How A German Museum Got A Retired Boeing 747 Onto Its Roof

This is the story of how a German aviation museum successfully obtained a Boeing 747 for its collection despite not having a suitable runway where the plane could land. It was first delivered to the German national flag carrier Lufthansa in October 1978. The Boeing 747-200M registered as D-ABYM served the airline well for 22 years before retiring in December 2001.

Always looking for planes for its collection, Lufthansa donated the Boeing 747 known as Schleswig-Holstein to the Technik Museum Speyer in the spring of 2002. While the museum hoped to have the jumbo jet as the centerpiece of its collection, the critical problem was that the museum was not located near a suitable airport to land a 747.

Getting the 747 to Speyer was a complicated affair

• Transportation was one of the biggest challenges for the museum.
• The Boeing 747 is fully accessible for visitors.
• The cargo hold of the jumbo jet is accessible.
• The left wing can be climbed at a height of 20 meters.
• The interior trim has been partially dismantled
• Provides the impression of the design of the wide-bodied aircraft.

Undaunted by the task of how the plane would get there, the museum came up with an idea. First, they would fly the aircraft from its location at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) to Flughafen Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden (FKB). Once there, the aircraft was only 60 miles from the museum.

3:32

Related

The Evolution Of The Boeing 747’s Hump

There are few things more iconic than a Boeing 747 and its hump. How did this feature change throughout the 747s evolution?

Because of the aircraft’s massive size, there was no way that it could be transported by road to the museum. Instead, museum technicians spent months disassembling the aircraft and taking it piece by piece to Speyer.

The biggest hurdle was how they were going to transport the 230-foot-long fuselage. Moving the fuselage by road was impossible, but because the River Rhine runs through both cities, they decided to float the plane down the river on specially built pontoons.

The Boeing 747 sits on steel poles 100 feet in the air

• Wingspan: 59.60 m
• Exterior length: 70.60 m
• Exterior height: 19.30 m

Upon its arrival in Speyer, the museum could transport it from the river to the museum by road. Once all the parts were at the museum, the plane was reassembled and lifted by cranes to sit on purpose-built steel poles 100 feet up in the air.

Visitors to the Technik Museum Speyer can access the aircraft’s interior after climbing a series of stairs. Once inside the aircraft, you will notice that a section of it has been stripped down to its airframe, so you can see how it is built, and there is also a ladder you can use to climb down into the aircraft cargo hold. You can also go up the stairs to the first class section on the plane’s other deck and see what the Boeing 747s cockpit looks like.

Lastly, remember to take a walk on the plane’s wing. The museum built a railing-enclosed walkway to allow visitors to walk out on the wing and see other exhibits from above. After touring the former Lufthansa 747, you can exit by taking the stairs you walked up or sliding down through a spiral stainless steel tube.

Related

How Much Does The Boeing 747 Cost To Fly?

Operating the queen of the skies comes with a royal price tag.

About the Technik Museum Speyer

Located in the Rhineland-Palatinate city of Speyer on the Rhine River’s left bank, the Technik Museum Speyer opened as a sister museum of the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim in 1991. Covering an area of 150,000 square meters, the aviation museum attracts more than half a million visitors a year.

The Technik Museum Speyer states about the Boeing 747 exhibition at its facility,

“A dream came true for the Technik Museum Speyer when Lufthansa succeeded in getting a huge Boeing 747 jumbo jet for the aircraft exhibition. Transporting the Giant of the Skies to Speyer was one of the biggest challenges the team at the museum had faced up to that point.”

Besides the former Lufthansa Boeing 747, the museum has more than 70 other planes, including a supersonic Concorde, an Antonov An-22, a Tupolev Tu-144, a Junkers Ju 52/3m, and a WWII Messerschmidt ME-109. Popular museum exhibits include:

• Space shuttle Buran
• Boeing 747
• Antonov AN-22
• Rescue Ship John T. Essberger
• U-Boat U9
• Submarine U9
• Houseboat Sean o’Kelley
• Red Bull Stratos

Related

France’s Unique Aviation Museum: 5 Must-See Aircraft At Aeroscopia

Located in the world capital of aeronautics, it’s the only museum on the planet with 2 Concordes.