Question for aircraft buffs..what's this Boeing???
Discussion
I flew into Phoenix the other day, and there was a large private plane on the apron...it has the front end of a 747, including the second deck but the rest of the plane is shrunkens a Saudi style insignia on the tail with crossed scimitars and is clearly private. I got a very bad pic below bout could not get the important side view...sorry..
RDMcG said:
I flew into Phoenix the other day, and there was a large private plane on the apron...it has the front end of a 747, including the second deck but the rest of the plane is shrunkens a Saudi style insignia on the tail with crossed scimitars and is clearly private. I got a very bad pic below bout could not get the important side view...sorry..
You have my sympathy having to fly in to Garret town .RDMcG said:
FourWheelDrift said:
Although it looks like yours is a Qatar Amiri aircraft - 
Precisely correct...many thanks.It belongs to Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, the ex Emir of Qatar. Up stairs is just like first class in a normal 747, down stairs you have bedroom, shower with full bathroom, State Room, Office, Lounge and at the back more first class seating for the staff.
A nice plane.
Edited by Extra 300 Driver on Sunday 23 November 19:48
Bushmaster said:
The SP is for 'special performance', IIRC it has greater range and is faster than regular jumbos.
Apart from having a significantly shorter fuselage and one fewer cabin door per side, the 747SP differs from other 747 variants in having simplified flaps and a taller vertical tail to counteract the decrease in yaw moment-arm from the shortened fuselage. The 747SP uses single-piece flaps on the trailing edges, rather than the smaller triple-slotted flaps of standard 747s. The SP was also the first—and until the introduction of the Boeing 777-200LR, the only—Boeing widebody with a wingspan greater than the length of the fuselage.The SP could accommodate 230 passengers in a 3-class cabin or 331 in a (303 economy, 28 business) 2-class cabin, and a maximum of 440 passengers in one class. Originally designated 747SB for "short body", it later was nicknamed "Sutter's balloon" by employees after 747 chief engineer Joe Sutter. Boeing later changed the production designation to 747SP for "special performance", reflecting the aircraft's longer range and faster cruise speed. Pan Am was the launch customer for the 747SP, taking the first delivery, Clipper Freedom, on March 5, 1976, followed by Iran Air.
The 747SP was the longest-range airliner available until the 747-400 entered service in 1987. Despite its technical achievements, the SP never sold as well as Boeing hoped. Increased fuel prices in the mid 70s to early 80s, the SP's heavy wings, reduced capacity, and the increased ranges of forthcoming airliners were some of the many factors that contributed to its low sales. Only 45 were built and of those remaining, most are used by operators in the Middle East. However, some of the engineering work on the 747SP was reused with the development of the 747-300 and 747-400. In the 747SP, the upper deck begins over the section of fuselage that contains the wingbox, not ahead of the wingbox as is the case with the 747-100 and 747-200. This same design was used in the 747-300 and 747-400 resulting in a stretched upper deck.
So true.The 747SP was of limited appeal to airlines for the reasons outlined above. The only customers for "new build" 747SPs were Pan Am, Iran Air and South African Airlines. The only reason the latter two airlines bought them was because, in the 1970s, they were both prohibited from overflying countries which didn't like the ruling regimes in Iran (the Shah) or South Africa (the Apartheid Era). They had to fly "the long way round" on many of their long distance routes.
Once the 747-400 emerged, the 747SP was superfluous.
Once the 747-400 emerged, the 747SP was superfluous.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff