Quote:
Originally Posted by Tervuren
The shape of the 747-8 is not the same as the 747, a new paint design is needed to accommodate the new shape.
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The fuselage and empennage match that of the -400 and -300 that preceded it, just lengthened a little bit. The -400 and -300 passenger airplanes only differ from the earlier -200 and -100 in that they sport the extended upper deck. As an aside, all freighters retained the original shorter upper deck, right up through the current -8F. The -8 Intercontinental, the passenger version from which AF1 will be made, has the same "shape" as every 747 that preceded it. The only changes in the -8 (other than being lengthened a bit) are new wings, engines, and landing gear.
I started my career on the 747 in 1980, working on the major body section jigs, as a backfill for folks being reassigned to the then new 767. The exact same body section jigs on which I cut my tool engineering teeth are still in use today, building 747-8's. The same ones that have been in use since the late 1960's, building every 747 ever made.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tervuren
Having a plane the color of the flag is not a terrible thing.
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Agreed. I think a red, white, and blue AF1 would be appropriate.