Boeing 747-100

Historical Context: The Big Gamble

The 747-100 was born out of a demand from Juan Trippe, the visionary head of Pan Am, who wanted an aircraft capable of carrying vastly more people across oceans to reduce ticket prices and handle surging passenger demand in the 1960s.

Boeing took an immense financial risk developing the aircraft. The design team, led by legendary engineer Joe Sutter (known as "The Incredibles"), rushed to design and build the massive aircraft and a new factory to house it (in Everett, Washington) simultaneously. The development costs nearly bankrupted the company before the plane became a success.

Distinctive Design Features
While all 747s share a general silhouette, the original 747-100 has defining characteristics that distinguish it from later models like the -400 or -8.

1. The "Short Hump"

The most iconic feature of the 747 is its upper deck hump. On the 747-100, this hump is relatively short, extending only partially over the wing.

• Why the hump exists: The 747 was originally designed with the expectation that supersonic transports (SSTs like Concorde) would take over passenger travel, leaving the 747 as a freighter. The cockpit was placed on an upper deck so that the entire nose cone could flip open for straight-in cargo loading on the main deck.
• The "Three-Window" Spot: Early production 747-100s often had only three windows on each side of the upper deck, though many airlines later retrofitted more windows in.

2. The Cockpit and Crew

The 747-100 featured a classic "steam gauge" cockpit, filled with hundreds of analog dials and switches. Crucially, it required a three-person flight crew: a Captain, a First Officer, and a Flight Engineer. The Flight Engineer sat sideways behind the pilots, managing systems like fuel, hydraulics, and pressurization.

3. The Engines

The 747-100 was launched with four huge high-bypass turbofan engines, specifically the Pratt & Whitney JT9D. These engines were revolutionary but initially plagued with problems, including stalls, surges, and ovalization of the casings during takeoff, causing significant delays in the aircraft's early service life.

The Passenger Experience: The "Golden Age" Cabin

Because the aircraft was so massive compared to anything before it, airlines initially weren't sure how to fill all the space.

The 747-100 ushered in a brief era of onboard luxury before high-density seating took over. The main cabin featured twin aisles (a novelty at the time) and high ceilings. The signature spiral staircase led to the upper deck hump.

In early configurations, the upper deck was rarely used for regular seating. Instead, airlines like Pan Am and American Airlines used the hump as an exclusive first-class lounge, often featuring swiveling seats, cocktail bars, and sometimes even a piano.

Variants of the -100

There were two minor sub-variants of the original -100 series worth noting:

• 747-100B: A version with slightly stronger wings, fuselage, and landing gear, allowing for higher takeoff weights and more powerful engine options (including Rolls-Royce and GE engines).
• 747SR (Short Range): Developed specifically for Japanese domestic airlines (JAL and ANA). The SR was designed for short flights with very frequent takeoff and landing cycles. It had less fuel capacity but a strengthened structure and landing gear, and it was configured in ultra-high-density layouts, sometimes carrying over 500 passengers on short domestic hops.