Aviation 10

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