KLM Boeing 747-400 "Rocket" Takeoff St Maarten Princess Juliana Airport 

One of the best recording of a takeoff from a passenger. No camera shake, not talking while recording, great shot provided by the limited window space. Great job!

I spent 50 years working as an avionics ground engineer, in that time the Boeing 747 was my favourite aircraft, I spent 35 years working on them, great aeroplane. And yes, they can take to the skys like a rocket, I’ve been on maintenance positioning flights and experienced a few take offs at minimum weight with no cargo, no passengers (apart from 20 to 30 engineers) on board and minimum fuel. With that little weight the 747 climbs very very quickly, and apparently handles really responsively. We arrived at our destination once and the first officer said “I’ve never seen a 747 in a turn banked over that steeply before” from the cabin windows all we could see was sky one side and ground the other. The next thing was getting a minimum weight 747 on the runway with the ground effect it’s not easy task apparently. Fun days, fun experiences.

I love watching planes land and take off. This engineering is unbelievably beautiful.

There are somethings made by man that are beautiful. This is one of them. Love the sound!!!!!

she will always be the queen of the sky

That’s the fastest takeoff on a 747, pure power! Love the sound of those engines.

The Boeing 747's are my favorite airplanes of all time! Truly beautiful machines! ✈

Queen of the skies forever and nothing will ever beat this gorgeous machine now in retirement in Gloucestershire! Magnificent!😁💐🕊👌

The wing flex at 3:50 is incredible! You can actually see the outer engine moving.

The roar and wing swing of four engines aircrafts are priceless, great video AND Sound, thank you !

You had the ideal seat for this video. You know what we airplane nuts like. And the video didn't end till the leading edge devices were retracted. Nice work. Thanks.

The way the 747 lifts off so gracefully. Simply amazing!

Amazing how those wings flex and don't break

The motion/flex in the wing at 3:48 is absolutely amazing.

That was so cool to see all the plane-spotters at the fence of one of the most famous locations to watch take-offs and landings! I've only ever seen it from the ground perspective. Thanks for uploading this.

Anyone complaining about the “rocket” title clearly doesn’t understand the 747 general long takeoff 🛫 requirements. This 747 DID rotate into the sky amazingly fast due to the light fuel load... and got to V1 in almost record time. Awesome vid ... just awesome 👏🏻

2:55 Rip everyone behinde the fence😂

Always was my favorite plane to fly on. The feeling of the thrust at takeoff throwing you back in your seat will always be my favorite part.

A great take off for this great airplane from KLM and the maintenance of all their airplanes have been superb since start of KLM!

One of the greatest feats of engineering. Period

The 747 in my opinion is the greatest aircraft ever to have flown in the Skies

3:50 great wing flex at max performance climb and right turn to clear the hills...nice video!

They should never retire this beast

Every time I see or actually flying , or even watch a vedio like this, I awfully admire the engineering involved in making this superb machines. Thanks for the video

Excellent!!!!! Such a fantastic take off and all the beautiful scenery below. Thank you!!

You should have rolled the window down so we could hear them better.

Noticed how the thrust increased at 5:17 for a short time. Love the sound of them GE motors. 747 will always be my favourite airplane.

Desde 🇨🇴. Hermoso escuchar ese ruido. Ufffff lo q hace la ingeniería.....

Nothing like the rumble of harnessed thunder, as those monster turbines scream their way skyward like eagles together levitating that gigantic metal bird up past the towering mountains at the end of that very short runway, and into a hair-raising steep right banking roll, as the captain sets course for the first FMS way-point of many. Amazing stuff. Granite Man is da man, and I for one look forward to more excellent videos like this one, from the same source.

Thank you for posting this! This was actually quite lovely!!!

I just love hearing those powerful engines ramp up for take off!

That was the shortest takeoff I have ever seen. Love the engine sounds.

Engineering marvel!!! My hat is off to all those brilliant, hard-working people who made this possible.

I have had the privilege of working on many 747's and have performed countless modifications and repairs on them and the sheer size of that aircraft and how much fuel, luggage, and number of people they can hold, and are the most beautiful thing to watch take off.

Fantastic takeoff. I've flown 747s numerous times but the most memorable was a Honolulu to SF flight on a Quantas 747-SP. A pure hot-rod that one was. My new favorite is the 787 Dreamliner...pure comfort.

20 seconds until rotate, is amazing. The 747 truly is, the king of the sky. I am glad KTM still flys the 747.

A masterful takeoff. KLM always impresses!

So cool. The flexing of the wing. The sounds from the engines and the very fast ascent!! Would love to see the cockpit view.

Amazing takeoff on that 747. What an incredible aircraft that is. Love the sound of those 4 awesome GM engines.

I believe this to be the absolute best takeoff video on RU-vid.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have had the privilege of flying in a 747 - 400 in business class from Toronto to Tokyo, Osaka and Hong Kong a few times. An experience Ill never forget.

When I hear the engines slow down just after take off I always panic 😖

In 1988 - 1989, at Boeing in Seattle and Everett WA, I was a Flight Test crew member for the 747-400 FAA certification. I was assigned to RT-451, with the Rolls-Royce RB211-524G engines, as an instrumentation engineer. The job we had was to operate and maintain the data collection system so that the aeronautical brains could take all of the flight test data and analyze it. This required me to fly aboard on test flights, which made the job very memorable. Those Rolls engines put out solid thrust for takeoff with 58,000 lbf thrust each x 4 engines for over 230,000 lbf total. I was amazed by the acceleration of a machine as big as the 747-400. That was the highlight of my working years. There were many days I would have done with no pay.

I am a retired airline Captain and thinking back, taking off and landing at Juliana was always my favorite flying activity.

Even though the plane may not be fully loaded, it is still a very heavy aircraft regardless. It is amazing how much thrust those engines can generate at such short distances to get that big bird in the air. Love the engineering behind such aircraft.

That was impressive! Specially if we consider the plane is full of everything, passengers, fuel, luggage...WOW! That was incredibly short take Off!! Fascinating and Awesome!! 747 is the King of the airplanes👍👏👏👏

Brilliant video.Captures the speed better than most other videos.

Beautiful! And I love the JET BLAST videos too from takeoffs at this same airport. ❤❤❤❤❤

the sound of those engine it does something to me!!!!!! I love it!!!

Wow, that was one of the shortest 747 takeoffs I have ever seen.

Going there in about a month. Can't wait to see this for myself. Thank you!

I was a Eastern Flight Attendant for 15 years. Still love seeing these jets take off and land

The very beautiful 747. Good on you KLM.

Love seeing them big bird wings tilt up as they get faster, brilliant stuff👍👍👍

I love being on a plane when it takes off. It's like riding on a roller coaster.

Pretty impressive take-off as far as they go. I could watch this kind of stuff all day!

That's fantastically impressive, wow those motors....

Wow, that's very impressive! Hat's off to the pilots. I remember having to do this same type of take-off from John Wayne International Airport. I think they called this at the time the "sling-shot" takeoff.

Brilliant video. Poetry in motion, with sound of 4 engines on full power. And the wing flex with the engines.

In the early years of the 747, worked for an independent machine shop machining internal wing pivot joints for the flaps and slats. Our 5 axis machine was two story building tall, a site to see ,machining multiple parts all at the same time on a flatbed. Was a great education I'll never forget it.

The wings of an airplane always amaze me, they carry these massive engines, fuel, while also bearing the brunt of aero dynamic forces.

The 747 was always amazing to watch, taking off in half the runway as many smaller planes, massive wing and flap area allowed it to float like a feather.

The 747 is the most beautiful aircraft ever built. The four engines, upper deck, and passenger seats that go all the way up to the nose of the airplane, underneath the flight deck, all make this luxury liner of the skies. Beautiful plane! 👌

Thanks that was nice. And sentimental. My parents used to have a time share on St. Maarten- that brought back fond memories of being there with them.

Who is watching this video to listen to the sound of the engines!

It still twats my head how this machine gets off the ground. The size of it!

Thanks for taking the time for description.

Woah........the fastest takeoff roll on the short runway. Amazing!

Awesome power; great video; V1 in less than 25 seconds....Wow.

This makes me want to go on vacation! My favorite airplane!

Nice smooth beautiful clean takeoff! Awesome job pilots!

excellent job filming,and I do miss Tom's Sunset Bar and St Maarten beautiful island with beautiful people.

Wow! I have *never* seen leading edge slats extend/retract like that. I'm so accustomed to the leading edge extending out and down. That was really cool.

beautiful takeoff!!

I watch this and I get chills every time!!!!! I think the 747 is my favourite plane as well. It is so impressiver to see something of such great size get off the ground within seconds when it needs to. Beautiful

taking off in about 20 seconds, thats really impressive

The shrieking majestic queen of the skies....the power and the glory. Boeing at it’s best.

Wow, that’s getting airborne and gaining altitude in a no-nonsense manner! 🤙

Wow right you are. I was skeptical of the title at first but that puppy was off the ground in less than 25 seconds. Must have been a fun ride.

Beautiful and quick takeoff .I love it!!!!👍

Eye level with the clouds in 4 minutes very impressive

Flew on a 757 in and out of that airport. It's quite an experience on landing. You get closer and closer to the water and all of a sudden there is land underneath and youre touching down. The water was so clear where we stayed. The resort had it's own cove and you could see straight to the bottom when we were out jet skiing. And the Rum....... Ohhhhhhhh the Rum!

All wonderful, the plane, the island, thanks for posting.

Great video. Love that steep bank right after getting airborne.

One of the best take offs I've seen!

Back in 1968 I flew an Air Canada 727 from New York to Montreal - it had just been delivered too the airline. The pilots told us that and that we should expect a short flight. I wondered what they meant by that. What they meant was, they took the 727 out onto the runway, got it to the diffuser wall, ran the engines up so far the plane was shaking, went brakes-off, ran it down the runway and pulled it up in the sharpest climb I've ever experienced in a commercial plane.

Impressively quick takeoff by that Jumbo!

Made a few long haul trips as a passenger in 747's, in its different versions(megatop,& semi cargo version etc.). Really smooth take-off and landings, favorite aircraft. One trip though was not comfy due to weather conditions, thunderstorm underneath, upper sky gusts kept the aircraft shaking for hours. But seemed the pilots were trying to keep it on course, and there was a bit of tilting. A B777 is also a pretty stable aircraft.

It never ceases to amaze me how they can get so high in such a relatively short space of time! And PS them Engines are a triumph of Human Engineering!

I can almost feel the G-force just by watching the takeoff!☺️

Of all the things man has designed and built, an aircraft flying is probably the most artful thing he has done.

The view from business, love it! Great video, cheers for sharing.

One of the most beautiful sounds in the world!! God I love aviation!!

Empty KLM Boeing 747-400 "Rocket"

I imagine all planes had to push the hardest to go over the mountain from such short runway. 747 used to be my favorite until I worked with 777 in Everett, WA. Loved those tri landing gears.

this video was unexpectedly beautiful

Felt like being on the KLM flight ✈️fabulous

*I'm always at awe, simply amazing!* 🧐

Watched a few of these takeoffs. Always blown away at the level of power that is displayed when they crank em up' This case in particular. I just couldn't believe how quickly that monster was airborne from a dead stop

lot of stuff going on with wing shape, flaps etc. love watching this stuff. thanks