what's up guys i hope you're all doing great since more and more 747s are being
retired of commercial service this video is a tribute to the queen of the skies
today we are going to discover 10 modified boeing 747s this iconic aircraft deserves all its fame so
i really enjoyed making this video and i hope that you will enjoy it too if you would like to get any
boeing 747 related items such as models clocks or canvas check the links in the description
down below and treat yourself make sure to like this video and subscribe to my channel
let's get started number 10 pikachu's garden in 1998 japan's largest airline all nippon airways
unveiled its pokemon themed livery to the world during the height of the popular cartoon's craze
in fact the boeing 747-400d was released on the same day as the release of pokemon the first movie
it displayed all 151 original pokemon while the interior was decorated by a pokemon theme
headrests food containers and souvenir bags were all decorated for the occasion the experience
didn't stop there the aircraft flight crews even adorned the pokemon style uniforms throughout
the years as pokemon evolved so did the themes in 1999 a contest was held for the new pokemon design
that would be released alongside the launch of pokemon the movie 2000 while the theme has
continued all nippon airways had retired at 747s in 2013 which donned the original pokemon livery
number nine boeing 747 pratt and whitney tester prant and whitney operates a boeing 747 with five
engines used to test conceptual engines in real life flight conditions and yes you
heard that right five engines a standard 747 will have four engines situated under the wing
however pratt and whitney added a fifth engine on a separate wing located up near the 747 hump
they test the fifth engine to receive approval for production which requires testing under
uncontrollable conditions like temperature variations and providing a speed boost the
interior replaces the ordinary layout of a commercial aircraft by several workstations for
flight test engineers each workstation measures several different engine results as well as
updated settings in real time to configure the new engine mid while pratt and whitney is not the only
engine manufacturer that tests on a modified 747 it is the most well-known number eight the dream
lifter the boeing 747 dream lifter is a heavily modified large cargo freighter it is a wide
body cargo plane used exclusively to transport aircraft components for boeing's 787 dreamliner
it draws plenty of comparisons to the airbus beluga and beluga xl its birth came about from
a necessity to transfer 787 parts that were too big for transport by land or sea for comparative
purposes the dream lifter holds roughly three times the cargo of a standard 747-400 freighter
other than the expanded cargo space the dreamlifter does not differ much from the 747-400f
the first dreamlifter debuted on august 17 2006 and completed its first flight a month later
from taipei international airport number seven the boeing yao one the boeing yelled one was a
short-lived monster crafted from a boeing 747-400f by the u.s department of defense
the yao won was an airborne laser test bed weapon system that was mounted with
a megawatt class chemical oxygen iodine laser in layman's terms it was a powerful missile
defense system designed to destroy technical ballistic missiles while in boost phase
the capabilities did not stop there the al-one's defense system included a nose-mounted
turret with a telescope that focused beams on missiles while collecting images and signals
and also being able to simultaneously cue and track its own targets unfortunately the project
was canceled after over 5 billion dollars was spent on development and questions of
its missile detection range in february 2012 yale one took its final flight and landed at
davis-monthan air force base in arizona where it was placed in storage and eventually scrapped
number six nasa's space shuttle carrier the space shuttle carrier or sca were two seven four sevens
modified by nasa to ferry the space shuttles from their landing sites back to the kennedy
space center one was a 747-100 while the other was a 747-100sr in the 1970s boeing 747 had beat out
lockheed's c5 galaxy as nasa's official shuttle carrier due to its lower wing design and nasa's
ability to purchase the 747 the c5s ownership would have remained with the u.s air force had
it been chosen to carry its missions the 747 was modified with extensive structural upgrades as
well as avionics upgrades that were advanced for the time the sca is an american icon on february 8
2012 it performed its final mission to the dryden flight research facility in palmdale california
to deliver parts for nasa's sofia the space shuttle carrier is still preserved and displayed
in palmdale forever holding the exciting memories of the space flight boom of the 70s and 80s
number five sultan bolkaya's flying palace arguably the most luxurious jumbo jet in the world
hassanal bokaya 747 is loaded with riches that are fit for the sultan of brunei
if you do not know sultan bulkaya he is considered the richest monarch in the
world and at one point was the wealthiest man in the world bolkaya's wealth has come from brunei
being a major oil source on the planet he has taken all liberties in creating his dream jet
buying the aircraft from lufthansa for 100 million dollars and adding an additional 120
million dollars to the interior he has created a paradise in the skies no expense is spared
as even the wash basins are made from solid gold and the cabin lined with lalique crystal
sultan vulcaya has a whole collection of wide body jets but his 747 is by far the largest
as an aviation enthusiast the sultan is also known for piloting his own aircraft from time to time
number four air force one one of the most well-known aircrafts in the world the air force
one has been a symbol of the u.s military since 1987. technically air force one is the official
air traffic control call sign for an aircraft carrying the president of the united states
otherwise these crafts are known as vc-25as the air force one moniker is only used when a u.s
president is aboard the plane the aircraft is equipped with impressive features both
mechanically and aesthetically the vc-25a can fly 7800 nautical miles without refueling
but since it has an in-flight refueling system that practically gives it unlimited range however
it has been speculated that future versions of the vc25a won't have this feature the interior
is configured with luxury fit for a president its features include an office a conference room and a
private room for the president and the first lady number three the 747 supertanker the supertanker
is one of several aerial firefighting air tankers developed by global supertanker services three
were developed but only one remains in service a modified 747-400 dabbed the spirit of john muir
it was certified in september 2016 by the faa and was used to extinguish fires in chile and israel
before being contracted by u.s officials to fight california's notorious wildfires in 2017.
the design of the supertanker includes a pressurized liquid drop system which allows
it to dispose fire retardant under high pressure or drop retardant at the speed of falling rain
its emergency response capabilities may even be more impressive with a range of
7670 nautical miles 63 300 pounds of thrust and a cruising speed of 520 knots the super tanker
can reach any point in the u.s in five hours in almost any part of the world in 20 hours
number two night watch similar to the air force one nightwatch is a moniker given to the boeing
e48b when the president of the united states is on board this military 747 is also considered
the doomsday plane it has been serving the u.s air force since 1974 and is equipped with electronics
designed for survival as a mobile survival command post for the president nightwatch is
able to survive an emp blast and is equipped with direct fire countermeasures and can hold a crew
of up to 112 which is considered the largest crew of any united states air force aircraft in history
similar to air force one night watch also has a refueling system that allows it to remain
airborne for an entire week in the event of an emergency the aircraft serves as another
notch in the belt of the united states military's impressive aerial repertoire
number one sophia the stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy most commonly known as
sophia is a joint project bringing together nasa and the german aerospace center to create an
aerial observatory the modified 747sp sp standing for special performance carries a 2.7 meter
telescope that conducts infrared astronomical observation in flight this wide-body aircraft has
been modified to include a large door in the aft fuselage which can be opened to allow a reflecting
telescope to access the sky during its 10 hour overnight flight it observes celestial magnetic
fields star-forming regions comets nebulae and alien planets atmosphere among others
sophia's first science project was in 2010 where it sought out to observe the planet jupiter as
well as the messier 82 galaxy sophia is the successor to the kuiper airborne observatory a
lockheed martin c-141a star lifter that has since retired which of these modified 747s did you like
the most have you ever seen any of them in real life let me know by dropping a comment down below
want to watch more aviation top 10s click on any of the videos you see on your screen right now and
don't forget to subscribe to my channel thank you all for watching and i'll see you in the next one