I would not have believed it without this video

[jbassue 181]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cHhZwvdRR5c

Check it out

[Jalio 4]

Already seen it, however its still pretty awesome don't you think? :D

[vc10man 732]

That is absolutely amazing but beggars a question why isn't the other 747 being lifted by that same wind?

[downloader12 0]

It seems like editing to me.

[wreck1463 0]

Elevator must've been in a nose up position, while the other one wasn't I guess.

[Deltalpha 3]

It seems like editing to me.

Read the description.

 

This 747 is sitting in a boneyard in Mojave, CA waiting to be dismantled and recycled at the end of its useful life. On May 23rd, 2012 the area experienced extreme winds of 70+ miles per hour and reports of gusts up to 100 near the pass due to a low pressure zone. Without the weight of its engines and with its landing flaps deployed, the slightly tail heavy 747 tries to take to the skies one last time. The next day the plane was found to have also rotated about 45 degrees from its original position. The same wind storm damaged many rooftops, cut power and sent huge clouds of sand and dust billowing into the sky. Mojave will occasionally experience this type of wind storm due to geography. --Mike

 

UPDATE: Well it's gone viral...boy that's a lot of hits. And I am laughing at all the commenters that think this is fake. There were many dozens of witnesses to this event. The plane was still sitting nose up until around May 30 when they pulled it back down. I have 21 MP still photos of the same event.

[jbassue 181]

That is absolutely amazing but beggars a question why isn't the other 747 being lifted by that same wind?

I think the one being moved is significantly lighter due to the removal of it's engines and major components

The other seems to be still intact

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

http://forum.avsim.net/topic/374950-70mph-winds-at-mojave-boneyard/

[jbassue 181]

http://forum.avsim.n...ojave-boneyard/

Very nice link you have there, I love it.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Very nice link you have there, I love it.

lol Jamalje I just wanted to point out it was said already.

 

Anyway, I've seen some people think this was fake. However, that 747 was to-be-scraped, so it had no engines, most likely no cockpit anymore, no seats, no bathrooms, etc. etc. making it very light.

[jbassue 181]

lol Jamalje I just wanted to point out it was said already.

Lol, I know I am toying with ya :Just Kidding:

What a truly amazing occurrence though.

[vc10man 732]

I think the one being moved is significantly lighter due to the removal of it's engines and major components

The other seems to be still intact

I think the one being moved is significantly lighter due to the removal of it's engines and major components

The other seems to be still intact

Aha, now that makes sense. I must admit I wasn't paying too close an attention to the 2nd 747 engines, etc. Was just fascinated looking at the one being lifted

[Chock 17,769]

Pretty much any light aircraft is at risk of doing that if the wind gets up enough. That is after all why you tie them down when they are parked, so a 747 with no engines and the guts ripped out of it will do that easily enough; it is one of the reasons why you sometimes see stored aircraft with concrete blocks hanging from the engine pylons if the engines have been removed.

 

Al

[jbassue 181]

Pretty much any light aircraft is at risk of doing that if the wind gets up enough. That is after all why you tie them down when they are parked, so a 747 with no engines and the guts ripped out of it will do that easily enough; it is one of the reasons why you sometimes see stored aircraft with concrete blocks hanging from the engine pylons if the engines have been removed.

 

Al

What happens to her after this? Do they just cut her down, and where does that metal go? - To more planes?

[Chock 17,769]

A lot of the stuff from older aeroplanes that are parked up gets reused, such as seats and other non-critical components and whatnot, in fact on occasion seats recovered from crashed aeroplanes have been reused.

 

Although not a certainty, aeroplanes such as that old 747 are unlikely to fly again, many of them would have been parked there during an economic downturn with the intention that they would at some point be put back into service when the economic situation improved, but the trouble with four engined jetliners such as older 747s, is that newer twin jetliners are far more economical to operate, and easier too, since they have improved service rates and avionics better suited to modern ATC procedures, so there are a lot of things counting against them being brought back into use.

 

Cutting it up is indeed the likeliest fate for it, although it is a fairly specialised task, since all the fluids sat in its numerous internal pipework have to be carefully drained before it is cut up, since they would be a fire hazard, and any substances which would be an environmental hazard also have to be dealt with before the guillotine comes and does its deed.

 

Since many of the metals used in an aircraft's construction are very specialised, there is a very good chance that they will be recycled, although most metals in aircraft components are in fact a composite of several different ones to create specialised alloys, so it is not just a case of chucking them into a melting pot and producing some metal ingots.

 

For example, flaps, slats and fuselage skins are very often made from 2024 aluminium alloy, which has a lot of copper in it to improve its ability to flex and resist fatigue, whereas the frames, bulkheads, stringers and wing ribs are often specially heat treated 7075 aluminium alloy, which has a high zinc content in order to resist corrosion and stress. The upper wing skins are typically 7178 aluminium alloy, which has zinc, magnesium and copper in it, since that gives it good compression strength, whereas the lower wing skin is a slightly different mixture of the same metals, more suited to corrosion resistance, since it does not have to compress as much as the upper wing surface does, typically that would be 7175 alloy. Heavy components such as the landing gear forgings are made from yet another variant of the same four metals, this time geared toward high tensile strength.

 

All of that is why when you see an unpainted jetliner, the various metal bits of it tend to be several different colours.

 

Al