There are some engineering designs which look good, there are some which look - well, awful - and there are some, a very few, which look absolutely perfect.

Engineering beauty is as much in the eye of the beholder as any other sort, but it must partly come from a sense of fitness-for-purpose together with some sort of aesthetic appeal. Concorde is an impressive aeroplane in some ways, but in others (especially in fuel economy) somewhat flawed. The Spitfire is utterly right; beautifully proportioned, possessing strong aesthetic values. But the best of all for me, by a long way, is  the Boeing 747.

    Apart from its size, the 747 on the ground does not necessarily look enormously impressive. The reason is that it isn't supposed to be on the ground, it's supposed to be in the air. Then - wow! That it where it is clearly at home; the contrast is like that of a penguin on land and a penguin in the water. Design will out. I see many aircraft on every day that the wind is from the west (more or less), which is the majority of days in the UK. The inbound flightpath for Heathrow runs past my office windows in Westminster, and over my flat. The aircraft are at 2,500 - 3,000 ft, and just past my flat change from being under the control of Heathrow radar Director to the Tower, so are some 12 miles out. Early in the morning whilst I am making breakfast I can see 747's in   profusion coming in from the Far East - Qantas, Cathay, AA, United, BA, Malaysian, Thai, and throughout the day from nearly every major airline in the world. All of them are poised, elegant, smooth; the 747 is made to fly, in a way which its sisters such as the 737 or even the 777 don't quite match. I wish I could explain it, but it's an emotional reaction.

The 747 comes in a number of variants of quite strikingly different sizes; the current production model is the 747-400, and if you want one the Boeing website has a price list. Save up about $170 million, and it's yours. There are problems of storage, of course, but you could try leasing it. The variation that is most obvious in the sky is the 747-SP, a rather radically shortened version which looks as though it has hit a wall. Nevertheless it has its own website with lots of pictures and a deal of enthusiasm, which I recommend to the general 747 enthusiast.

A brief history of each variant and some statistics are on other pages, together with the story of the Jumbo and the Crane Fly, which is what I think makes the 747 special. Please visit the other sites mentioned, and tell them where you saw them advertised.

747 History         Statistics        The Jumbo and the Crane Fly       Flight        Home Page

Rod Beavon  17 Dean's Yard  London  SW1P 3PB

e-mail:  rod.beavon@westminster.org.uk