miles (12,325km), one less engine on the
tri-jet delivered a lower fuel burn and thus a
lower fuel bill.
Ultimately Qantas selected the 747SP;
its type commonality and range outweighing
the bene ts of the McDonnell Douglas or
Lockheed products. David Crotty elaborates:
“Qantas took delivery of two 747SPs in 1981.
In addition to Wellington services, it took
advantage of the extra range of the SP by
also using it on the rst non-stop transpaci c
service between Sydney and LA from 1984.”
As Qantas began to retire its older Pratt
& Whitney-powered 747-200s, it needed a
replacement aircraft to both maintain the
existing schedule and grow capacity. The
answer came in the early 1980s when Boeing
committed to the 747-300 project, off the back
of an order from Swissair.
This model offered aerodynamic
improvements over its predecessors,
enabling it to achieve a slightly higher top
speed of Mach 0.85. Furthermore, the
stretched upper deck increased capacity;
with carriers utilising the extra space for
additional passenger seating, adding
valuable revenue for the airlines. The new
variant could y 7,192 miles (11,575km).
Qantas placed an order for 747-338s in
late 1983 and ultimately acquired six of the
variant. The rst of these, VH-EBT, launched
a new livery for the carrier, replacing the 707-
era orange and silver design with a simpli ed
white kangaroo on a vibrant red tailplane and
white fuselage.
LONGREACH
Despite the various improvements over the
-200 series, 747-300 development was short
lived. The economies of its three-person ight
deck and systems were unable to compete
against efficient next-generation Airbus A340s
and McDonnell Douglas MD-11s then under
development. Consequently, in October 1985
it was replaced on the Boeing product line by
the greatly enhanced 747-400.
This model was based on the extended
upper deck design of the 747-300. However,
the -400 offered a range of over 8,350 miles
(13,440km), and so operators were able to
do away with time-consuming and expensive
fuel stops on long-haul ights. Innovations in
computer technology allowed Boeing to offer
a two-crew ight deck on the 747-400; while
advanced avionics and liquid crystal displays
improved ight crew efficiency by greatly
reducing the number of dials and switches on
the ight deck. Additionally, the long range
and high capacity of the 747-400 made it a
perfect t for the Qantas eet, leading the
airline to order the type in March 1987.
The airline accepted delivery of its rst
747-438 in August 1989. Named City of
Canberra, VH-OJA was own from Boeing’s
Seattle factory to London Heathrow. It
Qantas placed an order for 747-338s in the
mid-1980s and ultimately acquired six of
the variant, including VH-EBY. This model
offered aerodynamic improvements over its
predecessors, allowing it to achieve a higher
top speed and had increased upper deck
capacity. Qantas
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 29
Above: The second distinctive scheme, based on the artwork and heritage of the indigenous Australian people, was applied to VH-EBU, a -338
model. It was called Nalanji Dreaming. Key Collection
Below: The airline has applied special liveries to three of its 747s over the years, including the spectacular Wunala Dreaming scheme on -438ER
VH-OEJ. AirTeamImages.com/Nathan Zalcman