Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Passengers Typical 3-class configuration 416

Passengers Typical 2-class configuration 524
3 3 3
Cargo* 6,025 ft (170.5 m3) or 5,332 ft (151 m )
Engines Pratt & Whitney PW4062
maximum thrust 63,300 lb (28,710 kg)
Rolls-Royce RB211-524H
59,500 lb (26,990 kg)
General Electric CF6-80C2B5F
62,100 lb (27,945 kg)
Maximum Fuel Capacity 57,285 U.S. gal (216,840 L)
Maximum Takeoff Weight 875,000 lb (396,890 kg)
Maximum Range 8,430 statute miles (13,570 km) Typical city pairs:
Los Angeles-Hong Kong, Los Angeles-Sydney, Singapore-London
Typical Cruise Speed at 35,000 feet 0.85 Mach - 565 mph (910 km/h)
Basic Dimensions Wing Span 211 ft 5 in (64.4 m)
Overall Length 231 ft 10 in (70.6 m)
Tail Height 63 ft 8 in (19.4 m)
Interior Cabin Width 20 ft (6.1 m)

*6,025 ft3 (170.5 m3) = 30 LD-1 containers; 5,332 ft3 (151 m3) = 5 pallets, 14 LD-1 containers + bulk (one pallet = 96 in x
125 in/244 cm x 318 cm)

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Brief Description of the 747-400

The 747-400 is the latest derivative of the 747 family of airplanes. The -400 is externally
similar to the 747-300, with the additional wingtip extension with winglets and advanced
high bypass ratio engines. Other characteristics unique to the 747-400 include:

• Two-crew cockpit with digital avionics

• Lightweight aluminum alloys
• Structural carbon brakes
• Optional 875,000-pound maximum takeoff weight
• Optional 3,300-gallon fuel tank in horizontal stabilizer
• Vacuum lavatories with single-point servicing
• Enhanced passenger appeal in cabin interior
• Optional crew rest compartment in aft cabin
• Fly-by-wire system

747-400
The basic 747-400 has a tri-class passenger interior arrangement. Optional arrangements
include a two-class or a one-class configuration to suit traffic demands.

747-400 Domestic
The 747-400D is a high-capacity airplane designed for domestic short routes. It has a
lighter maximum takeoff weight. The -400D airplane has the same wingspan planform
as the -300 and has no winglets.

747-400 Combi
The Combi airplane has a main deck cargo door installed on the left side aft of the wing.
This door is used for loading pallets or containerized cargo up to 20 feet long. The main
deck of the Combi airplane can be converted to either an all-passenger or a
passenger/cargo configuration. In the latter configuration, cargo is in the aft fuselage.
Several cargo configurations can be loaded compatible with size limits and operational
procedures. The Combi can load up to seven 10-foot pallets or containers.

747-400 Freighter
The 747-400F freighter has a main deck nose door and a mechanized cargo handling
system. The nose door swings up so that pallets or containers up to 40 ft (12 m) can be
loaded straight in on motor-driven rollers. An optional main deck side cargo door (like
the 747-400 Combi) allows loading of dimensionally taller cargo modules.

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Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Definitions

Maximum Design Taxi Weight (MTW). Maximum weight for ground maneuver as limited by aircraft
strength and airworthiness requirements. (It includes weight of taxi and run-up fuel.)

Maximum Design Landing Weight (MLW). Maximum weight for landing as limited by aircraft
strength and airworthiness requirements.

Maximum Design Takeoff Weight (MTOW). Maximum weight for takeoff as limited by aircraft
strength and airworthiness requirements. (This is the maximum weight at start of the takeoff run.)

Operating Empty Weight (OEW). Weight of structure, powerplant, furnishing systems, unusable fuel
and other unusable propulsion agents, and other items of equipment that are considered an integral
part of a particular airplane configuration. Also included are certain standard items, personnel,
equipment, and supplies necessary for full operations, excluding usable fuel and payload.

Maximum Design Zero Fuel Weight (MZFW). Maximum weight allowed before usable fuel and other
specified usable agents must be loaded in defined sections of the aircraft as limited by strength and
airworthiness requirements.

Maximum Pay load. Maximum design zero fuel weight minus operational empty weight.

Usable Fuel. Fuel available for aircraft propulsion.

V1: Go or No-Go Speed. The crew must rejected a Take-Off before reaching this speed in order to
safely stop on remaining runway.

Vr: Rotation Speed. At this speed the crew begin to rotate the plane, smoothly nose-up to reach the
max 8 deg of pitch attitude before the plane has left the runway, then the crew will carefully increase
the pith up to 10/12 deg and they will maintein this attitude till the V2 +10 kt

V2: Take-Off safety Speed. Overstepping V2, with increasing speed …. gear up.

N1: Engine Fan Speed. N1 is used as a percentage of the max power. Normally the turbofans of the
engines can overrun the 100% of N1 for short periods of time.

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Measures
ft m ft m ft m
Length 231'10" 70.7 Wing Span 211'5" 64.4 Height 63'8" 19.4

Weights
CF6-80C2B5F PW4062 RB211-524H
Engines Engines Engines
Max Design Taxi Weight MTW Lb 877,000 877,000 877,000
Kg 397,800 397,800 397,800
Max Design Take-off Weight MTOW Lb 875,000 875,000 875,000
Kg 396,893 396,893 396,893
Max Design Landing Weight MLW Lb 630,000 630,000 630,000
Kg 285,763 285,763 285,763
Max Design Zero Fuel Weight MZFW Lb 542,500 542,500 545,000
Kg 246,073 246,073 247,207
Spec Operating Empty Weight OEW Lb 394,088 394 ,660 396,284
Kg 178,757 178,984 179,753
Max Structural Payload Lb 148,412 147,840 148,716
Kg 67,316 67,089 67,545
Usable Fuel Capacity Lb 382,336 382,336 382,336
Kg 173,395 173,395 173,395

Engines
Maximum Allowable N1 117.5%

The 747-400 is equipped with four advanced high bypass ratio engines. The following table
shows the available engines. Additional models may be available through customer options.

Manufacturer Model Number Rated Takeoff Thrust (Lb)

4 x 257kN GENERAL ELECTRIC CF6-80C2B1F 57,900
4 x 257kN GENERAL ELECTRIC CF6-80C2B5F 62,100
4 x 290kN GE-PW Engine Alliance GP 7000* 65,250
4 x 252kN PRATT & WHITNEY PW4056 56,750
4 x 266kN PRATT & WHITNEY PW4060 60,000
4 x 275kNPRATT & WHITNEY PW4062 63,300
4 x 258kN ROLLS-ROYCE RB211-524G 58,000
4 x 258kN ROLLS-ROYCE RB211-524H 69,500
4 x 290kN ROLLS-ROYCE Trent 600* 65,250
* not yet available

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 Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Operating Performance 747-400 (KIAS/Mach)

VA - Design Maneuvering Speed (KIAS/Mach)

Sea Level 10,000ft 20.000ft 29.000/40.000ft
300 315 330 336/0.86

VLO 270/0.82 Max Speed @ Gear Retraction

VLO 270/0.82 Max Speed @ Gear Extension

VLE 320/0.82 Maximum Airspeed with Gear Extended

Maximum Tire Limit Speed 204 Kt

VNO/MNO 0.85 Normal Operating Speed

Vne/Mne 365/0.89 Never Exceed Speed

VMO/MMO - Max. Operating Limit Speed (KIAS/Mach) - Shall not be exceeded during any phase of flight
20,000 ft & Lower 25,000ft 30.000ft 35.000 40.000ft
365 365/0.88 340/0.90 309/0.90 269/0.90

Vat 150 –156 KIAS Landing @ Runway Threshold Speed @ MLW full flap/Gear down

Maximum Turbolent Air Penetration Speed (KIAS/Mach)

250 15,000 ft and Lower alt. 290 / 0.78 15,000 ft and Higher alt.

Taxi Speed
Straight Taxiway 45 deg Turn 90 deg Turn
25 Kt 15 Kt 10 Kt

Max Slats/Flaps Extension Speed Vfe in KIAS

Config Slats/Flaps
1 Slats (inboard + Midspan only) 280 Intermediate Approach
5 Full Slats + Flaps @ 5 deg 260 Intermediate Approach
10 Full Slats + Flaps @ 10 deg 240 Take-Off & Approach
20 Full Slats + Flaps @ 20 deg 230 Take-Off & Approach
25 Full Slats + Flaps @ 25 deg 205 Landing
30 Full Slats + Flaps @ 30 deg 180 Landing

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Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Flaps/Slats Selection
Take-Off 10, 20
Approach 10, 20, 25
Landing 25, 30

Take-off speed @ MTOW (875,000 Lbs) Flaps at 10 - 20 (MTOW = Max Take-Off Weight)
Flaps 10 Flaps 20
V1 159 (155*) 154 (148*) KIAS (V1 is the go or no-go decision speed)
VR 177 170 KIAS (VR is the rotation speed ie lift-off speed)
V2 188 181 KIAS (V2 is the safe climb-out speed)
* with wet/cluttered conditions

Take-off speed @ DXPW (635.000 Lbs) Flaps at 10 - 20 (DXPW = Default X-Plane Weight)
Flaps 10 Flaps 20
V1 129 (127*) 127 (129*) KIAS (V1 is the go or no-go decision speed)
VR 143 138 KIAS (VR is the rotation speed ie lift-off speed)
V2 161 155 KIAS (V2 is the safe climb-out speed)
* with wet/cluttered conditions

Take-off speeds in KIAS

Flaps 10 Flaps 20
Weight in Lbs.x 1,000 V1 V1* Vr V2 V1 V1* Vr V2
440 ÷ 540 127 127 127 149 127 127 127 147
550 ÷ 560 127 127 129 150 127 127 127 146
570 ÷ 580 127 127 132 153 127 127 128 146
590 ÷ 600 127 127 136 155 127 127 130 149
610 ÷ 620 127 127 139 158 127 127 134 152
630 ÷ 650 (DXPW) 129 127 143 161 127 129 138 155
660 ÷ 670 133 127 147 164 128 127 141 158
680 ÷ 690 136 128 150 166 131 127 145 160
700 ÷ 710 139 128 154 169 134 127 148 163
720 ÷ 730 142 132 157 172 137 127 151 166
740 ÷ 760 145 135 160 175 140 130 155 169
770 ÷ 780 148 139 164 177 143 134 158 171
790 ÷ 800 151 143 167 180 146 137 161 174
810 ÷ 820 154 146 170 183 149 140 164 176
830 ÷ 840 156 150 173 185 151 144 167 178
850 ÷ 870 158 152 175 187 153 146 169 180
875 (MTOW) 159 155 177 188 154 148 170 181
V1 is the go or no-go decision speed MTOW Max Take-Off Weight
VR is the rotation speed ie lift-off speed DXPW = Default X-Plane Weight
V2 is the safe climb-out speed
* with wet/cluttered conditions

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Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Minimum Maneuvering and Landing Reference Speeds in KIAS

Weight x 1,000 Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps
Lbs Kgs 0 1 5 10 20 25 30
400 180 202 182 162 142 132 125 121
410 185 204 184 164 144 133 127 123
420 190 205 185 165 145 135 129 124
430 195 206 186 166 146 136 130 125
440 200 208 188 168 148 138 132 127
450 205 209 189 169 149 139 133 128
460 210 211 190 170 152 142 135 130
470 215 212 192 172 152 142 137 131
480 220 213 193 173 153 143 138 132
490 225 215 195 175 155 146 140 134
500 227 215 196 176 156 146 141 135
510 230 218 198 178 158 148 143 137
520 235 220 200 179 160 150 145 139
530 240 221 201 181 161 151 146 140
540 245 222 202 182 162 152 147 141
550 250 226 204 183 164 154 149 143
560 255 225 205 185 165 155 150 144
570 260 227 207 186 167 157 152 146
580 265 228 209 188 168 158 153 147
590 268 229 210 189 170 159 154 148
600 270 230 211 190 171 161 156 150
610 275 232 212 192 172 162 157 151
620 280 233 213 193 173 163 158 152
630 285 234 213 194 174 164 160 153
640 290 236 216 196 176 166 161 155
650 295 237 217 197 177 167 162 156
660 300 238 218 198 178 168 164 157
670 305 239 219 199 179 169 165 158
680 310 240 220 200 180 170 166 159
690 313 242 222 202 182 172 168 161
700 315 243 223 202 183 173 169 162
710 320 245 225 205 185 175 171 164
720 325 246 226 206 186 176 172 165
730 330 246 226 206 186 177 173 165
Red speeds are above the maximum structural landing weight MLW.

--------------------------------- DO NOT Exceed 250kts @ or Below 10,000ft Altitude --------------------------------

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Stall Speed
Weight Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps Flaps
Lbs Kgs 0 1 5 10 20 25 30
X 1,000 Gear UP Gear UP Gear UP Gear UP Gear UP Gear DN Gear DN
480 213 152 136 129 124 121 116 112
520 231 159 140 132 130 126 120 116
560 250 166 147 137 134 129 125 120
600 268 172 152 143 139 134 129 123
640 286 178 157 147 143 138 134 128
680 304 184 162 152 149 143 138 132
720 322 189 167 157 153 148 142 136
760 340 196 172 163 159 152 146 140
800 358 202 177 167 163 156 152 146
840 376 208 183 176 167 163 156 150
880 394 214 189 180 172 166 160 152

Take-Off Thrust Settings (N1)

Temp Sea 2,000ft 4,000ft 6,000ft 8,000ft 10,000ft 12,000ft 13.000ft +
F/C Level 500m 1,000m 1,500m 2,000m 2,500m 3,000m 4,000m +
120 / 49 100.3 102.6 104.6 107.2 109.1 109.9 109.9 109.9
110 / 43 101.1 103.3 105.4 107.9 109.8 109.9 109.9 109.9
100 / 38 101.8 104.0 106.0 108.4 109.9 109.9 109.9 109.9
90 / 32 102.7 104.8 106.8 109.1 109.9 109.9 109.9 109.9
80 / 27 106.3 107.2 108.4 108.9 109.9 109.9 109.9 109.9
70 / 21 105.2 106.3 107.3 108.0 109.8 109.9 109.9 109.9
60 / 16 104.3 105.4 106.6 107.3 108.9 109.6 109.9 109.9
50 / 10 103.0 104.3 105.4 106.4 108.2 108.9 109.8 109.9
40 / 4 102.1 103.4 104.6 105.7 107.3 107.8 108.7 109.9
30 / -1 101.4 102.7 103.9 104.8 106.4 106.9 107.8 109.2
20 / -7 100.3 101.6 102.8 103.9 105.3 105.8 106.9 108.1
10 / -12 99.4 100.7 101.9 103.0 104.4 104.9 105.6 107.2
0 / -18 98.4 99.6 100.8 101.9 103.3 103.9 104.7 106.2
-20 / -29 96.4 97.6 98.9 99.9 101.4 101.9 103.7 104.2
The Maximum Allowable N1 is 117.5% for shorts periods
To determinate the correct N1 setting in various temperature/altitude configurations follow
these steps:
read the Outside Air temperature, read the pressure altitude of the departure airport then
choose the correct N1 value from the above table.

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Climb Speeds

Typical Climbing speeds 250 KIAS to 10,000 feet

300 KIAS to FL310 (31,000 ft)
0.80 Mach above FL310 (31,000 ft)

Cruise Speeds are in KTAS ( Knots True Air Speed)

Max Cruising speed 507 KTAS

Cruise Speed 490 KTAS @ 28,000 – 35,000ft
Typical Cruise Speed is 0.80 - 0.85 Mach @ FL280 - FL350 (30,000-35,000ft)
Long Range Cruise is 496 KTAS @ FL350 (35,000 ft)

Descent Speeds

Typical descenting speeds 0.80 Mach to FL340 (34.000 ft)

300 KIAS between FL340 (34,000 ft) and 10,000 ft
250 KIAS below 10,000 ft

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 we 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.You should carry fuel enough for the flight +
40 minutes for diversions & emergencies i.e. if your trip is 5hrs long, you load fuel for the required 5hrs
flight plus fuel for an extra 40 min. You should know your aircraft 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!.
In order to determine the fuel weight required for the flight, you need to know the trip lenght. For that,
you can use PATHy 1.5, an interactive flight planner for X-Plane by Roland Voegtli downloadable at
http://x-plane.org/registry/Utilities/Utility/ .
Following the table below, choose the fuel quantity to load and add extra fuel for 40 min (see at the
bottom of the table).

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Fuel Load
Trip Lenght FL410 @ 479Kt FL390 @ 479Kt FL370 @ 479Kt FL350 @ 481Kt FL330 @ 486Kt FL310 @ 488Kt
Nm Time Lbx1000 Time Lbx1000 Time Lbx1000 Time Lbx1000 Time Lbx1000 Time Lbx1000
8,000 16:45 350 16:40 357 16:40 356 16:35 355 16:30 362 16:25 381
7,600 15:55 338 15:55 339 15:50 338 15:45 337 15:40 344 15:35 353
7,200 15:00 316 15:00 317 14:45 316 14:40 315 14:40 321 14:30 331
6,800 14:10 298 14:10 299 14:05 298 14:00 297 14:00 303 13:55 313
6,400 13:20 275 13:20 276 13:20 275 13:15 275 13:10 280 13:05 290
6,000 12:30 258 12:30 259 12:30 258 12:25 257 12:20 261 12:15 270
5,600 11:45 238 11:40 238 11:40 237 11:35 239 11:30 244 11:25 254
5,200 10:50 222 10:50 221 10:45 222 10:40 224 10:35 230 10:30 240
4,800 10:00 198 10:00 197 9:55 198 9:50 200 9:45 206 9:40 215
4,400 9:10 186 9:10 186 9:10 186 9:05 188 9:05 200 8:55 210
4,000 8:20 169 8:20 169 8:20 169 8:15 172 8:15 176 8:10 184
3,600 7:30 152 7:30 153 7:30 152 7:25 155 7:25 165 7:20 176
3,200 6:45 136 6:45 137 6:40 136 6:40 140 6:40 160 6:35 172
2,800 5:50 121 5:50 121 5:45 121 5:45 124 5:40 128 5:40 134
2,400 5:00 103 5:00 103 5:00 103 4:55 105 4:55 108 4:50 113
2,000 4:15 88 4:15 88 4:10 88 4:10 90 4:10 93 4:05 98
1,400 3:20 73 3:20 73 3:20 74 3:20 75 3:20 77 3:15 80
1,000 2:30 62 2:30 62 2:30 63 2:30 65 2:25 66 2:20 69
800 1:40 46 1:41 47 1:40 48 1:40 49 1:35 50 1:35 51
400 1:05 34 1:05 34 1:05 35 1:05 36 1:05 36 1:00 37
+40 min +20,000 lb +20,000 lb +20,000 lb +20,000 lb +20,000 lb +20,000 lb

Optimum and Maximum Cruise Altitudes

Altitude Optimum Weight Maximum Weight
Lbs Kg Lbs Kg
FL420 470,000 213,000 520,000 238,000
FL410 500,000 227,500 550,000 250,000
FL400 520,000 238,000 570,000 247,500
FL390 550,000 250,000 600,000 272,500
FL380 570,000 247,500 630,000 285,000
FL370 600,000 272,500 670,000 305,000
FL360 630,000 285,000 700,000 315,000
FL350 670,000 305,000 740,000 335,000
FL340 700,000 315,000 770,000 350,000
FL330 740,000 335,000 810,000 367,500
FL320 770,000 350,000 840,000 385,000
FL310 810,000 367,500 870,000 395,000
FL300 840,000 385,000 - -

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

FAR Field Lengths

Take-off 10,561 ft @ MTOW

Landing 7,870 ft @ MLW

Take-off Check List

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

Final Landing Check List

Gear Down
Flaps/Slats Set 25 or 30
Speed Brakes Armed
ILS freq Tuned

During Descent Check

Check Allowable Landing Weight (MLW 630,000 lb. or lower)

Review your ILS approach & Runway heading

ROC Rate Of Climb

Below 10,000ft max. 3,800 fpm @ 250kts (fpm is Feet per minute)

Climb Speed above 10,000ft to Cruise Flight Level FL

2200 fpm from 10,000 - 20,000 ft @ 280 – 340 kts

2000 - 1500 fpm from 20,000 - 26,000 ft
1500 - 400 fpm 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.

----------------------- DO NOT Exceed 250kts @ or Below 10,000ft Altitude -----------------------

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Quality Planes february 2001
Boeing 747-400 X-Plane

Glide Slope descend is between 1500 - 500fpm depending on your situation

At Runway Threshold descend between 400 - 200fpm for a smooth touchdown landing.
B747-400 pilot eye view is high above ground so be aware of landings, this is not a B737!.

Happy X-Flight

Mohammed Gazzawi - Sergio Santagada

magmail@usa.net - santagada@tin.it

Designers of Quality Planes xplane@tin.it february 2001

All Quality Planes aircraft should be flown using 10% damping (90% realism) , you
can change this in X-Plane by reducing the “Flight Realism” green bar on top right
of “Test joystick" setting window. This is how all our aircraft are tested during
design , so if you use 100% realism, you will experience a feel of flight different
from what we tested .
X-Plane 100% realism might work for some aircraft designs, but for Heavies it is a
bit too sensitive .

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Quality Planes february 2001