How Many Ping Pong Balls Fit In A 747? – Detailed In 2023

Did You Know How Many Ping Pong Balls Fit In A 747?
According to the calculation, we can fit 4852992 table tennis balls, around 5 Million Ping Pongs in Boeing 747.
The first step is to determine the volume of the airplane and the ping pong ball.
By dividing the volume of the airplane with the ping pong ball, we can calculate the volume of the airplane.
The formula for the cylinder is = πr2h
Based on an airplane’s radius of 1 meter (assuming the height of a normal office floor),
and a length of 33 meters (400 seats in an airplane with 10 seats per row, which gives us 40 rows,
plus another 10 for a pilot and restrooms, which makes 50 rows 2 feet, or 33 meters).
The Following Are My Approximations And Assumptions:
- The Boeing 747 has a length of just over 70 meters.
- It has a cabin width of 6.08 meters.
- The diameter of a ping pong ball is 4 cm.
- The 747 is equivalent to a cylinder 70 m x 6.08 m in diameter in terms of volume. The tapering of the fuselage might roughly offset the bump of the crew cabin.
Calculations:
- volume of 747 = length x cross section, => V = L x πR^2 => = 70 x π x (6.08/2) ^2 = 2,032 cubic meters
- volume of ping pong ball = 4/3 π r^3 => 4/3 x π x 0.04^3 = 0.000268082 cubic
- Sphere packing into a volume: best is about 74%, random is about 64%.
- The volume is 747 * 74% = 1504 cubic meters.
- The volume is 747 * 64% = 1301 cubic meters.
- Table Tennis balls are packed efficiently with 1504 / 0.000268082 = 5610223
- Ping pong balls packed randomly for 1301 / 0.000268082 = 4852992
Video Guide

Hey, My Name is Timothy Wang. I’m the U.S. National Table Tennis champion of 2010, 2012, and 2013 and playing the game since the age of 12. The purpose of this blog is to share my experience, tips, and tricks with others so they can master and enjoy this game like I’m doing for years.