Boeing 720-051B Engine Testbed, c/n 18384 |
Allied Signal modified a 720-051B to test the TFE731-40 turbofan engine. It was the oldest Boeing jet airliner that still flew when it was retired in December 2007.
Allied Signal's TFE731-40 Testbed wore construction number 18384. It first flew on September 15, 1961. TWA leased it as N794TW beginning on August 27, 1961. Northwest leased it as N733US on October 26, 1962 and then bought it on July 1, 1968. Maersk Air registered it as OY-APZ in January 1973 and leased it to Nigeria Airways in December 1974. TEA leased it as OO-TYA on November 6, 1979 and returned it to Maersk on January 19, 1980. Conair acquired it on February 16, 1981.
Allied Signal registered it as N720GT on November 24, 1987 and mounted an engine test pylon on the right side of the forward fuselage.
720-051B Allied Signal TFE731-40 Engine Testbed, N720GT at the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
At the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
At the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
At the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
At the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
At the Williams-Gateway Airport, Arizona on March 31, 1996.
The 720-051B Engine Testbed was registered as N720H in February 2000. Honeywell International acquired it and installed a Honeywell AS977 engine. Honeywell conducts frequent engine test flights with it.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 11, 2006.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed was the last airworthy 720 in the United States. Camelback Mountain looms in the distance.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 11, 2006.
The mobile work shelter has been rolled back from Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed revealing that there is no engine on the test pylon.
Stereo pair of Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed. Cross your eyes until the images line up to see the 720 in 3-D.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 11, 2006.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 12, 2006.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B, N720H engine testbed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on April 12, 2006. Camelback Mountain looms in the background.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B engine testbed N720H made a six hour long flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Thursday December 27, 2007. It filed a flight plan from Williams-Gateway to Phoenix. It actually departed from Phoenix and activated its flightplan over Williams-Gateway. Four Peaks is visible in the distance.
See the track of this flight (downloaded from Flightwise.com) in Google Earth.
The Papago Buttes form a backdrop to Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H.
You can buy framed prints or greeting cards of this photo.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H scrubs smoke off its main landing gear as it lands on Runway 26.
Another small puff of smoke was produced as Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H nose gear touched down.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H deploys its spoilers to reduce lift after touchdown.
Honeywell's Boeing 720-051B N720H taxis back to its parking spot on the north side of the airport.
N720H made one more flight two days later and was broken up at Sky harobor in 2008. It has been replaced with Boeing 757-225 N757HW.
You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Boeing Testbeds.
A dozen photos of Boeing Testbeds. Aircraft pictured include:
General Electric 727-63 Unducted Fan Testbed N32720, Mojave Airport, November 9, 1986,
NT-43A Radar Test Bed 73-1155, Death Valley, January 24, 2003,
U. S. Air Force YAL-1A Airborne Laser 01-0001, Boron, California, March 29, 2005,
U. S. Army 767-200 Airborne Surveillance Testbed N767BA, Victorville, California, June 17, 2005,
Australian Air Force 737-7ES N378BC Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control, Victorville, California, July 9, 2005,
757-200 F-22 Avionics Testbed N757A, Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale, California, February 13, 2006,
Evergreen International 747-273C Supertanker N470EV, San Bernardino, May 31, 2006,
NASA 747SP-21 N747NA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrered Astronomy (SOFIA), Boron, California, May 31, 2007,
General Electric 747-121 Engine Testbed N747GE, Victorville, California, August 5, 2007,
Honeywell 720-051B Trent 1000 testbed N720H, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, December 27, 2007,
Rolls Royce 747-257B Engine Testbed N787RR, Tucson, Arizona, March 4, 2018,
Honeywell 757-225 engine testbed N757HW, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, April 19, 2018,
Put a copy of the Boeing Testbeds: 2020 Calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.
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