The Origin of the Sky I Explored with My Parents—The Boeing 747 Nose at the Museum of Aeronautical Science

Good morning, everyone! 🌞 This is Hikaru, the Number Magician (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ

This time, I will introduce the
Boeing 747-200 airframe on display at the Museum of Aeronautical Science, right next to Narita Airport ✈️

This aircraft was actually operated by Northwest Airlines until around 2010.
After that, only the "nose section" of the aircraft, which was scheduled to be scrapped, was preserved and is on display here.

Believe it or not, you can actually enter the cockpit of this exhibit! 😲
There is a small fee for the tour, but it is an irresistible space for enthusiasts like my father and me 😊

And here is the highlight of this visit👇

This Boeing 747-200 is a
so-called "fully analog" cockpit.

What is even more distinctive is that it was operated by a three-person crew consisting of two pilots and a flight engineer.

There is a dedicated flight engineer's seat behind the pilot's seat, and they were responsible for managing engine fuel, hydraulic pressure, and more.

👇 Flight engineer's seat
Since there are four engines, various instruments are also lined up in sets of four.

👇 These are the engine hydraulic system instruments.

👆 This aircraft was one of the last to be operated by a three-person crew including a flight engineer; after this, as systems became more automated, the industry transitioned to a two-person operation system.

👇 My parents make their first appearance this time 😁
I was the photographer 📸
(After this, I also sat firmly in the captain's seat ✈️)

Perhaps the only things remaining as traces are the control column, the four throttle levers, and the communication panel.

Looking at it in more detail, even in the current Boeing 747-8I,

・Flap lever (lift adjustment)
・Speed brake lever (deceleration/descent assistance)
・Thrust reverser lever (deceleration after landing)
・Trim wheel (fine-tuning attitude)

these "operation systems fundamental to flight" are still retained as physical levers.

In other words, even though digitalization has progressed,
parts that require instantaneous judgment and intuitive operation are intentionally left analog...

What is particularly impressive is that the part above the flap lever, which used to be the "INS (Inertial Navigation System)," has evolved into the "CDU (Control Display Unit)" in modern aircraft, with a significantly increased number of input keys.

The reduction in levers and instruments in the cockpit is not because their functions have disappeared, but due to technological advancements.

Tasks that were managed in detail by humans during the Boeing 747-200 era are now performed automatically by computers. As a result, operation by two people instead of three has become possible, and the control systems have been streamlined. Furthermore, by consolidating information on displays, visibility and safety have also improved. In other words, they haven't been reduced, but rather 'efficiently consolidated'.

By the way, a question I am often asked is,
'What happens if the displays break?'
a question 🤔

In conclusion, the displays are redundant across multiple systems, and the probability of all of them failing simultaneously is 'virtually astronomical'.
Information from a broken display can be shown on another display.

Even so, in preparation for the worst-case scenario, the design ensures that even if all displays break, you can still land without issue as long as the blue PFD (Primary Flight Display for attitude, speed, and altitude) located just to the left of the two central upper and lower displays is working.

Of course, it would be impossible without air traffic control.

Such emergency situations are likely trained for thoroughly in flight simulators 😅

👇 This is the nose of the actual aircraft.

And there are also interesting points about the exterior 👇

Many logos lined up on the upper part of the nose.
These belong to the airlines that operated the Boeing 747.

・Japan Airlines (JAL)
・Pan American World Airways (nostalgic 😌)
・Lufthansa (yellow logo)
・Trans World Airlines (TWA)

and others, a lineup that aviation fans will love 😊

By the way, the windows in the red line section are passenger seats, and first class was located there at the time.

In other words, it was a structure where the cockpit was 'above' the passengers' heads 😅

I wrote about an aviation topic for the first time in a while, but what did you think? 😊

I'm sure there are some of you who have actually boarded this aircraft.
If so, please let me know in the comments 😊

(Hikaru)
#WhatAreYouTalkingAbout