747's iconic "hump" was added to the plane to allow the nose to open up and cargo be loaded inside.  This way, the 747 could carry very large cargo.

The 747-400 was the most popular model of the 747, selling almost 700 aircraft, half the total sales of the plane.  The 747-400 was the largest passenger aircraft ever built until Airbus released the a380 in 2005. 

While the Boeing 747 was a huge success, the queen's reign is finally coming to an end.  In today's market, airlines no longer want a giant plane for hub travel.  Modern planes such as the 787 and a350 are slowly replacing larger planes such as the 747 and a380.  While the passenger 747 may be coming to an end, the plane will continue to live on as a cargo freighter, as there are no current cargo planes as large as the 747.  

This model was built to celebrate the 747.  The model shows the iconic shape of the 747.  Not only this, but it also shows the massive size of the plane, featuring a 30" (76cm) wingspan.  The model also includes a detailed interior, featuring three-class seating, a cockpit, in-flight entertainment, a lavatory, and a spiral staircase to the upper deck.  The plane can sit 55 minifigures in its 3-class seating.  

The model is almost entirely custom-built, featuring nearly no specialized airplane pieces (unless you count the windows).  The vertical stabilizer is brick-built using layered plates to form the classic LEGO City airline logo.  The wings and horizontal stabilizers are built using overlapping plates and tiles attached to the fuselage on an angle.  The model also includes basic technic bricks and beams to create the retractable landing gear and superstructure.  

Thank you for checking out my LEGO Ideas project!  If you would like to build your own 747, consider supporting!