N540PA Pan Am Boeing 747SP-21 makes a spirited departure down runway 28R at London Heathrow

The Boeing Collection
From a collection of some 500 Boeing slides that I've had scanned from my archives. Hope they will provide some enjoyment and nostalgia from a bygone age.

The gentle art of panning :)) One of Pan Am's small fleet of ten Boeing 747SP-21s is seen here about to lift off from runway 28R at Heathrow. Photo snatched from the top level of either Car Park 1A or Car Park 3. I took very few shots from this vantage point, favouring Car Park 2. I took very few shots of Pan Am 747s at Heathrow as they were just far too common! I had a soft spot for the SPs though, and managed a couple of shots before they disappeared from the scene.

N540PA 'Clipper White Falcon' c/n 21743 - Boeing 747SP-21 was delivered new to Pan Am in May 1979, the last of the small fleet of ten 747SPs that they operated in the 1970s and 80s. The aircraft operated with Pan Am for seven years before passing to United Airlines as N149UA early in 1986. In 1993 the aircraft was leased to Tajik Air [Tajikistan], and then two years later it was sold to the Brunei Royal Flight as a VIP aircraft registered V8-JBB, later V8-JP1, V8-AC1 and then the Bahrain Emiri Flight as A9C-ISA in 1998, later A9C-HHH and A9C-HMH. In 2008, the aircraft passed to Interface Operations Bermuda as VQ-BMS. On 27th Aug 2020 serious damage to a wing and the nose was sustained, the damage caused by hurricane Laura. Unluckily, the aircraft was then w/o in a hangar incident at Marana Regional, Tucson in Oct 2020 - the end of a varied flying career.

Pan Am and the Boeing 747 - Pan Am was the first airline to place an order for the Boeing 747, ordering more than $500m worth of aircraft in 1966. The airline, helmed by the innovative and well-known Juan Trippe, ordered 25 747s, coming out to about $20 million each. It became the launch customer and operator for the type, operating its first revenue flight in January 1970 on the prestigious New York to London-Heathrow route.

Between 1969 and 1991, Pan Am would receive 65 Boeing 747s, according to Planespotters.net. Of these, 44 were 747-100s, 10 were 747-200s, and 11 were 747SPs.

After about 20 years of operation, in 1991, Pan Am was already under bankruptcy protection, and it closed its doors for good in December of that year.

Taken with a Soviet made Zenith E camera and 300mm lens. From an original slide, scanned and unrestored.

You can see a random selection of my aviation memories here: www.flickriver.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/random/

Taken in: UK / England / Hillingdon / Heathrow (show map)

Taken on: August 1, 1979

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