747-200C

The 747-200C Convertible could be flown as a passenger aircraft, as a freighter, or as a mix of the two. The seats were removable, the floor was stressed for freight, and the aircraft had a nose cargo door — with an optional side cargo door on the main deck as well.

It is the rarest of the three cargo-capable -200 layouts, and the most flexible.

Convertible, Combi and Freighter — the difference

This trips people up constantly, so it is worth being precise:

• 747-200F — a pure freighter. No passenger cabin. Fitted out for cargo permanently.
• 747-200M Combi — passengers and freight on the main deck at the same time, split by a partition.
• 747-200C Convertible — passengers or freight, changed over as required. The seats physically come out.

The -200C is the only one that changes role between flights rather than between rebuilds. In practice conversion took days rather than hours, so operators tended to switch seasonally rather than daily.

Upper deck options

Layout	Detail
Lounge	15 places
Mixed	8 first class plus an 11-place lounge
Sleepers	16 first class sleeper seats
Economy	32–45 seats

Engines

Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7AW	205.3 kN each
Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7FW	213.5 kN each
Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q	235.75 kN each
General Electric CF6-50E2	243.5 kN each

Weights

Empty	164,030 kg
Max zero-fuel weight	267,570 kg
Fuel	198,370 litres
Max payload	130,340 kg
Max takeoff weight	377,800 kg
Max landing weight	285,700 kg

The 130-tonne maximum payload is the number that explains the variant. That is roughly double what the passenger -200B could carry, and it is available through a nose door — which is why a handful of these aircraft ended up moving loads that nothing else on the civil register could take.

More on the base aircraft on the 747-200 page.