HERPA AIR INDIA 747-200 1/500 (**)

Produced to the highest standards, Herpa diecast metal models are developed in collaboration with aircraft manufacturers and the airlines and are recognized by discerning model airplane collectors worldwide for their unparalleled, accurate realism, attention to detail and exceptional quality. True-to-scale, this Herpa 1/500 scale Air India Boeing 747-200, named Emperor Shah Jahan, with Registration VT-EBE, measures approximately 5-1/2-inches long with a 4-11/16-inch wingspan. A Display Stand is not included and is sold separately - Herpa HE521024. In 1971, Air India took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets, which were not decommissioned until 2003! One of the Boeing 747-200s was named after Emperor Shah Jahan, who ruled over the Mughal Empire in the 17th century. Under his reign, the empire reached the peak of its architectural achievements and cultural glory, but he was remembered primarily for his architectural achievements, with the Taj Mahal Mausoleum being the most famous of the many structures built during his reign. Readily recognized around the world by its iconic large hump atop the front of its fuselage, the Boeing 747, nicknamed - Jumbo Jet - entered service in 1970 with Pan Am as the first wide-body airliner, and has primarily been used for long range passenger travel. Although typically configured to accommodate 366 passengers in three different classes, because this large, quad-engine jet was conceived in the mid-1960s, when supersonic transports were also concurrently on the drawing board, and viewed more favorably at the time as the likely successor for the future travel, Boeing engineers and Pan Am CEO, Juan Trippe opted for the 747 to be designed in such a manner that it could be readily converted into a freighter if required by merely retrofitting the fixed nose of the existing passenger aircraft with a large hinged cargo door. Consequently, if a passenger 747 aircraft were ever to be adapted as a cargo plane with a hinged cargo door, it would be much more cost effective and markedly simpler to convert the passenger variant of the aircraft if the cockpit were located above the nose, thus enabling existing passenger 747s to continue flying as transformed cargo planes. Even though supersonic transports did not readily materialize for the most part, and did not supersede the Boeing 747 as initially envisioned, in the course of time, the Boeing 747 was not only embraced as a successful passenger and cargo aircraft, many passenger 747 aircraft were ultimately converted into cargo 747 aircraft when it was no longer viable that they be used as passenger aircraft. When production of the 747-200 ceased in 1991, 393 747-200s had been manufactured.