747-400   747-400XER  747-400XS    747-500X    747-600X

Dimensions:   
Length              231'10"      231'10"           255' 3"           251' 0"          278' 0"
Wing Span        211' 5"       211' 5"            211' 5"           251' 0"          251' 0"
Height               63' 8"         63' 8"             63' 8"             70' 0"            70' 0"

Weight (lbs):
Empty               403,559     420,000         430,000          450,000         480,000
Fuel                  385,806     450,000         450,000          500,000         600,000
Payload             138,000     
MTOW               870,000     921,700         948,150          1,166,225      1,200,000 
MLW                  585,000     620,000         635,000          875,000         890,000

Engines: 747-400

• 4 * 252kN Pratt&Whitney PW4056 (56,750 lb thrust ) or
• 4 * 266kN Pratt&Whitney PW4060 (60,000 lb thrust ) or
• 4 * 275kN Pratt&Whitney PW4062 (62,000 lb thrust ) or
• 4 * 257kN General Electric CF6-80C2B1F (57,900 lb thrust) or
• 4 * 258kN Rolls-Royce RB211-524G (58,000 lb thrust) or
• 4 * 258kN Rolls-Royce RB211-524H (60,600 lb thrust)

747-400XER/XS

• 4 * 290kN GE-PW Engine Alliance GP 7000 turbofans (65,250 lb.) thrust
• 4 * 290kN Rolls-Royce Trent 600 turbofans (65,250 lb.) thrust

747-500X/600X

• 4 * 338kN GE-PW Engine Alliance GP 7176 turbofans (76,000 - 80,000 lb.) thrust
• 4 * 338kN Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofans (76,000 - 80,000 lb) thrust

Operating Performance:

• Mmo 0.85 Mach Max. Operating Speed
• Mne 0.92 Mach Never Exceed Speed
• Vno knots Max. Operating Speed IAS
• Vne365 knotsNever Exceed Speed IAS
• Vat150 - 156 knotsLanding @ Runway Threshold Speed @ MLW full flap/Gear down
• Take-off speed@ MTOW with Flap 3 is 155 - 160 kts, otherwise 155kts @ flap 2
• ILS & Approach speed 180 - 150 kts @ Flap2 (Kyb 2)

Take-off speed@ MTOW:

• V1 145-148kts @ flap2/3 (V1 is the go or no-go decision speed)
• VR 155-160kts (VR is the rotation speed ie lift-off speed)
• V2 180kts (V2 is the safe climb-out speed)

ILS & Approach speed @ MLW:

• 185 kts Flap2 (Kyb 2) to full flap/gear down @ Vat 150 - 155 kts
• Vat = 1.30 Vso (Vso is stall speed @ full flap/gear down)

Cruise Speeds:

• Cruise Speed 490 KTAS
• Cruise Altitude 28,000 - 35,000ft depending on weight.
• Typical Cruise Speed is 0.80 - 0.85 Mach @ FL280 - FL350
• Long Range Cruise speed is 496 KTAS @ FL350 (35,000ft)
• Max. cruising speed is 507 KTAS

When flying long routes (over 5hrs) with MTOW, climb to FL300 & hold Alt with cruise speed 0.80 - 0.81 Mach , then fly that level for 30-45 min. then climb to FL310 - 320 @500 fpm and so on until you reach FL350 @ 0.80 - 0.85 Mach

Try not exceed 91% N1 during cruise in order to have available thrust for emergencies & be more efficient with fuel burn. The reason I mentioned the above procedure with X-Plane is to avoid too much nose pitch up attitude which put the aircraft wing @ higher angle of attack causing speed bleed leading to a clean stall if you are not careful.

The time taken between cruise climb is important because the aircraft will burn fuel (losing weight), your speed will gradually increase @ the same N1 setting , your aircraft pitch up will decrease helping you for the next cruise climb. Rate of climb at these alts should be between 300-500 fpm in order not to lose speed rapidly. The more you climb to FL350 the more the air density is less the better the engine fuel consumption (more range)& the less is thrust.

I usually output data for N1 on the screen & switch the EICAS to fuel management to observe aircraft status on fuel burn & range.

You should carry fuel enough for the flight + 40mis for diversions & emergencies i.e. if your trip is 5 hrs long, you load fuel for the required 5hrs flight plus fuel for an extra 40 min. You should know your aircrafts average fuel consumption for the type of engines fitted with in order to determine the fuel weight required for the flight. Remember that weight is drag, drag is more fuel burn which costs money (for virtual pilots flying for virtual airlines :), so do not carry fuel more than you need. You have a destination to go to & MLW limit. You do not want to arrive to your destination with total weight above MLW!.

FAR Field Lengths

• Take-off 10,561 ft
• Landing 7,870ft

Take-off Check List

• Allowable Take-off Weight (MTOW or lower)
• Flaps Set
• Trim Set
• Autopilot Controls Off

Final Landing Check List

• Gear Down/Green
• Flaps/Slats Set/ 3 or 4
• Speed BrakesArmed
• ILS ferq/Glide Slope Tuned-in

During Descent Check

• Check Allowable Landing Weight (MLW 575,000 lb. or lower)
• Review your ILS approach & Runway heading

ROC Rate Of Climb

Below 10,000 ft

• max.3800 fpm @ 250 kts

Above 10,000 ft to Cruise Flight Level FL

• 2200fpm from 10,000 - 20,000ft @ 280 - 340kts
• 2000 - 1500fpm from 20,000 - 26,000ft
• 1500 - 400fpm from 26,000 - 35,000 ft depending on weight

ROD Rate Of Descent

• From Cruise FL to 10,000ft hold 0.79 Mach until 290 kts, reduce thrust for 2500 fpm
• Below 10,000ft rate of descent varies with ATC requirements, but is between 800 - 3000fpm
• In normal conditions 250kts idle descent , then slow & configure speed so as to not add power until on Glide Slope.
• Use speedbrakes to slow down
• Glide Slope descend is between 1500 - 500fpm depending on your situation
• At Runway Threshold descend between 400-200fpm for a smooth touchdown landing

MLW = Maximum Landing Weight
MTO = Maximum Take-off Weight
V2  = Safe Climb-out speed (The speed after Vr, Rotation speed or Lift-off speed)
Vat = Landing speed at runway threshold Flap/Gear down (X-Plane @ 50'...25'...10')
Vapr= Approach Speed , just add 5-10kts to Vat with flap/gear down @ MLW or less
Vno = Normal Operating Speed
Vmo = Maximum Operating Speed
Vne = Never Exceed Speed
FL350 = Flight Level 35,000'

Thanks to Mohammed Gazzawi, Designer/Test Pilot MGXP