Boeing 747SP

E15965

Boeing 747 variant long-range airliner wide-body airliner

The Boeing 747SP is a shortened, long-range variant of the Boeing 747 airliner, notable for its use in specialized roles such as NASA’s SOFIA airborne observatory.

Aliases (3)

Statements (53)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Boeing 747 variant → long-range airliner → wide-body airliner →
aircraftType	wide-body jet →
airframeModifiedFor	Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy →
alsoKnownAs	Special Performance 747 →
countryOfOrigin	United States →
crew	2 flight crew plus cabin crew →
derivativeOf	Boeing 747-100 →
designGoal	increased range → reduced fuselage length →
engineModel	Pratt & Whitney JT9D → Rolls-Royce RB211 →
engineType	turbofan →
enteredServiceWith	Pan American World Airways →
firstFlight	1975-07-04 →
fuselageConfiguration	twin-aisle →
fuselageLengthComparedTo747-100	shortened →
height	19.33 m →
introduced	1976 →
length	56.31 m →
manufacturer	Boeing Commercial Airplanes →
marketedFor	ultra-long-haul routes →
maximumRange	approximately 12,300 km →
maximumTakeoffWeight	approximately 700,000 lb →
nameMeaning	SP stands for Special Performance →
notableFeature	shortened fuselage with long-range capability → shorter upper deck than later 747 variants →
notableUse	SOFIA airborne observatory →
numberBuilt	45 →
numberOfEngines	4 →
originalSOFIAOperator	Pan American World Airways →
partOfSeries	Boeing 747 family →
primaryUser	Iran Air → Pan American World Airways → Qantas → South African Airways → Trans World Airlines →
productionEnd	1987 →
productionStart	1975 →
registrationOfSOFIAAircraft	N747NA →
role	VIP transport → airborne observatory platform → passenger airliner →
seatingCapacity	around 230 passengers →
seatingConfiguration	three-class → two-class →
status	largely retired from commercial service → out of production →
typicalCruiseSpeed	Mach 0.85 →
usedBy	German Aerospace Center → NASA →
wingspan	59.64 m →

Referenced by (7)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
SOFIA airborne observatory operations ("N747NA") →	aircraftRegistration
Boeing 747SP ("Special Performance 747") →	alsoKnownAs
Deutsches SOFIA Institut ("Boeing 747SP SOFIA aircraft") →	associatedWith
Boeing 747 →	hasVariant
Boeing 747SP ("N747NA") →	registrationOfSOFIAAircraft
Pratt & Whitney JT9D →	usedOnAircraft
SOFIA airborne observatory operations →	usesVehicle