How fast does a 747 go at takeoff?

What speed does a Boeing 747 take off at? A fully loaded Boeing 747 'Jumbo Jet' on a normal long haul flight would take off at a speed of around 160 knots which is 184 mph. The calculated take-off speeds vary depending on environmental conditions, runway length and weight.



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The 747-400 bolts through the sky slightly faster than its competitors, with a speed of Mach 0.85 (652.18 mph). Introduced in 1989, its primary users are British Airways, Qantas, and Lufthansa. Popular as a long-haul aircraft, the 747-400 can fly non-stop for up to 7,670 nautical miles.

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Aided by a more powerful jet stream than usual, this rapid journey saw the 747 reach a top speed of 825 mph. Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock. Popular Mechanics reports that the reason for it being so powerful on this occasion was a 'bomb cyclone' near Greenland.

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Crashes that destroy the airframe are the most obvious answer, but minor, low-speed incidents on the ground can also bring a plane's career to an end. This was the case for a Saudia Boeing 747-300, which taxied into a ditch in Kuala Lumpur in 2001.

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Different airplanes have different maximum altitudes, depending on their construction. For example, the Airbus A320 has a maximum altitude of 39,000 feet (11,900m) and the Boeing 747 45,000 feet (13,700m).

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As the plane descends into ground effect, it may actually accelerate if the engines are producing enough thrust, since in ground effect the plane requires much less power to keep flying. Power from the engines will translate into speed, if not height.

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Commercial aircraft typically fly between 31,000 and 38,000 feet — about 5.9 to 7.2 miles — high and usually reach their cruising altitudes in the first 10 minutes of a flight, according to Beckman. Planes can fly much higher than this altitude, but that can present safety issues.

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Thanks to the low visibility and undeveloped infrastructure, flying over Antarctica is extremely difficult. Specifically, because of the strong magnetic fields that surround the polar regions, navigating there, no matter how well-equipped the airplane is in terms of instrumentation, can be particularly challenging.

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The 747's maximum takeoff weight ranges from 735,000 pounds (333 t) for the -100 to 970,000 pounds (440 t) for the -8. Its range has increased from 5,300 nautical miles (9,800 km; 6,100 mi) on the -100 to 8,000 nautical miles (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) on the -8I.

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How long can a 747 fly without engines? For example, with a glide ratio of 15:1, a Boeing 747-200 can glide for 150 kilometres (93 mi; 81 nmi) from a cruising altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 ft).

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Landing. While landing, speed is largely affected by the aircrafts current weight, commercial airplanes typically land between 130 and 160 mph (112 to 156 knots).

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“Making up lost time can be tough for pilots, as we can only theoretically fly at certain maximum speeds.” While the plane may be able to go slightly faster, additional fuel burn has to be taken into consideration—and in many cases, it's not worth it to the airline's bottom line.

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Transferring too much weight onto the nosewheel causes a situation called wheelbarrowing, which can lead to a loss of directional control, prop strike, or nose gear collapse. On top of those problems, with little to no weight on your main landing gear, you have little braking action.

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But after five decades, customer demand for the 747 eroded as Boeing and Airbus (AIR.PA) developed more fuel efficient two-engine widebody planes. When Boeing confirmed in July 2020 that it would end 747 production, it was already only producing at a rate of half an aircraft a month.

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4 November 1993: China Airlines Flight 605, a Boeing 747-409, ended up in water after it overran runway 13 at Kai Tak International Airport on landing during a typhoon with wind gusting to gale force. All of the 396 occupants donned life-vests, boarded the eight slide/rafts and no fatalities resulted.

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Yes, in theory, an 400,000 kg airplane like a 747 could be fitted with floats capable of displacing the 400 cubic meters of water required to keep it afloat, albeit with a decrease in performance.

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