For the most part, nobody ever talks about the Boeing 747SP, the shortest variant of the famous Boeing 747. The aircraft only sold 45 copies, making it the rarest 747 ever built, but was it a failure?
The introduction of the 747SP was inspired by Douglas’ (and later McDonnel Douglas’) DC-10 and MD-11, and later Lockheed’s famed commercial failure, the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.
Pre-747SP
Boeing had released their 747-100 aircraft in January 1970. At the time, the aircraft was the largest airliner ever built, and drew crowds no matter what the route, and netted the airlines profits like they’d never seen before!
Within a couple of years, Boeing had delivered over 200 copies of the aircraft. In the hopes of making the most money out them, airlines had placed the 747 on its long distance and high demand routes.
This saved the airline millions of dollars in extra fuel and airport fees on its highest demand routes. However, for its long haul, mid-demand routes, the savings were substantially less, even worse than they had been before.
You see, the 747 was designed for transatlantic flights, between places like JFK and Heathrow. However, it was also being used on routes like New York to Tehran, which were longer in distance, which the 747-100 was able to handle.
As such, these flights were often had two legs, one from New York to London/Paris and the other from London/Paris to Tehran. This killed profits as airlines still had to pay two lots of fuel and airport fees.
People were flying the routes, in some cases, quite a lot, but the routes weren’t profitable. As such, airlines demanded an aircraft that could carry as many people as the 747, but with a much longer range.
Development
Boeing engineers heard these demands and soon began tinkering away in the early-to-mid 1970’s. At the time, a huge economic recession was in tow, however, the aviation industry was relatively unaffected.
Despite this, Boeing couldn’t afford to develop an all-new aircraft. This was mostly due to Boeing bankrolling several military contract designs, as well as those for the Boeing 757 and 767.
As such, they used the Boeing 747 as the basis for their new aircraft. However, the aircraft had to serve two purposes: a mid point between the 747 and 767, and have a much longer range than any Boeing aircraft before it.
Boeing initially designated the aircraft as the Boeing 747SB, standing for “Short body”. However, Boeing engineers referred to the aircraft as the “Sutter’s balloon” in reference to Joe Sutter, the 747’s chief designer.
However, Boeing executives didn’t like the designation, so soon decided on a new designation- the Boeing 747SP, standing for “Special performance”.
Boeing engineers shortened the 747-100’s fuselage, which made the 747SP lighter and gave it 40 less seats. This was the primary reason why the 747SP was the longest range 747 until the 747-400 was released in February 1989.
Service
After the 747SP’s first flight in July 1974, it would soon enter service with Pan Am in early 1975. From here, the 747SP would go on to have a long and detailed service history, with that continuing to this very day!
Commercial
Pan Am was the launch customer for the Boeing 747SP, as it had been for the 747-100. As such, Pan Am took possession of the first 747SPs, and soon phased out older turboprop and jet aircraft that the 747SP would replace.
Following Pan Am, Iran’s nation carrier, Iran Air, would become the second airline to operate the 747SP, as it had followed Pan Am’s lead and purchased the aircraft for its popular New York-Tehran route.
After delivering the 747SP to Pan Am and Iran Air, a further 35 other airlines would operate the 747SP in some capacity. For many of these airlines, the aircraft would serve as the airline’s flag carrier during its service.
Many airlines would operate the aircraft as its only aircraft, usually with the airline only owning one of the type. Many more airlines would use the 747SP in their marketing, mostly to show their grandeur.
By the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, most 747SPs had been retired. Several attempts were made to try to make the aircraft a cargo aircraft, however, this couldn’t be done in any way that made the airlines money.
VIP Aircraft
Due to the 747SP’s larger size and opulence, combined with its abilities to fly to airports with shorter runways, it soon became a hit with celebrities, governments and corporations alike!
Before the aircraft was even launched, Boeing had already received an order for one 747SP by the Royal Flight of Abu Dhabi. Several other government orders would soon follow.
The Bruneian, Omani, Bahraini, Yemeni and Qatari governments would all follow suit in the coming years, as would the Dubai Royal Air Wing. These 747SPs would serve as VIP transport for the countries’ royal and government officials.
Due to the aircraft’s size and opulence, it would soon become a favorite of the luxury air charter divisions of large airlines. Often, these were the largest and most expensive aircraft available for charter.
Today, many of these aircraft have been retired, as they are too old and expensive to fly. Whilst the vast majority of these have been stored in aircraft graveyards, a few have been sold to private individuals.
Some of these have become corporate jets for a handful of large corporations who need to transport a large amount of people around in style. Many more have been used by celebrities to show the extent of their fame.
NASA
In 1996, NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) created a joint venture to construct and maintain an airborne space observatory. Both parties wanted an aircraft that could fit all the equipment in, and fly long routes.
Several aircraft were considered by the two parties, with both parities also approaching their national aircraft manufacturers for a solution. In the end, the 747SP was chosen.
Both parties chose to modify and operate a used aircraft, rather than buying a brand new one. The aircraft chosen was a recently retired former Pan Am 747SP, which was being stored by the airline in the Mojave Desert.
Upon purchasing the aircraft from Pan Am, NASA and DLR removed all the aircraft’s Pan Am insignia, repainting it in a joint NASA and DLR livery. The organizations also gutted the aircraft’s interior.
Here, the two organizations placed one of the most powerful telescopes ever made in the fuselage. The fuselage of the aircraft also has a few seats and a lot of scientific equipment to decipher what the telescope sees.
A few years ago, NASA discovered oxygen on Mars, for the first time in 40 years. This was because of the NASA-DLR 747SP. The aircraft has also photographed some of the most famous pictures of space in history!
Testbed
Due to the aircraft’s large size, yet relatively cheap fuel economy (at least compared to other 747 variants) and longer range, the Boeing 747SP has become a favorite testbed for multiple companies.
Perhaps the most famous use of the 747SP as a testbed is by Pratt & Whitney Canada. For the most part, the aircraft is used as a testbed for engine prototypes and modifications.
Originally, these engines were tested on the 747SP, and if successful, would then be implemented on other 747 variants and/or other large cargo and transport aircraft.
Today, these engines are tested on the extremely heavy 747SP. If they are successful, they are then modified and used on smaller twinjet aircraft that require longer ranges.
Pratt & Whitney (in America) has also used the aircraft on several occasions for its own testing. As of the time of writing, Pratt & Whitney Canada own and operate two Boeing 747SPs.
However, they expect to be using newer twinjet aircraft within the next decade in order to cut down on maintenance, fuel and labor costs.
Specifications
At least by Boeing standards, the Boeing 747SP didn’t sell that well. As such, Boeing only made one variant: the standard 747SP. For the most part, it has similar specs to the 747-100 and 747-200, however, is slightly altered.
For the most part, this is to do with fuselage length, runway length and range, however, Boeing did alter some other things along the way…
| Specifications | Boeing 747SP |
|---|---|
| Length | 184 ft 9 in (56.31 m) |
| Wingspan | 195 ft 8 in (59.64 m) |
| Height | 65 ft 10 in (20 m) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Seats | 276 – 331 |
| Cruise Speed | Mach 0.86 (914 km/h; 660 mph; 493 kn) |
| Range | 7,650 mi (12,320 km; 6,650 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 45,100 feet (13,700 m) |
| MTOW | 696,000 lb (315,700 kg) |
How Safe Was The Boeing 747SP?
Unless you are a test pilot, or happen to be a high-up government official in Oman or another country that still operates the 747SP, it’s unlikely you’ll ever fly in one. Regardless, it’s still important to know how safe/dangerous the aircraft is/was.
In its 41 year history, the Boeing 747SP only ever have three incidents, resulting in no fatalities whatsoever. This makes the 747SP among the safest aircraft to have ever flown.
The most recent of these incidents occurred in March 2015, in Yemen. At the moment, the Yemeni civil war is still ongoing, with pro and anti-government forces fighting one another.
In March 2015, Yemeni rebel forces shot down the president of Yemen’s state aircraft, a 747SP. Luckily, there were no fatalities, however, the aircraft was completely destroyed by the ensuing fire.
The 747SP has been involved in two previous incidents, with both issues stemming from the aircraft’s engines. Ill-maintained 747SP engines have a tendency to catch on fire.
This has been seen on two occasions, both in the 1980’s. Luckily, the pilots were able to land the aircraft safely and the passengers were relatively unharmed, with only two injuries having come from the aircraft.
How Successful Was the Boeing 747SP?
When Boeing launched the Boeing 747SP, they expected that the aircraft would sell as well, if not better, than the 747-100. As such, they estimated that the 747SP would sell around 200 copies.
By the time the last 747SP had left the production line in 1987, Boeing had only produced a mere 45 747SPs. Boeing closed production lines of the 747SP in 1982, before reopening them until 1987 due orders from the UAE.
Over 30 years later, the 747SP is Boeing’s worst selling 747 variant. Even other “unsuccessful” 747 variants like the Boeing 747-300 sold far more copies than the 747SP did. As such, Boeing does consider it a failure.
If you were to talk with the aviation community as a whole, the vast majority would agree with Boeing’s stance. However, a few would disagree, as it was only a “minor” failure, as it still made Boeing a lot of money.
A few of them also pointed out another interesting fact: lifespan. The vast majority of first generation 747-100s were converted into freighters after their service life was over. Today, they have all been retired or scrapped.
The 747SP on the other hand, is still alive and kicking, even if it is only barely. Some of the oldest 747SPs in existence are still flying in various different capacities.
It may not have sold well, but people today can still see the 747SP fly, and not just heritage flights as museums!
Legacy
Despite being seen as a failure by Boeing and the aviation community as a whole, the 747SP did leave a huge legacy on the aviation industry as a whole, including on Boeing and future aircraft.
Boeing
Whilst the 747SP was almost certainly a commercial failure, it did prove to Boeing that private individuals and governments alike did want the 747. People wanted an executive aircraft that was opulent, but could also transport large amounts of people.
A few years after releasing the 747SP, the US President retired the VC-137 as the official state aircraft. With a few major modifications, the 747-200 would serve as Air Force One for the United States up until this day!
Although not the only inspiring factor, the 747SP would inadvertently inspire the Boeing Business Jet program that would come into effect several decades later. This uses the same logic as the 747SP state aircraft theory did.
Boeing also realized that if its attempt at supersonic aircraft continued to fail, the 747 would remain as its flagship aircraft. With this, it would need to transport more people over a much longer distance.
Boeing 747SP
For the most part, all the 747SPs have been retired from commercial service. They are simply too old to continue to operate and still make a considerable profit.
Iranian national flag carrier, Iran Air, was the last carrier to operate regularly scheduled 747SP flights, with them having retired the 747SP in 2016.
The vast majority of these have been retired and stored in the various aircraft graveyards around the world. A few have been scrapped for parts for other 747 aircraft, whilst others have simply been destroyed.
As of the time of writing, the aircraft only remains in service as a state aircraft, or as a private jet. Both NASA and Pratt & Whitney Canada also use the aircraft as a testbed for their future systems.
Future Aircraft
The introduction of the 747SP frightened both Douglas Aircraft (later McDonnell Douglas) and Lockheed. Whilst their aircraft were cheaper to buy and to operate, they couldn’t carry as many people.
Both companies worried that Boeing make steal their market with the much larger 747SP. As such, they began work on stretched variants of their aircraft that could compete with the 747SP.
The 747SP showed to both aircraft manufacturers and to airlines that range and cheaper economics was becoming the future, even if this future would be several decades in the future.
Boeing would continue to develop other jets to fit into the role that the 747SP should have. These jets include other subsequent variants of the 747, as well as other jets like the 757, 767 and 777 and even the 787!
Did you ever fly on the Boeing 747SP? What was it like? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Heinz via Flickr.