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A comment on How to build a 747 – A WorldFlight Story. Parent comment

Re:How to build a 747 – A WorldFlight Story by hydrogen7800 on Tuesday October 28, 2025 @12:38PM (#45735131)
>if one were to print out a compleat set of blueprints/specifications and try to load them into one, it would probably be too heavy to take off.

This expression might actually have it's origins in the 747. I've heard in aerospace that "you don't fly until the paper weighs more than the plane"

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Re:How to build a 747 – A WorldFlight Story by WillAdams on Tuesday October 28, 2025 @01:29PM (#45735930)
Pretty sure that's a much older expression and is more in reference to exhaustive paperwork and maintenance documentation.
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Re:How to build a 747 – A WorldFlight Story by GarnetFloride on Tuesday October 28, 2025 @10:57PM (#45742117)
Considering the 747-400 carried 1,000,000 pounds (453,592.37 kilos) to cruising altitude, that might be in dispute.
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Re:How to build a 747 – A WorldFlight Story by WillAdams on Wednesday October 29, 2025 @07:10AM (#45745248)
Hyperbole can be like that.

Still, it was an interesting factoid, and by all accounts, the redundancy of the technical documentation (multiple drawings of bolts depending on which system they were used for, which grade/alloy/coating was specified) edges it towards believability.

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