Pilot for 40 years reveals why his favorite aircraft was the Boeing 747-400
- A veteran pilot has spoken out on his favorite aircraft
- It’s the Boeing 747-400 that he has a soft spot for
- But the reason why might surprise you
Published on Jun 19, 2024 at 5:12 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Jun 20, 2024 at 12:57 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A veteran pilot has spoken out on why the Boeing 747-400 is his favorite ever aircraft – and here’s why.
Being the controls for over four decades for both the British Royal Air Force and British Airways means he’s earned his wings – and then some.
And, despite all the aircraft he’s flown, the Boeing 747-400 – aka the Jumbo – is above all others.
Why the Boeing 747-400?
As a retired captain of Airbus A380/A320 and Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo’ captain, Martin Chalk is often asked which he prefers to pilot and be a passenger on.
“My favorite aircraft overall is a Boeing – the 747 or ‘Jumbo’,” he admitted to iNews.
Having traveled from Tokyo to Los Angeles and around Africa and Asia on board and at the helm he admits that it is the epitome of the word ‘awesome’.
“It was both comfortable and quirky, with a surprisingly small, Boeing-brown cockpit and reasonable pilot rest facilities,” he said.
“I flew the fourth iteration of its development, the 747-400 series, meaning some aspects were modern, such as TV screens instead of the round instruments, while others survived from much earlier models – such as the plumbing.”
The benefits of fly-by-wire
Sandwiching his 11 years aboard the Jumbo, he was flying the Airbus A320 and A380 ‘Superjumbo’.
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Both ‘fly-by-wire’ aircraft, they allow the pilots’ commands to be interpreted by flight control computers before being transmitted to the aircraft control surfaces.
“This means the computers can limit pilot actions, which initially felt as though my professional abilities were being questioned – but I soon realized that it meant I was free to use all the aircraft’s capabilities,” he admitted.
Effective and safe, it has a bigger control column to physically pull cables to move flying control surfaces.
A Dutch pilot recently shared cockpit footage of landing a Boeing 737 in crosswind.
What’s more, it drastically reduces weight – and therefore costs for airlines – making the Boeing 737-400 more of a ‘sports car’ than a ‘bus’.
Another plus is that they can be flown three to six times a day rather than a couple of times a week for longer distances like bigger aircraft including the Boeing 777/747 or Airbus A350/A380.
You can see this footage of the Boeing 747 performing an intricate landing with a series of complex maneuvers.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
