Chennault International Airport Lake Charles, Louisiana
Recently, aviation enthusiasts in Louisiana enjoyed a rare sight. A Boeing 747 SP landed at Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles. This Boeing 747 operates under the Pratt & Whitney Corporation. It's uncommon to see one outside its usual operating airfields. But on this occasion, the Jumbo jet was en route to Chennault International in Louisiana, and I was on my way.
The 747 SP is a shortened version of the classic 747 jumbo jets. The SP's fuselage is forty-seven feet shorter. It has larger vertical and horizontal tail fins. It also has a simpler wing flap design than a standard 747-100. Boeing designed the 747 SP as a longer-range variant of the 747-100. In 1979, its design offered an alternative to the new Douglas, DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 wide-body airliners. Unfortunately for Boeing, the sales for the new 747SP design did not meet expectations. As a result, they produced only forty-five of these unique aircraft. Of the forty-five built, only five remain airworthy today. The Pratt & Whitney Corporation operates this particular SP as a flight test platform in Longueuil, Canada.
New engine designs must undergo rigorous testing in real-world flight conditions as part of the approval process. This includes weather variations. It involves flight durations and different thrust settings for take-off and landing. Pratt & Whitney operates two Boeing 747SPs for the sole purpose of these real-world flight tests. The aircraft's performance and size allow for comfortable safety margins. Some test flights can take up to eight hours to replicate a standard commercial flight.
The nature of Pratt & Whitney's visit is pure speculation for those of us who are not in the know. However, I believe it was due to Sands Aviation’s 747 SP. The plane was critically damaged during Hurricane Laura while undergoing maintenance at Chennault.
As an aviation fan, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to see this rare jumbo jet. I wanted to get some photos while it was on the ground and taking off. It's not often such a rare and exciting aircraft in Louisiana, so it was worth the trip for those who could see it.
Pratt Whitney Boeing 747 SP ( C-PFAW ) jumbo jet airliner departs Chennault International Airport with the Las Vegas Sands 747 SP ( VQ-BMS ) in the background, which was damaged during Hurricane Laura.
“Queen of the skies” The landing gear retracts on departure from Chennault International Airport
The SP, with a higher thrust-to-weight ratio than the original 747, makes the aircraft quite the performer. That extra performance could very well play a role when using the SP for engine testing by adding an even greater safety margin.
The 747 SP, with its extended range, could fly nonstop from New York in the United States to Tokyo, Japan non-stop, with plenty of fuel to spare. The SP line launched with a 10-plane order from Pan Am. Only 45 were built, with the last aircraft delivered in the late 1980s. Out of the 45, only four of them are still flying regularly.
Out of the four still flying, Pratt Whitney owns two. Charlie Foxtrot Papa Whiskey C-FPAW and Charlie Golf Tango Foxtrot Foxtrot C-GTF.
Long after the last private airframes are retired, and NASA, unfortunately, ends their flights with SOFIA, it's entirely possible that Pratt Whitney's last two 747s may just become the last 747 SPs flying in the world.