Trigger Happy,
(1) Why is the rudder split on a 747? - Separate Hydraulic supplies allows for redundancy in the event of hydraulic failure OR jam of one rudder.
(2) Why does the 747 SP have a larger tail? - Much shorter fuselage providing less moment arm for directional stability / control, hence compensated for in having a larger Fin and Rudder surface.
(3)The duties of a SO and how they differ on the Classic? - Sorry, don't work for QF.
Keith Williams - Sorry Keith, felt kinda bad to pick at your excellent submission, but QF above any other operator that I know would pick on just such a thing. Very very Ultra big on performance, or at least they used to be.
Regards,
Smokey