1st of June 2011

10 years ago on this date, Lufthansa introduced the Boeing 747-8I in its fleet.

The Boeing 747-8I is the latest and last model of the very successful Boeing 747 series. There are two "basic" models of the B747-8, the -8I (Intercontinental) and the -8F (Freighter) model. The major visual difference between the two is the length of the aircraft and the length of the upper deck.

Compared to the Boeing 747-400 the fuselage is extended by two plugs, one forward and one aft of the wing. 160" (4.1 m) in front of the wing and 60" (1.5 m) aft of the wing. The Boeing 747-8F has the upper deck length and appearance of the Boeing 747-100 upper deck with just three windows, while the Boeing 747-8I has a 'long' upper deck.

Boeing 747-8F, short upper deck Boeing 747-8I, long upper deck

The Boeing 747-8 was launched on the 14th of November 2005 and a sale of 300 aircraft was forecasted. The Boeing 747-8F had its maiden flight in February of 2010, just over a year later the Intercontinental version had its first flight in March 2011.

The -8 is stretched by 18 feet in length compared to the -400 series and at the time was the longest airliner in the world. The wing has changed a bit, although sweep and basic structure stayed the same as on the -400 it is thicker and has a longer chord, allowing for an increase in fuel capacity. An obvious change on the wing is the wingtip, with the winglet being replaced by a raked wingtip. The new wing gives the aircraft a bigger span compared to the -400. The span of the Boeing 747-8I is 224.4 ft (68.4 meters) compared to the 213 ft (64.9 meters) on the Boeing 747-400.

It is the heaviest Boeing commercial aircraft with an MTOW 975.000 lb (442 tons). While the freighter version can carry a payload of 302.000 lb (137 tons) over 4120 nm the passenger version can carry 467 passengers in a three-class configuration over 7790 nm. Both versions are powered by 4 General Electric GEnx-2B67 engines. a high by-pass engine with a thrust rating of 66.500 lb. More info on the Boeing 747-8 can be found in an excellent article on the aircraft in the Boeing Aeromagazine. Click here to go to this article.