What is the weight of the bulletproof cockpit doors of a Boeing 747 built prior to 9/11? Do the doors weigh the same for later models, like the Boeing 747-8 specifically? How many fewer passengers do they have to carry in light of the added weight?
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asked Feb 28, 2018 at 14:48
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9$\begingroup$ Downvoters, please remember to include an explanation. The OP can't make the question better if they don't know what's wrong $\endgroup$– TimpanusFeb 28, 2018 at 19:52
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3$\begingroup$ Why did this receive 5 downvotes? It's a perfectly valid, on-topic question. $\endgroup$– DeltaLima ♦Mar 2, 2018 at 13:32
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$\begingroup$ @DeltaLima People seem to be downvoting the user and not the questions. After the meta post, people seem to be following the rule of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." $\endgroup$– foootMar 2, 2018 at 15:28
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3$\begingroup$ @foot, thank you for your response. If you are right that the user is downvoted instead of the question, I wonder on what basis that is done. In my opinion, voting should be based on the content of the post. I understand that voting is sometimes biased based on historic behaviour of a user, because post are judged in that historic context. The bottom line is that this is a perfectly valid, clearly phrased, aviation related question. Down voting such a question doesn't help this site, nor the person who asked the question. $\endgroup$– DeltaLima ♦Mar 2, 2018 at 16:36
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1 Answer
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From federalregister.gov:
The FAA also assumed that the average safety door system adds 100 pounds to a large airplane. This additional weight would have minimal impacts on weight and distance limitations.
For a large airplane, like say the 747, it seems the weight addition is around 100 lb (including the other safety features such as the surveillance). As for the exact weight before/after, this information is not readily available as the doors are not sold to the public. But feel free to get in touch with Boeing if it's for research/educational purposes and such.
If the information provided by the seller on this eBay item is correct, then the weight of a 747-400 door is 59 lb. And also from eBay, is a bullet proof 737 door shown below.
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1$\begingroup$ According to Wikipedia, a 747-8 has a MTOW of 987,000lb, so the door would be about 0.01% of that. I'd be surprised if that small difference had any impact on the number of passengers carried, considering that larger variations must already happen routinely because of luggage and freight. $\endgroup$– PondlifeFeb 28, 2018 at 19:17
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1$\begingroup$ @Pondlife - it does have an impact on the loooooong run, like switching from paper charts and manuals to an iPad. $\endgroup$– user14897Feb 28, 2018 at 21:29
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$\begingroup$ Definitely, my point was just that I don't think anyone is ripping passenger seats out of 747s because of the added weight of cockpit door reinforcements $\endgroup$– PondlifeMar 1, 2018 at 14:53