Boeing 747SP

The Boeing 747SP, for Special Performance, is a shortened version of the Boeing 747 wide-body airliner designed for longer range, and it is the highest flying subsonic passenger airliner, with a service ceiling of 45,100 feet. Boeing built it to meet a requirement for a smaller long-range aircraft to compete with the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, after Pan Am asked for a 747-100 derivative to fly between New York and the Middle East, a request Iran Air shared. Pan Am placed the first order in 1973. The SP first flew on 4 July 1975, was approved by the FAA on 4 February 1976 and entered service that year with Pan Am. At 184 feet 9 inches it is 47 feet shorter than the original 747, with larger tailplanes and simplified flaps, and at 700,000 pounds maximum take-off weight it can carry 276 passengers over 5,830 nautical miles. The last was delivered in 1987 and only 45 were produced; one became the SOFIA infrared observatory.