GE Aviation is announcing a $60 million investment to purchase and refurbish a Boeing 747-400 aircraft and turn it into a new flying test bed that will test the next generation of jet engines-starting with the LEAP-X engine. The recently purchased 747 aircraft features GE’s CF6-80C2 engines and will be home-based at GE’s Victorville, California facility. It will replace the current 747 flying testbed, which is the oldest version of the 747 still flying in the U.S. and the fifth oldest in the world. GE has been operating the current 747 flying testbed since 1992 and has operated a flying testbed since 1945.
To prepare the aircraft for flight-testing, its wing and strut will be redesigned and strengthened to accommodate experimental engines of varying size and weight. The plane’s interior will also be modified, and GE will install data systems for testing and systems integration euipment to transform the aircraft into a flying testbed.
