The 747SP, or Special Performance, is the most unusual Boeing 747 to fly. This aircraft is very easy to identify because it is a scaled-down version of the standard Boeing 747. However, this aircraft was built with a specific objective in mind, and that was to provide airlines with a vehicle for long-distance, low-traffic routes. In essence, this competes directly with the DC-10 and the L-1011 Tristar tri-jets and sits between the 747-200 and the 707.
Boeing sought to provide a long-range aircraft with a passenger capacity of just 200, or roughly halfway between the 169-seat 707 and the 380-seat 747. Lockheed and McDonnell Douglas both saw an opportunity here. Instead of attempting to outdo jumbos with their own design, they chose to create an aircraft to fill the void. The DC-10 and L-1011, two of the most well-known tri-jets in the world, were created.
Boeing realized it had to close this gap right away or risk losing that market share for airplanes completely. Boeing’s chief engineer, Joe Sutter, recognized that redesigning one of its current models was the easiest and most affordable way to meet this need.
The Boeing 747SP story
Sutter’s solution was to shorten the existing 747 model, which reduced weight and made it more suitable for both domestic and international travel. Thus, the concept known at the time as the 747SB (Short Body) was created.
The biggest challenge Sutter and his team faced was emulating the fuel efficiency of the tri-jet competitors. A three-engine design was one of the suggestions made, with the rationale being that getting rid of an engine would automatically reduce fuel consumption by 33% and add nearly seven tons of weight. Like the other tri-jets, this would have one engine in the tail and one under each wing.
The 747 wing would have needed to be extensively and expensively redesigned because this proved to be an engineering challenge that was too challenging.
Pan Am’s requirement
Pan Am announced it was searching for an aircraft to fly “long and thin” routes that were too long for the existing DC-10 and L1011, but for which a standard 747 offered too much capacity, in the midst of this redesign process.
To fill this void, Douglas and Lockheed were already developing long-range versions of their widebodies. However, this proved to be too difficult an engineering challenge and would have required a time-consuming and expensive redesign of the 747 wing. It was ultimately decided that Boeing’s best course of action was to stick with the four-engine design and seek improved fuel economy by saving weight in other areas of the plane.
The 747SP (Special Performance) model was given its name in 1973, and the Boeing board gave its approval in September of that same year. Within a few weeks, Pan Am placed an order for ten aircraft, with the option to purchase an additional fifteen, with deliveries set to start in 1976. The $280 million Pan Am deal gave the 747SP project the impetus it required to get the project running at speed. According to Boeing, there was a market for 214 aircraft, and 45 would be needed to break even financially.
Features and Design
The 747SP can accommodate about 280 passengers and is 48 feet and 4 inches shorter than a full-size 747 (equivalent in length to the modern 767-300). Due to the removal of fuselage sections from in front of and behind the wings and a redesigned center section, the initial design weight was reduced by 11,000 pounds.
The wings were made of lighter materials, and the intricate triple-slotted flaps of the 747-100/200 series were replaced by simpler single-slotted flaps. On full-size 747s, the under-wing “canoes” that housed the flap mechanisms were completely eliminated.
In total, an empty 747SP weighed about 45,000 pounds less than an empty 747-200.
A double hinged rudder, an increase of ten feet in horizontal stabilizer span, a slight increase in vertical stabilizer height, and a tapering of the upper fuselage into the empennage were additional distinguishing features. To improve airflow, the center fuselage section had to be redesigned, which also called for a redesign of the wing fillets.
The 747SP exceeded many of its design projections and was demonstrated to be a very strong performer. It had a much lighter airframe but had the same power as a full-size 747. Boeing decided to demonstrate that capability on November 12, 1975, when it flew the fourth 747SP nonstop with 200 passengers from New York to Tokyo (a distance of 6,927 miles) in 13 hours, 33 minutes, breaking the previous record. The aircraft still had over 30,000 pounds of fuel in it after landing.
The end of the 747SP
The 747SP continued to perform superbly, breaking numerous speed and distance records. Nevertheless, despite its impressive numbers, the 747SP’s operating environment was quickly altered by changes in airline economics. This was caused in part by the 747-200B’s ongoing improvements, airline deregulation in the US, and rising fuel costs globally.
Financially troubled Pan Am initially expressed interest in 25 aircraft, but ultimately only accepted their initial order of ten; however, they later added another 747SP, previously ordered and owned by Braniff.
Only two were taken by Qantas.
The flow of orders for the Boeing 747SP quickly slowed to a trickle, with the majority of them consisting of just a few planes. On August 30, 1982, the 44th 747SP produced in regular production was delivered to the Iraqi government.
Five years later, Boeing consented to allow one more 747SP to be built for the United Arab Emirates on the 747SP production line. On March 31, 1987, that aircraft made its first flight.
After rolling out its 45th aircraft, Boeing permanently stopped production on the 747SP line.
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The Boeing 747SP was not a shortened 747. It was a new design with a shorter fuselage and larger wings. The SP in the designation stands for Special Performance. The SP was designed to fly long range routes with a reduced fuel burn.