747 Celebrating the Past, Building the Future
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747 Flight Deck -- 30 Years of Modern Technology
This digitized image contrasts today's high-technology 747-400 flight deck (left), with the late-1960s version of the first-generation of 747s, at right. New technology has continually been added to meet changing market requirements. Today's 747-400 has six cathode ray tube displays, while the original 747 had electro-mechanical displays. Avionics in today's -400 are all digital; previous 747s used analog computing.
Of the 971 lights, gauges and switches in the original 747 flight deck, only 365 remain in the 747-400. All of this adds up to greater efficiency for airlines and an easier job for pilots. The flight crew for the 747-400 consists of two pilots; for earlier 747s, a flight engineer was also required.
Photo Credit: Boeing Photo