Bryan R. Swopes grew up in Southern California in the 1950s–60s, near the center of America's aerospace industry. He has had a life-long interest in aviation and space flight. Bryan is a retired commercial helicopter pilot and flight instructor.
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N401PW, the first Boeing 747-400 airliner. (The Boeing Company)
29 April 1988: Boeing test pilots James C. Loesch and Kenneth Higgins take the new Boeing 747-400, serial number 23719, registration N401PW, for its first flight from Paine Field, landing at Boeing Field 2 hours 29 minutes later.
The 747-400 was a major development of the 747 series. It had many structural and electronics improvements over the earlier models, which had debuted 18 years earlier. New systems, such as a “glass cockpit”, flight management computers, and new engines allowed it to be flown with a crew of just two pilots, and the position of Flight Engineer became unnecessary.
Roll-out, Boeing 747-400 c/n 23719. (The Boeing Company)
The most visible features of the –400 are its longer upper deck and the six-foot tall “winglets” at the end of each wing, which improve aerodynamic efficiency be limiting the formation of wing-tip vortices.
On 27 June 1988, this 747-400 set a Maximum Takeoff Weight record for airliners by lifting off at Moses Lake, Washington at 892,450 pounds (405,659 kilograms).¹ At the time of its first flight, Boeing had already received orders for 100 747-400s. It would become the most popular version, with 694 aircraft built by the time production came to an end 15 March 2007.
Cockpit of a Boeing 747-400 airliner.
The Boeing 747-400 airliner can carry between 416 and 660 passengers, depending on configuration. It is 231 feet, 10 inches (70.6 meters) long with a wingspan of 211 feet, 5 inches (64.4 meters) and overall height of 63 feet, 8 inches (19.4 meters). Empty weight is 394,100 pounds (178,800 kilograms). Maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) is 875,000 pounds (396,890 kilograms).
Northwest Boeing 747-451 N661US on approach to Osaka. (Wikipedia Commons)
While the prototype was powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4056 turbofan engines, production airplanes could be ordered with PW4062, General Electric CF6 or Rolls-Royce RB211 engines, providing thrust ranging from 59,500 to 63,300 pounds.
The –400 has a cruise speed of 0.85 Mach (567 miles per hour, 912 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 0.92 Mach (614 miles per hour, 988 kilometers hour). Maximum range at maximum payload weight is 7,260 nautical miles (13,450 kilometers).
Northwest Airlines’ Boeing 747-451, N661US, on approach to Osaka Kansai International Airport, 11 June 2007. (Photograph courtesy of Dennis Lau)
After the test program was completed, the prototype 747-400 was outfitted for airline service. It was operated by Northwestern Airlines and is currently in service with Delta Air Lines. It has been re-registered as N661US, and carries the Delta fleet number 6301.
N661US was the aircraft operated as Northwest Airlines Flight 85 on 9 October 2002 when it suffered a rudder hardover while over the North Pacific Ocean. The aircraft went into a sudden 40° left bank when a hydraulic power unit for the lower rudder failed due to a fatigue fracture. This incident is considered to be an excellent example of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) as the flight crew successfully landed the airplane at Anchorage, Alaska.
Boeing 747-451 N661US, Delta Air Lines, landing at Tokyo-Narita International Airport, 25 July 2009. (Photograph courtesy of Kazuchika Naya)
After flying its final revenue flight, 9 September 2015, as Flight 836, Honolulu to Atlanta, N661US was stored at Delta Technical Operations. It is now displayed at the Delta Flight Museum, Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.
Delta’s Ship 6301, N661US, completes its final flight, landing at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia, 9 September 2015. (Delta Flight Museum)
Major General Manucheher Khosrowdad ( منوچهر خسروداد ), Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, in the cockpit of a Bell 214A Isfahan.
29 April 1975: 3 days after delivery of first production Bell 214A “Isfahan,” (IIAF serial number 6-4651, Bell serial number 27004), Major General Manucheher Khorowdad, Imperial Iranian Army Aviation, with Clem A. Bailey, Bell assistant chief production test pilot, as co-pilot, took off from Ahwaz Commercial Airport (AWZ) in southwestern Iran to set five Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records. The airport’s elevation is 66 feet (20 meters) above Sea Level. The air temperature at the time was reported to be 35–38 °C. (95–100 °F.).
The Bell 214A climbed to a height of 3,000 meters (9,842.52 feet) in 1 minute, 58 seconds; ¹ 6,000 meters (19,685.04 feet) in 5 minutes, 14 seconds; ² and 9,000 meters (29,527.56 feet) in 15 minutes, 5 seconds; ³ The helicopter reached a peak altitude of 9,071 meters (29,760.5 feet), setting a record for altitude without payload.⁴ It was able to maintain an altitude of 9,010 meters (29,560.4 feet) in horizontal flight.⁵
All five of these records remain current.
Major General Manucheher Khosrowdad was murdered by Islamic revolutionaries at 23:30, 15 February 1979. He and three other Iranian military officers were the first to be killed following the revolution. A “tribunal” found him guilty of “corruption on Earth.” His prized German Shepherd Dogs were also slaughtered. His remains were then displayed in public. Eventually, his body was interred at Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery, Tehran.
The Bell 214A was developed from the prototype Bell 214 Huey Plus (which first flew in October 1970 and was powered by a 1,900-shaft horsepower Lycoming T53-L-702 turboshaft engine) for Imperial Iranian Army Aviation. Bell built three prototype 214As, powered by the Lycoming T55-L7C (2,050 shaft horsepower). One of these was shipped to Iran in August 1972 for evaluation.
The helicopter is flown by a pilot and co-pilot. It can carry 15 combat troops.
The production 214A was powered by the Lycoming LTC4B-8D turboshaft, rated at 2,930 shaft horsepower.
Iran ordered 287 Bell 214As. Iran named the Bell 214, “Isfahan,” after a city in Iran where it was planned to build a Bell helicopter production facility to produce additional 214A/Cs, and as many as 350 of the stretched, twin-engine Bell 214STs.
The first production BH 214A, 6-4561 (Bell serial number 27004), was built in Texas and delivered in Iran on 26 April 1975.
Because of the Iranian revolution of 1978–1979, the Isfahan facility was never built. All of the BH 214A/Cs and BH 214STs for Iran were built in Texas: 287 214As, 39 214C search and rescue variants, and 48 214STs. Sanctions against the Iran regime have prevented any spare parts for these helicopters being delivered to Iran, but it is believed that that country has produced counterfeit parts. It is not known how many of these helicopters remain in service, but a 2018 estimate suggested just 22.
The Bell 214A was built using a strengthened UH-1H airframe. It had a semi-rigid rotor system without the stabilizer bar of previous UH-1 models. The 214A’s rotor system included elastomeric bearings.
The fuselage is 44 feet, 1.09 inches (13.4389 meters) long. The helicopter has a maximum height of 12 feet, 10 inches (3.9116 meters). With blades turning, its maximum length is 60 feet, 2.27 inches (18.3457 meters). The 214A’s main rotor diameter is 50 feet, 0 inches (15.24 meters). The main rotor blades have a chord of approximately 3 feet (0.9 meters). As with all American helicopters, the main rotor turns counter-clockwise when viewed from above. (The advancing blade is on the right.) The tail rotor is mounted on the right side of the vertical pylon, and turns clockwise as viewed from the left side of the helicopter. (The advancing blade is below the axis of rotation.) It has a diameter of 9 feet, 8.00 inches (2.9464 meters). The tail rotor blades have a chord of 12.00 inches (0.3048 meters).
Bell 214 two-view illustration
The Lycoming LTC4B-8D (an uprated version of the T55-L-7) is a turboshaft engine with a 7-stage axial-flow, single-stage centrifugal-flow compressor section, a reverse-flow combustor, two-stage high-pressure gas producer and two-stage free power turbine. It can produce 2,930 shaft horsepower, but is derated to 2,250 shaft horsepower. The engine is 3 feet, 9.5 inches (1.557 meters) long, 2 feet, 1.1 inches (0.63754 meters) in diameter, and weighs 618 pounds (280 kilograms).
The Bell 214A has an empty weight of 7,588 pounds (3,441.9 kilograms) and gross weight of 13,800 pounds (6,259.6 kilograms). It can carry up to 7,500 pounds of cargo suspended from its cargo hook, in which case its maximum gross weight is 16,000 pounds (7,257.5 kilograms).
The Bell 214A has a maximum speed of 140 knots (161.1 miles per hour/259.3 kilometers per hour). Its range is 222 nautical miles (255 statute miles/411 kilometers). Its service ceiling of 16,400 feet (4,998.7 meters).
First flight, Bell 214A, Fort Worth, Texas. (Vertiflite May/June 1974)
Bell went on to produce a commercial variant of the BH 214A, which it designated the Bell 214B BigLifter. This model received a FAA Type Certificate 27 January 1976. On 3 February 1976, a second model, the BH 214B-1, was also certified. The BH 214B-1 has a lower gross weight than the 214B, but the only actual difference between the two models is the aircraft data plate and the flight manual. This was done due to certification standards of various countries which would place the 214B in a “large helicopter” classification. Only 70 of these commercial models were built.
A commercial Bell 214B BigLifter with Canadian registration. (Aircraft.com)
Another commercial BH214 variant was also produced, the 214ST. Initially called the “Stretched Twin,” this helicopter featured two turboshaft engines, a 2 foot, 6 inch (0.762 meters) increase in length, and a larger diameter main rotor system. This helicopter was also intended to serve with Iranian Army Aviation, and 350 were to be built at the Isfahan facility.
A Bell 214ST Super Transport, G-BKFN, of British Caledonian Helicopters, photographed at Aberdeen Airport, 8 September 1982. (Gary Watt via Wikipedia).
Marketed as the 214ST SuperTransport, this helicopter could be ordered with either fixed skids or fixed tricycle landing gear. A total of just 96 were built, with 48 for Iran. The others were for commercial customers, or the militaries of several countries.
Bell Helicopter transferred FAA Type Certificates for the Model 214B, 214B-1, and 214ST helicopters to Erickson Incorporated, Central Point, Oregon, in 2020.
Air America helicopter evacuates refugees during the Fall of Saigon. (Hubert van Es/Corbis)
This iconic photograph was taken 29 April 1975 by Dutch photographer Hubert van Es. A Bell Model 204B helicopter operated by Air America is shown parked on the roof of the Pittman Apartments at 22 Gia Long Street in Sài Gòn, the capital city of the Republic of Vietnam.
Although commonly described as the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy, the actual embassy was a much larger building several blocks away. This building was a residence for U.S. diplomatic personnel.
Air America Bell UH-1D (205D) N47004 (s/n 3211) picking up evacuees from the Pittman Apartments in Saigon, 29 April 1975. (Phillipe Buffon/Corbis)
After this helicopter took off, hundreds of people waited on the roof, but no one else came for them.
The United States government’s decision to abandon the people of South Vietnam after propping up their government for over ten years led to the deaths of many thousands at the hands of the Communist invaders.
This is one of the most shameful events in the history of my country.
A Bell Model 204B operated by Air America.
Air America was a passenger and cargo airline covertly owned and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It operated many types of airplanes and helicopters, among them the legendary Bell “Huey”—both the commercial Model 204B, and military UH-1D and UH-1H.
Because the helicopter in the first photograph is seen nearly head-on, it is difficult to identify. To TDiA’s eyes, though, it appears to be a Bell 204B. The 204B has a single, almost square, window in each of the sliding doors, while the longer 205A-1 has a small auxiliary cargo door with a small window, followed by the sliding door with two windows.
The helicopter in the second photograph is a Bell UH-1D, constructor’s number 3211. It was one of six UH-1Ds purchased by Air America from the Bell Helicopter Company on 21 September 1967 for $328,645.75, each. 3211 was assigned for operations out of Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, with the Kingdom of Laos aircraft registration XW-PFJ.
Air America planned to crate the helicopter and return it to the United States. The Laotian registration was cancelled 14 May 1974 and the aircraft stored at Sài Gòn. A U.S. Federal Aviation Administration registration was requested 10 April 1975, and on 17 April it was registered as N47004, and identified as a “205D.” It was used during the evacuation of Sài Gòn on 29 April 1975.
Bell 205D N47004, at left, with other Air America Hueys, aboard USS Hancock (CVA-19) May 1975. (U.S. Navy)
N47004 was transported to NAS Cubi Point, Philippines, aboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19), and then on to Corpus Christi, Texas. In September 1975 N47004 was trucked from Corpus Christie to Roswell, New Mexico. It was sold to Omni Aircraft Sales, Washington, D.C., for $100,000, 13 November 1975. In 1976, it was resold to Columbia Helicopters, Inc., Portland, Oregon. It was last registered to an individual in Dothan, Alabama. The registration was cancelled 15 August 2013.
Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster “Princess Patricia” of No. 514 Squadron at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, England, being loaded with food for Operation Manna, 29 April 1945. (Pilot Officer Penfold, Royal Air Force Official Photographer/Imperial War Museum)A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster heavy bomber drops food packages over The Netherlands.
29 April 1945: With the defeat of Nazi Germany imminent, millions of Dutch citizens were still under the control of the occupying German army. Food was very scarce. The Allies tried to negotiate a cease fire so that American and British airplanes could fly into The Netherlands and drop food to the people.
The truce had not yet been agreed to by Germany, but on 29 April, Operations Manna and Chowhound began.
The first night, to test the feasibility of the project, two Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster four-engine long range heavy bombers of No. 101 Squadron—Bad Penny, crewed by Canadians, and a second ship flown by an Australian crew—were loaded with food at RAF Ludford Magna and flew into The Netherlands at barely 50 feet (15 meters) above the ground.
To drop the food they simply opened the bomb bay doors and the bags and packages fell to the starving people below.
A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster drops bundles of food in The Netherlands during Operation Manna, 1945. (International Bomber Command Center)
With Flight Sergeant Robert Fairful Upcott, D.F.M., Royal Canadian Air Force, [service number R187858] leading with Bad Penny, the two Lancasters ¹ dropped their food on the Racetrack Duindigt at Wassernaar, near The Hague, then returned along the same corridor they had flown on the way in. At 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, another 200 Lancasters followed.
Flight crew of Avro Lancaster, “Bad Penny.” Standing, left to right: Wireless Operator Stan Jones; Flight Engineer John Corner, D.F.M.; Aircraft Commander, Flight Sergeant Robert F. Upcott, D.F.M.; and Navigator Bill Walton. Kneeling, Aerial Gunner Bill Demo; Mid-Upper Gunner Ossie Blower; and Bomb Aimer Bill Gray. (Canadian Historical Aircraft Association)
Over the next ten days, approximately 11,000 tons (9,979 Metric tons) of food were dropped by Royal Air Force Lancasters and U.S. Army Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress bombers.
A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster drops food packages from its bomb bay while flying at very low level over The Netherlands during Operation Manna.
¹ The second Lancaster was commanded by Flight Officer P. G. L. Collett, Royal Australian Air Force (A424149).
Lieutenant Edward V. Rickenbacker, 94th Aero Squadron, with a Nieuport 28 C.1 fighter. (U.S. Air Force)
29 April 1918: Lieutenant Edward Vernon Rickenbacker, 94th Aero Squadron, Air Service, American Expeditionary Force, while flying a Nieuport 28 C.1, scored his first aerial victory when he shot down a Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte Pfalz D.III fighter near Saint-Baussant, France. He was awarded the first of eight Distinguished Service Crosses. By the end of World War I, he had destroyed 26 enemy aircraft.
1st Lieutenant Edward V. Rickenbacker in the cockpit of a Nieuport 28 C.1 fighter, France, 1918. (U.S. Air Force)
The Nieuport 28 C.1 ¹ was a single-place, single-engine, single-bay biplane fighter built by Société Anonyme des Éstablissements Nieuport for the French military. It was rejected, however, in favor of the SPAD S.XIII C.1. The new United States’ Air Service was in great need of fighters. There were none available of American manufacture, and because the new SPAD was in great demand, 297 Nieuport 28s were acquired by the American Expeditionary Force and assigned to the 94th and 95th Aero Squadrons.
U.S. Air Service Nieuport 28 C.1, N6215. (U.S. Air Force)
The Nieuport 28 C.1 was 6.30 meters (20 feet, 8 inches) long with an upper wingspan of 8.160 meters (26 feet, 9¼ inches), lower wingspan of 7.79 meters ( 25 feet, 6-2/3 inches) and height of 2.30 meters (7 feet, 6½ inches). The upper wing had a chord of 1.30 meters (4 feet, 3.2 inches), and the lower, which was staggered behind the upper, had a chord of 1.00 meters (3 feet, 3.4). The upper wing had very slight dihedral, while the lower wing had none. Its empty weight was 399 kilograms (880 pounds) and loaded weight was 626 kilograms (1,380 pounds).
Nieuport 28 C.1, serial number 6215.
The Nieuport 28 C.1 was powered by an air-cooled, normally-aspirated 15.892 liter (969.786-cubic-inch-displacement) Gnome Monosoupape 9 Type N nine-cylinder rotary engine with a compression ratio of 5.45:1. The Monosoupape had a single overhead exhaust valve actuated by a pushrod and rocker arm. As the pistons reached the bottom of their exhaust strokes, a series of intake ports near the bottom of the cylinder were uncovered. The intake charge was drawn from the engine crankcase. The Type N produced 160 horsepower at 1,300 r.p.m. and turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller with a diameter of 2.50 meters (8 feet, 2.4 inches). The engine weighed 330 pounds (150 kilograms).
The Nieuport 28 had a top speed of 198 kilometers per hour (123 miles per hour) at 2,000 meters (6,562 feet) and 1,380 r.p.m., a range of 290 kilometers (180 miles) and a service ceiling of 5,300 meters (17,388 feet). Duration at full power was 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Two .303-caliber Vickers machine guns were mounted on the cowling, firing forward through the propeller arc.
Pfalz D.III (SDASM)
The Pfalz D.III was a single-seat, single-engine, single-bay biplane fighter built by Pfalz Flugzeugwerke. The fuselage was built of two layers of plywood strips laid over a mold to form one half. The two halves were glued together. This was then covered with doped fabric. The wings were made of fabric-covered wood spars and ribs, with wooden ailerons.
It was 6.95 meters (22 feet, 9½ inches) long with a wingspan of 9.4 meters (30 feet, 0 inches) and height of 2.67 meters (8 feet, 9 inches). Empty weight was 695 kilograms (1,532 pounds) and gross weight was 933 kilograms (2,057 pounds).
The fighter was powered by a 14.778 liter (901.812 cubic inches) water-cooled Mercedes D.IIIa single overhead cam inline six-cylinder engine with two valves per cylinder and a compression ratio of 4.64:1. It produced 174 horsepower at 1,400 r.p.m. The D.IIIa weighed 660.0 pounds (299.4 kilograms).
The maximum speed of the Pfalz D.III was 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) at Sea Level, and the service ceiling was 5,200 meters (17,060 feet).
It was armed with two 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 Spandau machine guns.
Approximately 1,010 Pfalz D.IIIs were built.
Pfalz D.IIIa 8413/17
¹ “C.1” was the French designation for a single-place chasseur, their World War I term for what we now consider to be a fighter.
