Airliner Classics - July 2018

W

hen its revolutionary Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo

Jet’ entered service in early 1970, Boeing

found itself with the largest passenger-

carrying airliner in the world.

It soon became obvious that no other manufacturer

could compete with the mighty 747 in terms of mass

transportation; so some chose to concentrate on filling

the airline’s other needs.

Capability gap

With the Boeing 707 seating up to 170 passengers and the

new 747 catering for upwards of 380, the likes of Douglas

and Lockheed realised there was capability gap for a jetliner

capable of seating nearer 250.

Douglas’ tri-jet DC-10 first flew in August 1970 and

Lockheed’s three-engined L-1011 TriStar followed it into

the skies in November of the same year. Both were selling

Special Performance

Th e

747SP

Story

30 AIRLINER Classics 2018