Do you remember the “Starscream” character from the Transformers universe, the one that turned from a jet into a giant robot in a matter of seconds? Well, it would seem that Boeing might have developed a Starscream of its own, which, however, takes a lot longer to “transform” and is far less belligerent than its comic book counterpart.

This new type of airplane, called the BBJ Convertible, is perhaps one of the most versatile such air vehicles ever developed by the famous company, since it's able to easily reconfigure from an all-passenger to an all-cargo mode in a surprisingly short period of time, namely somewhere in the vicinity of eight hours.

According to the manufacturer, BBJ owners receiving their airplanes after mid-2011 will reduce fuel consumption by 2 percent through a combination of airframe and engine improvements that Boeing announced in late April. Airplane structural improvements will reduce drag on the airplane, lowering fuel use by about 1 percent. Moreover, Boeing's engine partner, CFM, is contributing a further 1 percent fuel savings through hardware changes to its CFM56-7B Evolution engine.

One of the reasons why this jet can be re-configured at such high speed is the fact that Boeing has recently finalized an agreement with Greenpoint Technologies to provide 747-8 VIP owners and their chosen completion centers with a kit that adds 75 square-meters of space to the airplane's crown. The Overhead Space Utilization or OSU kit is installed post production above the main cabin ceilings between doors three and five. The kit includes stairs from the main deck to the space above, which makes access even easier than before.

All in all, the BBJ Convertible from Boeing is one of the most interesting aircraft models to arrive on the market in recent years, one that will certainly change the face of aviation as we know it.


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