All of us who love to fly are always amazed by the size of aircraft today. Whether it is an Airbus 380, a Boeing 787 or the new Boeing 747-8F freighter, these aircraft are - to say the least - impressive! Some say size doesn't matter, but when it comes to making money with airplanes size DOES matter, and Boeing and Airbus keep pushing the limits. It seems to me that there are little or no limits to how large they can make an aircraft, but our airports aren't ready to handle them yet. Take, for example, the accident between the Airbus A380 and the commuter jet. When the aircraft get too large where will they be able to operate from? We are running out of real estate at our airports. What follows is a picture of the new Boeing 747-8F test bed aircraft which recently went through its rejected takeoff test at max gross weight. At 975,000 pounds it takes a lot to stop this beast!
photo credit: longbachnguyen There is a Boeing video of the test, but we don't have it. Instead, take a look at the test of the Boeing 777 at 576,000 pounds: Hot ride, anyone? Here is a great book about Flight Testing of Fixed-Wing Aircraft (AIAA Education) here. Until next time keep your wings straight and level Hersch! JetAviator7 ps: Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter "All Things Aviation" here!