The 747SP (Special Performance) first flew on 4 July 1975. Boeing drastically shortened the fuselage to cut weight and stretch range, chasing ultra-long non-stop routes no other aircraft of its day could fly.
Only 45 were built: its niche proved too narrow, but its distance records and its second life as a science platform —one flew as the SOFIA airborne observatory— made it the family's most peculiar variant.