Expectant Mother Ship

If a Beluga Whale and a 747 had a love child, it would surely look a lot like Boeing’s 787 DreamLifter. 

The DreamLifter came about after Boeing realized they needed a faster way to move parts between suppliers in Japan, Italy and the United States. The company transformed a 747 into a bloated, oversized cargo plane capable of hauling three times the capacity of a normal 747 cargo plane, allowing the company to move parts faster than the previous method of by cargo ship.

This DreamLifter is parked near the Boeing facility in North Charleston, SC. The plane is used to ferry parts for the 787 DreamLiner back and forth from North Charleston to Everett, WA.

When the North Charleston plant starts full production in 2011, it is expected to produce three 787 DreamLiners a month.