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The Museum of Flight's Jumbo jet aircraft was the first 747 ever built - serial number 001. It first flew on February 9, 1969 over Western Washington. Later, this aircraft served as a testbed for 747 systems improvements and new engine developments for other Boeing commercial jets, including the state-of-the-art Boeing 777 engine program.
Boeing NB-47E. Used as testbed by USN. MASDC, Tucson Arizona, August 1978. Scanned from Kodak Kodachrome transparency.
That was an unexpected shot! We went to Büchel AFB to see if we could get some German Tonkas, and the only one we got was probably the rarest!
98+79 is a testbed for the next upgrade of the Tornado fleet, the ASSTA 3.1 (Avionic System Software Tornado ADA).
Here it is seen landing in Büchel after a test flight, with 2 AGM-88 HARM antiradar missiles.
A Gulfstream G-III operated by G&G Aero as a sensor pod testbed banks away from the camera ship at sunset over the Arizona desert.
Shot in coordination with the Centre of Aviation Photography for an upcoming article I'm writing on G&G.
Conrail's BUEN of the 15th of May 1993 rolls south on the Northern Central. Behind the usual SD60M/SD40-2 duo is a four-of-a-kind GM SD60MAC demonstrator, being delivered to Conrail for testing for a few weeks.
Painted in a special GM/Burlington Northern scheme, the SD60MAC series paved the way for the thousands of AC-powered EMDs to come. The 9503 spent some time in the BN coal pool, then went back to EMD as a testbed. Conrail never bought the SD60MAC (no one did), but Conrail stepped up for SD80MACs and SD70MACs later on.
The BUEN's counterpart was rolling north in this view from an overpass at Heckton.
✈ 🇯🇵 #JA731J #JapanAirlines #JAL #JL #Boeing #B777-300ER #Painted #SkyEco #RWY #Paris #CDG #LFPG #France #AWP #CHR
@ JAPAN AIRLINES | B773 | JA731J
• Country : JA | Japan 🇯🇵
Aircraft Type Built as Boeing 777-346ER
• Manufacturer Serial Number : msn 32431 / 429
• First Flight : 6 Apr 2003
• Production Site : Everett (PAE)
Airframe Status
• 2003-2004 : Boeing N5016R Second 777-300ER Test Aircraft
• 2004-present : JAL JA731J
Photo taken by Norbert Kröpfl. Scan kindly provided by Stephan Barth for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
January 1978
G-AXCK
BAC 111-401AK One-Eleven
90
Dan-Air London
G-AXCK in Dan-Air’s second 1-11 colour-scheme just before a snowstorm.
Dan-Air One-Elevens were regulars at Riem during the 1970s. G-AXCK would become the last One-Eleven to fly, making its last flight as the N164W electronic testbed with Northrop Grumman on 6 May 2019 from Baltimore/Washington (BWI).
Information from flick - thanks to Paul:
c/n 090. Delivered to American Airlines as N5044 in 1966. To Dan-Air as G-AXCK in 1969 then to Westinghouse Electric Corp as N164W in 1983 and used as a radar test aircraft, To Northrop Grumman Systems Corp in 1996. Still operational in 2018.
Registration details for this airframe:
www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-AXCK/834907
A report on N164W’s final mission including many photos:
photorecon.net/northrop-grummans-final-mission-in-the-bac...
This airframe as N5044 with American Airlines:
www.danairremembered.com/gallery/dan_axck4.jpg
G-AXCK with Dan-Air at PMI in February 1973 (earlier colours):
imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/6/1/9/0487916.jpg
Interior of G-AXCK in 1976:
www.danairremembered.com/gallery/dan_axck_interior.jpg
G-AXCK with Dan-Air landing at Riem in February 1981 (later colours):
cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/26893_1483109268.jpg
This airframe as N164W with Westinghouse at BWI in October 1985 (basic Dan-Air colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/23032926@N05/4968865269
N164W with Northrop Grumman at BWI in May 2011:
www.flickr.com/photos/42637873@N06/5793534954
N164W with Northrop Grumman at BWI in March 2013 (later colours):
www.flickr.com/photos/planes/8574179445
N164W fly-by prior to its final landing at BWI on 6 May 2019:
photorecon.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/1May6flyby1.jpg
Scan from Kodachrome slide.
The low morning sun finds Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad (DL) M630 locomotive 1776 and M636 locomotive 3643 sitting quiet at Bridge 60. Number 1776 was built by Montreal Locomotive Works (under license from ALCO) in 1970 as Pacific Great Eastern 707, later BC Rail 707, and subsequently a GE testbed. Prior to May 2026 it was DL 3007, after which it was repainted into a semiquincentennial scheme inspired by the bicentennial scheme worn by Delaware & Hudson locomotives in the 1970s.
This restored Leyland National is based in Cumbria. It was new to Leyland Vehicles as a testbed for a new type of gearbox, hence the demonstrator livery. It also has a DAF engine, although this was a later modification.
C-FFDK, the Bombardier CSeries CS300 test bed seen here departing off RWY 04 at Belfast City Airport. Having made its public debut at the Paris Airshow this aircraft stopped off at Belfast to show the workers of Bombardier Belfast this new aircraft. The wings of the CSeries are manufactured in the facility in the background of the photo.
Nikkormat FTn w/Vivitar 28mm f 2.8 Prime on Agfachrome 100
Disney World
Walt Disney World Resort (commonly known as Walt Disney World or Disney World) is an entertainment and vacation resort complex located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Walt Disney Company.
Covering an approximate 27,000 acres (42 sq mi; 109 km2), Walt Disney World contains numerous recreational facilities designed to attract visitors for extended stays, including four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, conference centers, a competitive sports complex and a major shopping, dining and entertainment complex. Additionally, there are 31 Disney-owned resort hotels and one camping resort on the property, and many other non-Disney-operated hotels on and near the property.
Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was planned and conceptualized by Walt Disney in the 1960s. Walt's vision for the complex was to build a new, self-contained destination resort on ample land, as he felt Disneyland had become limited by the third-party establishments that had sprung up around it. "The Florida Project", as it was then known, was intended to present a distinct vision with its own diverse set of attractions. Walt's original plans called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow" (EPCOT), a planned community intended to serve as a testbed for new city-living innovations. Walt's original vision would not progress past conceptualization, as he died on December 15, 1966, during the initial planning of the complex before construction had begun. After his death, the company wrestled with the idea of whether to bring the Disney World project to fruition; however, Walt's older brother, Roy O. Disney, came out of retirement to ensure the project was realized.
Construction began in 1967, with the company abandoning the planned community concept, instead choosing to build a theme park resort similar to Disneyland. Magic Kingdom was the first theme park to open in the complex in 1971, followed by EPCOT (then known as EPCOT Center) in 1982, Disney's Hollywood Studios (then known as the Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park) in 1989, and Disney's Animal Kingdom in 1998. Initially known as Disney World, the name of the entire resort was named Walt Disney World at Roy's insistence, to memorialize his brother.
In 2024, Walt Disney World was the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an average annual attendance of more than 49 million, while Magic Kingdom has been the most visited theme park in the world for at least the past 24 years. The opening of Walt Disney World helped turn Central Florida into a major global tourism destination and the resort has contributed singificantly to Florida's economy, generating billions in economic activity and supporting a large number of jobs across the state. The resort is the largest single-site employer in the United States, the flagship destination of Disney's worldwide corporate enterprise and has become a staple of American popular culture.
Between my junior and senior year of high school I moved to Adrian, Missouri and attended school senior year at Drexel and graduated from there. The KCS was always an elusive one to me growing up on the opposite side of the state. So, with it suddenly within striking range, I spent a lot of time before and after school looking for gray EMD's as the "Retro Belle" deliveries really kicked into high gear as the Haywire reequipped their roster with modern power.
For months dozens of new SD70ACe's and ES44AC's showed up, most of them in glistening Southern Belle paint, some in primer at first, but they were all displacing the worn out SD40 variants they had all over the place. Long into the distant future, or so it seemed, was the CPKC Merger. Hell, at the date of this picture, the DM&E/IC&E acquisition by CP was still 29 days from being announced on September 4, 2007. It sure felt at the time that KCS was in it for another century, but that sure didn't end up being the case.
We moved in the day prior, and my first solo trip to the KCS Pittsburg Sub. armed with a highly advanced 5.0 megapixel Kodak Z740 and a Radio Shack scanner netted KCS Train M-KCSH-06 with an ultra rare EMD SD40X up front. KCS owned all 4 of these SD50 testbeds that were built curiously in 2 consecutive orders of 2 units, all in 8-1978. KCS 702 carried builder and frame number 786286-1, and served its entire career with the same number and initials—fairly rare for a locomotive of that era, escaping mergers and system renumbering programs.
Where is this stuff now? You guessed it, all scrapped or sold off, usually both. Where were you back then? Out shooting Retro Belles? Yeah, me too a lot of days. That sucks, huh? I probably should have chased this train to Oklahoma that day, but there was another one right behind it with who-knows-what on it, so we'll sit here and wait. Yikes, huh?
Locomotives: KCS 702, TFM 1428, TFM 1407
8-6-07
Drexel, MO
A PLM SD40X leads a wild consist of CP, D&H and NYS&W units on Susqhehanna HAN-1X. Included are both of NYS&Ws F45s. The train has passed under I-80 in Ridgefield Park as it nears the end of its journey. Today this area is occupied by Susquehanna's MC Yard and the surrounding area is quite built up. Thirty years ago, this location seemed almost bucolic and it was a good location to catch eastbounds arriving in the afternoon. 3041 was built by EMD in 1965 as a testbed for the 645 prime mover. Numbered EMDX 434B, it was built on an SD35 frame and included flared radiators similar to that of an SD45. Later SD40X models had standard radiators. It would become UP 3041 before being sold to PLM. Sadly this unique unit was reported as scrapped around 2010 after working for both MK and Helm Leasing.
NYS&W HAN-1X:
PLMX 3041 SD40X
CP 5672 SD40-2
DH 7324 GP38-2
NYSW 3638 F45
NYSW 3636 F45
NYSW 3614 SD45
EC-406, an Airbus A400M flying testbed climbing into its display routine at RIAT 2016. This aircraf is still used by Airbus Military in flight tests, hense the calibration markings on the rear fuseage. This aircraft previously carried the french test registration F-WWMZ
Don't ask me what OneWorld was doing here in Miami because I also asked myself the question... I say this because I live very close to the Miami International Airport.
Well, due to the confusion that this company may have, because it was a plane that passed by my sight, by chance, here I leave a note, I think it is important: Oneworld (stylized as oneworld; CRS: * O) is an airline alliance founded on February 1, 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance for the world's frequent international travelers. Its central alliance office is in New York, New York, United States. Its member airlines are American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines, as well as Fiji Airways as a connect partner and some 30 affiliated airlines. As of October 2017, Oneworld is the third-largest global alliance in terms of passengers with more than 527.9 million passengers carried, behind SkyTeam (630M) and Star Alliance (762M).
As of October 2017, its member airlines collectively operate a fleet of 3,447 aircraft, serve about 1,000 airports in more than 158 countries, carrying 527.9 million passengers per year on 12,738 daily departures, generating annual revenues of more than US $ 130 billion.
Boeing 747
Description
DescriptionThe Boeing 747 is a large, long–range wide-body airliner and cargo aircraft manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet 2½ times its size, to reduce its seat cost by 30% to democratize air travel.
First flight: February 9, 1969
Number built: 1,558 (incl. 2 undelivered Boeing testbeds) as of June 2020
Program cost: US$1B in 1968 (7.4B today)
Variants: Boeing 747SP; Boeing 747-400; Boeing 747-8; Boeing VC-25; Boeing E-4
Developed into: Boeing YAL-1; Boeing Dreamlifter
Manufacturer: Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Produced: 1968 to the present, it keeps flying and this model is still being made with different variants.
Gromov Flight Research Institute
FACT - Future Aircraft Control Testbed, used for developing fly-by-wire elements for fighter aircraft, on static display at MACKS 2019, Zhukovsky International Airport
29-08-2019
View from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport looking toward the Honeywell facility (former Garrett/AiResearch) August 2003. Camelback mountain in the background. Note the Boeing 720 testbed aircraft then in use. Later replaced with a 757.
The BAE Systems’ owned Jetstream (G-BWWW) is a unique aircraft. Known as ‘The Flying Testbed’; it is an aerial laboratory which has been developed to be flown by pilots or as an Uninhabited Air Vehicle (UAV). Here seen as it align itself on Warton Aerodrome's Runway 25.
Excerpt from the plaque:
The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star was the Canadian license-built-version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950’s to 2005.
The Canadair CT-133 was the result of a 1951 contract to build T-33 Shooting Star Trainers for the Royal Canadian Air Force. The power plant is a Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbojet instead of the Allison J33 used by Lockheed in the production of the original T-33. A project designation of CL-30 was given by Canadair and the name was changed to Silver Star. The appearance of the CT-133 is very distinctive due to the large fuel tanks usually carried on each wingtip.
A total of 656 CT-133 aircraft were built by Canadair.
The CT-133 entered service in the RCAF as its primary training aircraft for fighter/interceptors.
The CT-133 was reliable and had forgiving flight properties. Its service life in the RCAF was extremely long. One of the more unusual roles it played was as an aerobatic demonstration aircraft, the RCAF’s Red Knight. Although the aircraft stopped being used as a trainer in 1976, there were still over 50 aircraft in Canadian Forces inventory in 1995. The youngest of these airframes was then 37 years old and had exceeded its expected life by a factor of 2.5. During this period, the Canadair T-33 was employed in communication, target towing and enemy simulation.
The final Canadair Silver Star Mk. 3 was retired from the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada, where it was used as an ejection seat testbed after 46 years of service. CT-133 number 133648 was delivered to CFD Mountain View on 26 April 2005. Having been built in March 1959 as a CT-133 with original RCAF serial number 21648, it had reached a total of 11394.6 flight hours at the time of its retirement from military use. It has been sold on the civil market, along with fifteen other CT-133s. These aircrafts will join the fifty others on the United States Civil Register and continue to fly as a part of the living legacy of the early jet age.
Saab Gripen 39-7, the testbed for the next generation Gripen. Here we fly over the St. Anna archipelago just outside the hometown of Saab, Linköping, Sweden.
The photoship here was a Saab 105.
Sacrificed for structural testing, derelict VIA Rail equipment sits at CAD. At left is more ex-VIA Rail equipment - a testbed built on an LRC-3 frame.
Conrail ordered several different locomotive models that would become unique to only Conrail over the years, but perhaps none were quite as unique as the GE C32-8. These units were more or less pre-production Dash 8s that used a 12 cylinder FDL engine to produce 3,200 horsepower.
When Conrail went locomotive shopping in 1984, it wanted more 3,000 (or more) HP locomotives to finally be able to retire the last of its aging SD45, SD35, U30C, U33C, and U36C fleet. EMD got orders for another 40 SD50s, while GE received an order for 50 C30-7As (another model that would only be ordered by Conrail). Someone at GE apparently also talked Conrail into trying out the testbed for its new Dash 8 series, which wound up being the C32-8. Using the same 12 cylinder FDL as the C30-7A, the engine was tuned to produce an extra 200 HP. GE and Conrail would monitor these units in regular service for a few years, and the lessons learned from them would lead to the eventual C39-8 (which Conrail ordered 22 of) and ultimately the very popular C40-8 and C40-8W (of which Conrail would acquire nearly 300 of).
Working alongside their slightly less-powerful C30-7A cousins, primarily on Conrail's Boston Line, the C32-8s proved to be problematic. Oil leaks, blown turbos, and problems with the early microprocessor control systems would plague these units throughout their Conrail service lives. Conrail would eventually take the 10 units and assign them to ballast train service, painting them Mineral Gray and adding special "Ballast Express" lettering. Though MOW became their primary assignment, they could still be found working everything from intermodal to coal trains through the final few years of Conrail. The fleet would be split between CSX and NS in 1999, with CSX selling their share to NS about a year later. NS would quickly retire all 10 units in 2001, selling them off to a railroad in Brazil.
#6611 is shown here at Cleveland, OH, in January of 1999, with SD50 #6737. This is a scanned slide from my collection, originally taken by John C Benson.
N757HW, the Boeing 757 flying testbed owned by Honeywell International, about to touchdown at Geneva after flying down from Amsterdam
Northrop Grumman's "new" Gulfstream IV-SP N37WH arriving Runway 10 at BWI with lots of cool bumps and attachments. This looked a little different when it flew for Wayne Huizenga - www.flickr.com/photos/bwi2muc/12075948265/
Photo taken by Wilhelm Hell, scan kindly provided by him for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
1972-10-01 (1 October 1972)
G-AYXR "Mikado II"
Boeing 707-321(F)
17608/122
Donaldson International Airways (DIA)
G-AYXR taxiing towrds the holding point for Riem’s runway 07. The aircraft visited Riem with Donaldson International on 1 October 1972 and would return leased to Syrian Air in February/March 1976 and then with Dan-Air London on 1 May 1977.
Information from flickr - thanks to Paul:
New to Pan Am as N730PA in 1960. Converted to a freighter in 1970 and to Donaldson International Airways as G-AYXR in 1971. To British Midland Airways in 1975 and leased to a number of airlines. To International Air Leases as N37681 in 1980. To General Electric in 1983 and used as an engine testbed. Reregistered as N707GE in 1990. Scrapped at Mojave in 2003.
Registration details for this airframe:
www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/G-AYXR/489311
This airframe as N730PA with Pan American at LHR in August 1961:
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1037666
G-AYXR with Donaldson International at YYZ in July 1971:
www.flickr.com/photos/158362432@N07/50391050258
G-AYXR with Tunis Air at FRA in June 1976:
www.flickr.com/photos/skypicsintl/16225807938
G-AYXR with Kenya Airways at LHR in February 1977 (Tunis Air cheatline):
www.flickr.com/photos/pslg05896/22818814488
G-AYXR with Kuwait Airways at EMA in ca. 1976:
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/35532356325
G-AYXR with BMA at LGW in September 1976 (no titles):
www.flickr.com/photos/pslg05896/30695255760
G-AYXR with Kenya Airways at FRA in July 1977 (Tunis Air cheatline, red tail):
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1268587
G-AYXR with Pakistan International at EMA in April 1980:
abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1282566
This airframe as N37681 with International Air Leases/Batch Air, used as an engine testbed by General Electric, at MHV in October 1984:
www.flickr.com/photos/pslg05896/30490227284
This airframe as N707GE with General Electric at MHV in October 1992:
www.flickr.com/photos/markp51/35448079624
N707GE with a CFM engine in the #2 position:
www.flickr.com/photos/n747ge/6361483173
N707GE stored derelict at MHV in September 2003:
imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/6/2/2/0458226.jpg
Scan from Kodachrome slide (on Kodak Photo CD).
Photo taken by Wilhelm Hell, scan kindly provided by him for inclusion on this page.
München-Riem
ca. late 1970s
OY-APV
Boeing 720-051B
18793 / 384
Maersk Air
OY-APV is taxiing to Riem’s runway 25 for take-off. The airframe was noted at the airport on 2 March 1973 and 30 May 1979 (probably visited more often).
Information from flickr - thanks to Paul:
New to Northwest Orient as N737US in 1964. To Maersk Air as OY-APV in 1974 then to Conair of Scandinavia in 1981. To Air Xport as TF-AYD in 1987 then to Boeing as N771BE in 1988 and used as an avionics testbed. Scrapped at Everett-Paine Field in 1992.
Registration details for this airframe:
rzjets.net/aircraft/?reg=57267
This airframe as N737US with Northwest at JFK in January 1972:
www.flickr.com/photos/154191970@N03/50716164253
N737US with Northwest at JFK in June 1973 (all metal):
imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/6/7/9/1644976.jpg
OY-APV with Maersk at STN in July 1975 (initial colours):
imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/2/6/1/1037162.jpg
OY-APV with Conair of Scandinavia at ZRH in October 1984:
www.flickr.com/photos/157839500@N04/54077253766
This airframe as N771BE with Kingsley Aviation at BRU in 1988:
www.flickr.com/photos/191692050@N04/53248777491
N771BE as Boeing Advanced Avionics Testbed at PAE in October 1991:
imgproc.airliners.net/photos/airliners/0/4/5/0766540.jpg
Scan from Kodachrome slide (on Kodak Photo CD).
47601 Tinsley Depot.
47601 was a testbed for the engine to be used in the Class 58, The former Pullman coach behind was being used as a test coach
8 September 1977
BC011ar
The former "Clipper Seven Seas" in storage after service with American Eagle. It would go on to fly, with significant modifications for a testbed role, with the US Air Force Systems Command, until 2020. I see that my photo, without attribution, appears in this nice report. www.ll.mit.edu/news/lincoln-laboratory-says-good-bye-its-...
Northrop Grumman CRJ700 N804X returns from another flight with a new bump attached to the nose. It had been out flying with this BAE Systems Sabreliner - www.flickr.com/photos/bwi2muc/51532465585