Celebrating Two-Decades of Flying Through Storms and At Mountains 

Forty-years-old, middle-age, a milestone signifying slowing down, resting on one’s laurels, and looking soberly toward retirement—but not for Honeywell’s iconic Boeing 757 test aircraft, which celebrated its fortieth birthday on 13 June 2022.

The aircraft was acquired by Honeywell in 2005, but its history stretches back to June, 1982, when it rolled off the production line at Boeing’s Renton facility—only the fifth of over one-thousand 757s the Seattle aerospace giant would produce. The aircraft entered service with launch-customer Eastern Airlines in 1983 and flew admirably in that capacity.  

Honeywell Aerospace’s test flight department and engineers have utilized the 757—designated N757HW—to test many of the technological advancements that the flying public enjoys today. Over more than eight-hundred test-flights comprising over three-thousand hours, the aircraft has played a key role in developing: Honeywell’s HTF7000 engine series; 3D weather radar systems such as IntuVue RDR-4000 Weather Radar and IntuVue RDR-7000 Weather Radar; wifi systems, such as Honeywell’s JetWave and JetWave MCX; and satellite communications systems such as Aspire 350 and 400.

Honeywell says N757HW is likely the only existing 757 that has traveled to more than 30 countries across five continents, to include: Thailand, Malaysia, French Guiana, China, Australia, and Yellowknife, Canada.  

Captain Joe Duval, director, Flight Test Operations, Honeywell Aerospace states, "For the past 17 years, we have made so many technological modifications to our beloved 757 test aircraft that the only thing turning 40 years old is likely the fuselage itself.” Captain Duval adds, "We’re among a select few pilots in the industry who have the responsibility to push an aircraft close to its limits. We’ve intentionally flown into nasty storms to test our radars, and we’ve flown toward more mountains than I can count to test our ground proximity warning systems. Our 757 has been the dependable workhorse that allows us to test a whole slew of technologies, including the engines we produce for business jets and smaller aircraft.” 

Honeywell has no plans to retire N757HW and will continue to push the technological boundaries in the aviation industry, thus enabling a safer and more comfortable flight experience for airline passengers.

FMI: www.honeywell.com