Boeing 747SP
Special Performance — the short, stubby 747 built for range · First flight 1975 · In service 1976
The 747SP (Special Performance) was born from a joint request by Pan Am and Iran Air for a big jet that could fly New York–Middle East and Tehran–New York non-stop. Boeing removed fuselage sections ahead of and behind the wing, making it about 14 m shorter than the -100, and gave it a taller fin, larger tailplanes and simpler single-slotted flaps. It first flew on 4 July 1975 and entered service in 1976.
Lighter but with the same wing, the SP was the longest-range airliner in the world until the 747-400 arrived in 1989, and with a service ceiling of 45,100 ft it is the highest-flying subsonic airliner. In May 1976 Pan Am's "Liberty Bell Express" flew around the world from New York with only two stops in 46 hours and 26 minutes.
Only 45 were built. The line closed in 1982 but reopened in 1987 for one last aircraft for the Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight. The most famous SP of all, ex-Pan Am "Clipper Lindbergh", flew from 2007 to 2022 as NASA and DLR's SOFIA airborne observatory, carrying a 2.5 m infrared telescope.
