TIL a single 747 engine weighs more than the Wright brothers' first plane

I was reading this aviation forum last night, just killing time before bed, and stumbled onto that stat. A Boeing 747 engine, one of those big Rolls-Royce or GE ones, tips the scales at around 9,500 pounds. The Wright Flyer from 1903 was only about 600 pounds total with the pilot on board. I had to check that three times because it just didn't compute in my head. Made me realize how fast things have changed in just over a hundred years. Now you see those planes flying overhead and it's hard to picture that kind of weight up there. Has anyone else run across a comparison like that that messed with your perspective?

3 comments

3 Comments

sageross19d ago

Wait, are you telling me that one engine weighs more than a whole plane that actually flew?

knight.mason19d ago

@sageross just reading your comment made me smile, because it took me a minute too to wrap my head around that fact.

mila_perry1319d ago

@sageross that really messes with your head, doesn't it, @knight.mason? I had the same feeling when I learned a single space shuttle main engine could fill an entire swimming pool with fuel in under a minute.

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