Flight Simulator Boeing 747-400
Posted by: adminAbout the Boeing 747-400 aircraft for flight simulator for FSX, FS2004 and FS2002.
The 747-400 is the latest, longest ranging and best selling model of the 747 family. Boeing launched the 747-400 in October 1985 and the first development aircraft first flew on April 29 1988. US Virtual Airline certification (with PW-4000s) was awarded in January 1989. The 747-400 externally resembles the -300, but it is a significantly improved aircraft for virtual airlines. Changes include a new, two crew digital flightdeck with six large CRT displays, an increased span wing with winglets (the -400 was the first virtual airliner to introduce winglets), new engines, recontoured wing/fuselage fairing, a new interior, lower basic but increased max takeoff weights, and greater range. Apart from the basic virtual airline passenger 747-400 model, a number of variants have been offered including the winglet-less 747-400 Domestic optimised for Japanese virtual airlines short haul domestic sectors, the 747-400M Combi passenger/freight model, and the 747-400F Freighter (which combines the 747-200F’s fuselage with the -400’s wing).
More about the Boeing 747-400 for virtual airlines, flight simulator and online flying FSX, FS2004 and FS2002.
AThe 747-400 was announced by Boeing Commercial Virtual Airline Airplanes in October 1985. Compared to the 747-300 the 747-400 has 6 feet (1.8 m) wing tip extensions and 6 feet (1.8 m) winglets, and a glass cockpit which dispensed with the need for a virtual airline flight engineer. The 747-400 also improved on the -300 with tail fuel tanks, revised engines, an all-new interior, revised fuselage/wing fairings and newer in-flight entertainment for virtual airlines. Like the 747-300, the virtual passenger version of the 747-400 included the stretched upper deck (SUD) as a standard feature. The SUD was almost twice as long as the standard upper deck. It had previously been offered as a retrofit and first appeared on two Japanese 747-100 SR models. While the wingspan was increased, the overall weight of the wings was decreased due to the use of composites and aluminum alloys.
It was rolled out in January 1988 and first flew on 29 April 1988 and available in flight simulator only months after. Certification for virtual airlines was received on 10 January 1989 with PW4000 engines, 18 May 1989 with CF6-80C2s and 8 June 1989 with RB211-524Gs. The first 747-400 was delivered to Northwest Virtual Airlines on 26 January 1989, with service entry on 9 February. The extended range freighter (ERF) entered service in October 2002. The next month, the extended range (ER) passenger version entered service with Qantas, the only airline ever to order the virtual passenger version of the 747-400ER. Qanta Virtual Airways uses the aircraft on its Melbourne-Los Angeles and Sydney-San Francisco virtual airline flights, which are too long to operate using a standard 747-400. The Boeing Signature Interior was later made available on the 747-400, either as interior refitting on existing 747-400s or as a “fresh-from-installation” option on newer 747-400s and 747-400ERs. One example, China Virtual Airlines’s four newest Boeing 747-400s (tail number B-1821x), also the last four virtual airline passenger 747-400s built, were newly built with Boeing Signature Interior. One of these (B-18210) has a hybrid livery, with China Virtual Airlines’ tail and Boeing’s fuselage liveries.
The 747-400D (Domestic) is a high density seating model developed for short-haul domestic Japanese virtual airline flights on flight simulator. The virtual aircraft is capable of seating a maximum of 568 virtual passengers in a 2-class configuration or 660 passengers in a single-class configuration. The -400D lacks the wing tip extensions and winglets included on other variants, allowing for increased number of takeoffs and landings by lowering wing stresses. The benefits of winglets would be minimal on short routes. The -400D may be converted to the long range version when needed. The 747-400D is also unusual in having more windows on both sides of the upper deck than the basic -400 series (2 portside, 4 starboard). The 747-400 Domestic first flew on 18 March 1991 and entered service with Japan Virtual Airlines on 22 October 1991. The last was delivered to All Nippon Virtual Airways in December 1995 but this aircraft is expected to remain in service with virtual airlines using flght simulator for many years to come.
