For most of my life I have known the 747 as the queen. Especially the 747-400, as a matter of fact when my five year old sees the hump, the four engines and the winglets he yells out "daddy there's the queen." We recently bought a house, and I met one of my neighbors yesterday. It turns out he is a heavy maintenance inspector for Northwest Airlines, so in talking about his job, I asked him if he also worked on the 747-400, he responded "I've worked on every whale that we have, except the two we bought from United" For a few seconds there I couldn't figure out what the heck he was talking about - then I realized the maintenance crews must have a diferent nickname for the queen. I see the resemblance to a whale, but I think I prefer the queen :)

I think to classic 747's where called "the whale"Matthias

You can call her "The Queen," "The Whale," or simply "Big Mama's Mama." Of course, you can also call it "The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich of the Clouds," if you want. Just be sure she's in earshot when you do. Can you imagine being chased down the street by an angry 747. Andrew

>You can call her "The Queen," "The Whale," or simply "Big>Mama's Mama." Of course, you can also call it "The Peanut>Butter and Jelly Sandwich of the Clouds," if you want. Just>be sure she's in earshot when you do. Can you imagine being>chased down the street by an angry 747. >>AndrewYou guys crack me up every morning!

LOL!Well, TPBAJSOTC aside the two common nicknames are The Queen and The Whale. I think the Whale came from the cargo versions with the opening nose section and the amount of cargo it swallows.

I think I once heard it referred to as "Aluminum Overcast" which I thought pretty fitting. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue like Queen though.Jay EklundCAT VI Second Officer KDENhttp://online.vatsimindicators.net/812321/764.png

Ah, I can relate to that. I was out flying yesterday (real world) and was overflown (well, almost) by a Malaysian 747 that was heading for Stockholm, Arlanda. Even with a vertical separation of at least 1800ft at the time it

>You can call her "The Queen," "The Whale," or simply "Big>Mama's Mama." Of course, you can also call it "The Peanut>Butter and Jelly Sandwich of the Clouds," if you want. Just>be sure she's in earshot when you do. Can you imagine being>chased down the street by an angry 747. >>AndrewAm I the only one that thinks it would be cool if a 747 was chasing me down my street?

Am I the only who thinks my street would be destroyed by a 744 chasing me down?I didn't know about the "Whale" nickname...nor "The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhich of the Clouds". ;) I like TPBAJSOTC. But Queen does make me feel less light-headed while saying it several times in a row. So Queen it is.Matthttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpg