We toured a specially modified Boeing 747 used as a 'flying laboratory' to test new jet engines. See inside.

Aug 07, 2026 08:53 PM - 1 month ago 309

Leading American shaper GE Aerospace is building the world's largest pitchy motor for Boeing's coming 777X — and it needs a monolithic level to trial it.

The enginemaker bought a now-32-year-old Boeing 747-400 from Japan Airlines successful 2010 to service arsenic its modern Flying Test Bed, aliases FTB. It replaced the aging Boeing 747-100 that GE had had since 1992.

The latest FTB, which Business Insider toured astatine the UK's Farnborough International Airshow successful July, has 1 main purpose: to trial and beryllium the industry's newest commercialized engines.

Thousands of feet of cables statement its cabin, each connecting to trial sensors, machine stations, and elephantine metallic boxes that inhabit astir of the first level of the specially modified 747 and cod a behemoth magnitude of data.

So far, the GE 747 has been instrumental successful certifying engines that now powerfulness planes for illustration the Airbus A320, the Boeing 737, and China's homegrown Comac narrowbody.

The dual-level plane's latest task is the GE9X, an motor truthful ample it tin fresh an full Boeing 737 fuselage.

It's rated for 110,000 pounds of thrust, but holds the world grounds for the highest thrust recorded by a commercialized pitchy engine, reaching 134,300 pounds during testing.

The ultra-powerful GE9X engine, which received FAA certification successful 2020 but has continued to acquisition further testing, is being developed for Boeing's yet-to-be-certified 777X.

While the 777X is 7 years down schedule, successful portion owed to quality, production, and proviso concatenation issues astatine Boeing, it's expected to participate work successful 2027 pinch German emblem bearer Lufthansa.

Here's a person look astatine the 747 testbed that's been captious to the 777X's certification.

GE's 747 "flying laboratory" is based astatine a monolithic hangar successful Southern California.

Boarding the GE 747 testbed, looking up astatine its bluish and achromatic tail.

When not conducting trial flights, the 747 is based successful Victorville, California, astir 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles adjacent the Mojave Desert.

It has racked up much than 1,500 trial flights during its 2nd life pinch GE.

The compartment is afloat of specialized trial equipment.

The rows of metallic boxes successful the GE 747 cabin.

What was erstwhile a double-decker commercialized jetliner pinch 400 rider seats is now lined pinch information boxes, computers, and thousands of feet of wiring.

GE's main formation trial pilot, Jonathan Ohman, told members of the media during the circuit that the instrumentation collects astir 1,000 parameters during tests, specified arsenic thrust, substance flow, and lipid temperature.

Eight to 20 people, including pilots, engineers, mechanics, and logistics personnel, are typically connected committee for a flight.

There are complete a twelve large reclining seats successful the nose.

The business people conception of the GE 747 testbed, pinch complete a twelve grey recliners.

The level has passenger recliners astatine the beforehand of the cabin, wherever the squad tin beryllium during flights to trial locations aliases different factors.

The seats characteristic tray tables, limb rests, and ample winged headrests; there's besides a guardant galley wherever unit tin shop and hole meals, arsenic good arsenic a mates of lavatories.

"It allows america to beryllium a self-contained testing installation erstwhile we spell off-site," Ohman said.

Upstairs is the cockpit.

The 2nd level of the elephantine 747 was not unfastened to the media, but it's wherever Ohman does his flying.

Before moving for GE, he served successful the US Marine Corps for 20 years and conducted trial flights of the F-18 and F-35.

The 2 trial pilots person circumstantial roles.

The main trial aviator speaking to the media.

Ohman said 2 certified trial pilots alert the plane: a captain, who is usually the "pilot flying," and a first officer, usually the "pilot monitoring."

The first serviceman is responsible for controlling the trial engine, he said, which is almost ever doing thing different from the jet's different engines, 3 accumulation GE CF6s. These nutrient astir 60,000 pounds of thrust each, almost half of the GE9X's rated 110,000 pounds.

The skipper is responsible for keeping the airplane unchangeable and successful immoderate information is needed for the testing. "It becomes an workout of the aviator who's flying the airplane to support the different throttles, to equilibrium aliases negociate that asymmetrical thrust," Ohman said.

Up to 15 trial engineers typically activity the flights.

The trial technologist workstations pinch machine screens.

Ohman said the trial engineers connected the plane show everything from onboard failures to a assortment of motor parameters crossed each sorts of upwind conditions.

"We're collecting the information connected the engines successful existent time, past we shop it connected the plane, and past erstwhile we land, we download it, and we nonstop it to our cognition successful Evandale, Ohio, for further processing and analysis," he said.

The 747 is tested successful a wide scope of upwind conditions.

Ohman said the GE pitchy is highly mobile and tin alert anyplace it tin physically reach. For testing successful very acold conditions, the level goes to Alaska. For earthy icing, bluish Canada.

For the engine's "cooling climb" — testing its thermal limits astatine afloat takeoff powerfulness — the 747 heads to sea-level Hawaii, wherever it tin run successful the lukewarm temperatures and debased altitudes needed for the test.

Pilots behaviour analyzable maneuvers to push the engine's limits.

The afloat GE 747 connected show astatine the airshow.

Ohman said that to guarantee the motor inlet provides uninterrupted airflow to the instrumentality astatine each times, moreover successful challenging conditions specified arsenic a steep perspective of attack, the unit performs move maneuvers that they wouldn't do arsenic a normal 747 pilot.

"We put [the engines] done a batch of demanding tests to make judge that erstwhile it goes to the customer, and the accumulation motor ends up connected an airline, that we don't person immoderate surprises," he said.

The GE9X will yet powerfulness Boeing's highly important 777X.

Boeing's 777x astatine the Dubai Airshow pinch wingtip folder.

The 777X craft was initially expected to participate work successful 2020, but Boeing expects the first commercialized deliveries to commencement successful 2027.

Over a twelve airlines person placed complete 550 orders worthy billions of dollars for the 2 rider variants, the 777-9 and the 777-8.

Sporting revolutionary folding wingtips that let it to fresh into existing gross space, the caller pitchy will go the world's largest twin-engine airliner ever built.