The Boeing is an American company that deals with air, space and combat travel. It actually designs, manufactures and sells missiles, rockets, airplanes and satellites. There has been a number of planes that it has produced, Boeing 747 and 787 being among them. They are among some of the best used aircraft purchased by airlines. Both planes could however be used for both commercial (passenger) and cargo services with modifications made to suite both the functionalities mentioned.
Despite the fact that they are from the same company, they actually do have differences. The differences are in most cases noted on their physical appearances and also functionalities:
Capacity
The Boeing 747 has a carriage capacity of more than 400 passengers while the 787 carries a little over 240 passengers thus making the 747 bigger in appearance in terms of size as compared to the 787.
Height
The Boeing 747 has a height of over 19m while the 787 has a height of 17m. The two-meter difference is contributed to the fact that the 747 has a ‘hump’ close to the front thus making it more distinctive with only the visual appearance. The variation is also contributed to with the fact that the 747 has a double deck both of which can accommodate passengers. The first deck is the main deck and the other one is more of a partial than an actual deck which could be located either above or below the main deck. Both host passengers anyway.
Length
In the field of aviation, it is different from the normal definition of the distance from one point to another. It is basically the distance of the flight. The length of the 747 is a bit over 70m while that of the 787 is a bit over 55m. This is however different from the range of a plane.
Range
In the field of aviation, it is defined as the maximum distance between takeoff and touch down of the plane. It is influenced by factors such as the fuel capacity of the engine, the speed and external factors like environmental conditions. The 747 has a range of approximately 13,000km while the 787 has a range of approximately 14,000km.
Span
This is the distance between the tips of both the wings of the plane. The 747 has a span of approximately 64m while the 787 has a span of approximately 60m. This span is directly proportional to the wing area of the plane. This means that by default the 747 would have a larger wing area as compared to the 787. The 747 has a wing area of approximately 540m2 while the 787 has an area of approximately 345m2.
Engines
Thrust is the force of the plane’s movement in an attempt to overcome the weight and the lift forces acting on the plane that are equal but opposite. It is measure in Newton with the total thrust of the 747 being 1,128,000 newtons while that of 787 being 570,000 newton. The engine helps the plane in thrusting forward. The Boeing 747 has four engines while 787 has two engines. Each of the four engines of the 747 has a thrust of 282,000 newton thus contributing to the total thrust of the plane at 1,128,000. Each of the two engines of the 787 has an individual thrust of 285,000 newton thus contributing to the total thrust of 570,000 newtons. This means that the 747 is more powerful than the 787.
Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW)
Just as the name suggests, it is the maximum weight of the plane allowed for the pilot to have a successful takeoff. For 747 it is approximately 396,000kgs while that of 787 is approximately 227,000kgs.
Although both planes have averagely the same speed, they totally differ in all the other factors.
