FLUG REVUE February 2006: Boeing builds 747 LCF for 787 support

February 2006

BOEING 747 LCF IN DEVELOPMENT

By Sebastian Steinke

In the course of an interview with FLUG REVUE, Kurt Kraft, Chief Project Engineer for the Large Cargo Freighter, recalls the launch phase of his programme back in March 2004. “We were already under a certain amount of time pressure back at the start and we discovered that we did not have sufficient resources available within the company. So we decided to outsource half the development work, calculated by persons employed, to external partners.”

747 LCF

These include the Boeing Design Centre in Moscow, where the 747-400BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter) was recently designed, Stork Fokker in Amsterdam, Gamesa in Spain and Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California.”

On top of this, Kraft organised a system development team from within the company in Long Beach, and the otherwise independent wing development section in Seattle has also been drawn into the LCF work. At the time of the interview with FLUG REVUE, 94% of the design work had already been completed. Kraft was expecting final release of the plans for the first aircraft before the end of December, adding, “We are already building parts like crazy.”

The engineers from several countries have no easy task: they are required to adapt three used Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft to transport the bulky and largely pre-assembled wings and fuselage segments of the 787, whose fuselage diameter measures 5.74m, from Japan, the south of the USA and Europe for final assembly in Everett.

The task requires that the main deck of the cargo aircraft should carry 1840m3, three times the volume of a regular 747-400 cargo aircraft. This is to be achieved by altering the shape of the deck area. The fuselage of the 747-400 LCF will even be 45.7cm wider than that of an A380. According to Boeing, the 747 LCF will actually be the biggest cargo aircraft in the world in terms of volume. Its length is to be extended by three metres, while its vertical tail unit will be raised by 1.5 metres. To enable the bulky cargo to be loaded without problems, a swing zone is being created at the rear end. As in the former Super Guppy, which was once used to transport missile parts, the entire rear fuselage section, including the tail unit, will swing open on the port side, enabling direct loading of aircraft parts from a special low-bed trailer at the rear. The swing action will require an external support vehicle known as the tail stand, which will be pushed under the tail.

On-schedule completion of the LCF special transport aircraft is essential if Boeing is to meet the ambitious development and production timetable for the 787. Production of the Dreamliner is scheduled to commence in 2006 in order that the maiden flight can take place in 2007 and the first version, the 787-8, can enter into service in 2008. Two LCFs will be needed by the time production starts up in 2007. “The third prototype will only actually be needed later on, but we are converting it somewhat earlier in the interests of a steady production rate,” says Kraft.

Compared with a regular civil programme where hundreds of aircraft are expected to be sold, the small number of units in this case – only three aircraft – makes it imperative that the engineers keep their design simple to avoid the cost getting out of hand.

Kurt Kraft explains, “We regard the LCF simply as a production tool for the 787. Nevertheless, the aircraft is not being somehow cobbled together with tricks, but it will be a full 747 version which can be operated safely anywhere in the world.” Like a regular 747 version, the Large Cargo Freighter will be certificated via a supplemental type certificate. For tax reasons amongst other considerations, no marketing of the aircraft outside Boeing's own requirement is planned. “One economy strategy,” according to Kraft, “is to build parts that are as straight as possible. For example, rear section 47 behind the hinges will be a simple cone. The somewhat higher structural weight is not so critical for us.” The engineers have had to compromise over the wing: due to the flutter characteristics, its fuel reserve is being restricted to 50% of the possible useful load. This has meant that the slats, landing gear and systems are largely unchanged and the new wing features are confined to different software.

From the side, the first jumbo to undergo conversion currently looks rather as if it had been rolled under a huge chainsaw: the side walls of the main deck have been cut away behind the cockpit, along with the major part of the bulge down to floor height. This is where the new, large capacity outer skin will be mounted.

Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp (EGAT) of Taiwan is responsible for converting all the freighters. Boeing has already acquired the three second-hand 747-400's: N747BC, serial number 904, which was formerly flown by Air Algerie, N780BA, serial number 778, which formerly belonged to China Airlines, and their sister aircraft which had previously borne the Taiwanese identifier of B-18271.

As Kurt Kraft explains, “We were looking for aircraft halfway through their service life. There were some that were powered with P&W engines, but we didn't have any preference. Conversion work on the second aircraft also began at the end of October. We are expecting the maiden flight in Taiwan for the beginning of the summer. Then it will fly to Boeing in Seattle.” In January 2007 freight operations will commence with the first two LCFs, the third one following in the summer of 2007.

Once the 747LCF has been certificated, Boeing will have it serviced and operated by a commercial operator. The cargo airline selected for this purpose, Evergreen International Airlines Inc. (EIA) of McMinnville in Oregon (no relation of EGAT of Taiwan), has been operating cargo jumbos for decades and, as an experiment, it even converted a jumbo into a 747 firefighting aircraft.

The other air cargo partners that Boeing has selected for the 787 programme are Cargolux for Europa and Sojitz Corp. for Japan. The 747LCF will primarily fly between five airports: Grottaglie (LIBG) near Taranto in Italy for the collection of fuselage segments from Alenia, Nagoya-Centrair to pick up 787 wings and, in the USA, Charleston, South Carolina, Wichita, Kansas and of course Everett, Washington. The 747LCF will thus be a frequent visitor to Europe. Its landing weight lies within previous limits and even during taxiing, the wide-body cargo plane does not require any special treatment.

The crew consist of two pilots who, familiar with conventional jumbos, will undergo conversion training for the new version in the form of a short theoretical course. In the new upper deck there will be a small restroom for relief crew on long-haul flights. Two seats for observers will be the only seats available for internal passengers. In the otherwise unused section 41, the no longer pressurised nose of the main deck, mounting devices for onboard equipment will be accommodated along with fresh water tank and service water tank. This will provide a welcome counterweight to the heavy fuselage hinges at the rear.

According to Boeing, despite the recent flurry of orders for the 787, which currently stand at 241 firm orders, the three LCFs will be sufficient to cover production requirements. According to Kurt Kraft, its cargo bay length will even be sufficient if an even further stretched version 787-10 should be built later on. “Already for the 787-9 we will need to transport a different mix of fuselage segments than with the smaller 787-3 and 787-8 versions.”

German suppliers are also involved on the Large Cargo Freighter programme. Telair International of Miesbach, a regular 747 supplier from Upper Bavaria, is developing and delivering the LCF's computer-controlled cargo loading system. The electronically interconnected pulley drives will move the cargo to its allotted place on board and keep it latched there during the flight. The first cargo loading system is to be installed at EGAT at the beginning of 2006. Telair has already tested it on a test rig in a company-owned 747 at Mojave airport.

From FLUG REVUE 2/2006

Last updated 12 January 2005

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