Boeing 747-8 specs, size & range

The Boeing 747-8 is a landplane with 4 jet engines built by Boeing. Air-traffic control and flight-tracking sites identify it by the ICAO type code B748, while airline timetables and booking sites use the IATA code 748. It belongs to the heavy wake-turbulence category, so aircraft landing or taking off behind it must keep extra separation.

747-8 size and dimensions

The 747-8 is 76.30 m (250.3 ft) long, has a wingspan of 68.50 m and stands 19.40 m tall. That makes it the #2 longest of 67 airliners & big jets in our database — longer than 97% of them. With 554.0 m² of wing, the wing loading at maximum weight is about 808 kg/m².

747-8 weight and fuel

The maximum take-off weight is 447,696 kg (987,000 lb) and it may land at up to 312,072 kg — 70% of take-off weight, so after a short flight it has to burn off fuel before landing at full weight. Among airliners & big jets it ranks #2 of 69 by weight. Without fuel it may weigh at most 295,289 kg, leaving up to 152,407 kg for fuel at maximum take-off weight. The tanks hold 240,410 litres (63,510 US gallons), about 192.3 tonnes of jet fuel.

747-8 speed and range

It cruises at about 933 km/h (504 knots), faster than 82% of airliners & big jets. Its range of 14,316 km (7,730 nm) is enough to fly non-stop from Doha to Auckland (13,800 km) — about 15.3 hours at cruise speed. On final approach it flies at around 150 knots (278 km/h), which puts it in ICAO approach category D. Its ceiling is 43,100 ft (13,137 m).

747-8 models and engines

Our database lists 2 certified models of the 747-8: 747-8F and 747-8. The first was certified in August 2011, the latest in December 2011. Engines come from General Electric.

Aircraft similar to the 747-8

Comparable airliners & big jets include Airbus A330-743L Beluga XL, Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, Antonov An-124 Ruslan and Antonov An-225 Mriya.