Dreamlifter tracker: every Boeing Dreamlifter flying right now
The Dreamlifter is a Boeing 747-400 with a hugely enlarged fuselage, built to fly 787 Dreamliner parts from suppliers around the world to final assembly. Its whole tail swings open to load them.
| Flight | Registration | Operator | Type | Altitude | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loading… | |||||
Boeing Dreamlifter at a glance
- Based on
- Converted Boeing 747-400 passenger jets
- First flight
- September 9, 2006
- Built
- Four
- Operator
- Atlas Air, for Boeing
- Carries
- 787 wings, fuselage sections and tail parts
What it carries
The 787 is built from large sections made around the world: wings in Nagoya, Japan, fuselage sections in Grottaglie, Italy, and the nose section in Wichita, Kansas. Dreamlifters bring those sections to Boeing's 787 assembly line in North Charleston, South Carolina. That is why they shuttle across the Pacific and the Atlantic and appear so often over Japan, Kansas and the Carolinas.
The wrong-airport landing
In November 2013 a Dreamlifter bound for McConnell Air Force Base near Wichita landed by mistake at the much smaller Jabara Airport nearby. It was flown out the next day from the short runway, with a very light load.
Questions
How many Dreamlifters are there?
Four. All were converted from used 747-400 passenger jets and are flown by Atlas Air for Boeing.
Why does the Dreamlifter's tail open?
The whole tail section swings sideways on a hinge, so 787 wings and fuselage sections can be rolled straight into the cargo hold.
Why isn't an aircraft I know is flying on the map?
Positions come from volunteer ADS-B receivers, which only hear aircraft within roughly 200 nautical miles. Over oceans, deserts and parts of Africa and Asia there are few receivers, so an aircraft can vanish mid-flight and reappear near land. Military and some government aircraft also switch their transponders' public data off.
More live trackers
Positions from the adsb.lol volunteer ADS-B network (ODbL). Aircraft are shown only while a receiver can hear them.