General Electric Flying Testbed Boeing 747
After the loss of the CX-HLS USAF contract to Lockheed in 1965 (in what would become the C-5 Galaxy), Boeing, in conjunction with Pan American Airways, began studying a large passenger aircraft twice the size of the 707-320 and loosely based on the CX-HLS proposal. Various fuselage designs were considered until it was settled on a wide, single-deck type. However, concern that the proposed 747 would soon be superseded by supersonic airliners and would be relegated to hauling freight led Boeing to move the cockpit above the main fuselage, creating the 747’s distinctive bulge. The 747 was also the first airliner to use high-bypass turbofans and had a much higher emphasis on redundant systems. An entirely new plant at Renton, WA, USA had to be built just to assemble the huge aircraft, and it had to be done quickly, as Boeing had promised the design to Pan Am in only four years. Development was relatively smooth and the 747-100 first flew in February 1969, entering revenue service in January 1970.
Because of the energy crisis of the early 1970s, sales of the behemoth 747 were at first slow, but then picked up with the introduction of the heavier and more powerful 747-200. After that, the 747 was every bit as successful as its predecessors. Later variants include the 747-300 (with a stretched upper deck), the 747-400 (with more fuel efficiency and range due to winglets, and a two-man “glass” cockpit), and the 747-800 (which is longer, more economic, and and quieter than earlier 747 variants). The 747, often referred to simply as the “jumbo jet,” is credited with bringing mass aerial transport finally within the reach of all but the most poor people.
I was not expecting to see a 747 at the Pima Air and Space Museum, much less an old 747-100. Nonetheless, here is N747GE, parked at one of the outlying hangars on what I presume is museum property (given the other aircraft around the hangar).
N747GE was built as the 25th 747 to come off the production line, and delivered to Pan American as N744PA. It served with Pan Am until the airline's demise in 1991, and was sold to General Electric in 1992. GE needed an engine testbed, so N747GE had most of the interior removed, the left wing strengthened to carry larger engines, and the tail strengthened as well. From 1992 until 2017, it tested most of the new engines fitted to airliners, including the 777, 787, the 747-8, the A380, 737MAX, and A320neo.
By 2010, N747GE was starting to get long in the tooth, so a former Japan Air Lines 747-400 was acquired by GE to supplement and eventually replace the older 747-100. In 2017, N747GE was finally retired--the oldest 747 still flying at the time.
Given its immaculate appearance and the fact that museum visitors can't get close to it, I assumed that N747GE was still operational, but that is no longer the case. It will be donated for display at Pima, where it will be welcome alongside the museum's 727, 737, 777 and 787.
General Electric Flying Testbed Boeing 747
After the loss of the CX-HLS USAF contract to Lockheed in 1965 (in what would become the C-5 Galaxy), Boeing, in conjunction with Pan American Airways, began studying a large passenger aircraft twice the size of the 707-320 and loosely based on the CX-HLS proposal. Various fuselage designs were considered until it was settled on a wide, single-deck type. However, concern that the proposed 747 would soon be superseded by supersonic airliners and would be relegated to hauling freight led Boeing to move the cockpit above the main fuselage, creating the 747’s distinctive bulge. The 747 was also the first airliner to use high-bypass turbofans and had a much higher emphasis on redundant systems. An entirely new plant at Renton, WA, USA had to be built just to assemble the huge aircraft, and it had to be done quickly, as Boeing had promised the design to Pan Am in only four years. Development was relatively smooth and the 747-100 first flew in February 1969, entering revenue service in January 1970.
Because of the energy crisis of the early 1970s, sales of the behemoth 747 were at first slow, but then picked up with the introduction of the heavier and more powerful 747-200. After that, the 747 was every bit as successful as its predecessors. Later variants include the 747-300 (with a stretched upper deck), the 747-400 (with more fuel efficiency and range due to winglets, and a two-man “glass” cockpit), and the 747-800 (which is longer, more economic, and and quieter than earlier 747 variants). The 747, often referred to simply as the “jumbo jet,” is credited with bringing mass aerial transport finally within the reach of all but the most poor people.
I was not expecting to see a 747 at the Pima Air and Space Museum, much less an old 747-100. Nonetheless, here is N747GE, parked at one of the outlying hangars on what I presume is museum property (given the other aircraft around the hangar).
N747GE was built as the 25th 747 to come off the production line, and delivered to Pan American as N744PA. It served with Pan Am until the airline's demise in 1991, and was sold to General Electric in 1992. GE needed an engine testbed, so N747GE had most of the interior removed, the left wing strengthened to carry larger engines, and the tail strengthened as well. From 1992 until 2017, it tested most of the new engines fitted to airliners, including the 777, 787, the 747-8, the A380, 737MAX, and A320neo.
By 2010, N747GE was starting to get long in the tooth, so a former Japan Air Lines 747-400 was acquired by GE to supplement and eventually replace the older 747-100. In 2017, N747GE was finally retired--the oldest 747 still flying at the time.
Given its immaculate appearance and the fact that museum visitors can't get close to it, I assumed that N747GE was still operational, but that is no longer the case. It will be donated for display at Pima, where it will be welcome alongside the museum's 727, 737, 777 and 787.