See Inside the Boeing 747 ‘Flying Laboratory’ Used to Test Jet Engines

Leading American manufacturer GE Aerospace is building the world’s largest jet engine for Boeing’s coming 777X — and it needs a massive plane to test it.

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

The latest FTB, which Business Insider toured at the UK’s Farnborough International Airshow in July, has one main purpose: to test and prove the industry’s newest commercial engines.

Thousands of feet of cables line its cabin, all connecting to test sensors, computer stations, and giant metal boxes that occupy most of the first floor of the specially modified 747 and collect a behemoth amount of data.

So far, the GE 747 has been instrumental in certifying engines that now power planes like the Airbus A320, the Boeing 737, and China’s homegrown Comac narrowbody.

The dual-level plane’s latest project is the GE9X, an engine so large it can fit an entire Boeing 737 fuselage.

It’s rated for 110,000 pounds of thrust, but holds the world record for the highest thrust recorded by a commercial jet engine, reaching 134,300 pounds during testing.

The ultra-powerful GE9X engine, which received FAA certification in 2020 but has continued to undergo additional testing, is being developed for Boeing’s yet-to-be-certified 777X.

While the 777X is seven years behind schedule, in part due to quality, production, and supply chain issues at Boeing, it’s expected to enter service in 2027 with German flag carrier Lufthansa.

Here’s a closer look at the 747 testbed that’s been critical to the 777X’s certification.

GE’s 747 “flying laboratory” is based at a massive hangar in Southern California.

The 747-400 is registered as N747GF.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

When not conducting test flights, the 747 is based in Victorville, California, about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles near the Mojave Desert.

It has racked up more than 1,500 test flights during its second life with GE.

The cabin is full of specialized test equipment.

The rows of silver boxes in the GE 747 cabin. — Testing equipment takes up almost the entire lower level.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

What was once a double-decker commercial jetliner with 400 passenger seats is now lined with data boxes, computers, and thousands of feet of wiring.

GE’s chief flight test pilot, Jonathan Ohman, told members of the media during the tour that the instrumentation collects about 1,000 parameters during tests, such as thrust, fuel flow, and oil temperature.

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

There are over a dozen big reclining seats in the nose.

The business class section of the GE 747 testbed, with over a dozen gray recliners. — The recliners were basic but looked plush.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

The plane has passenger recliners at the front of the cabin, where the team can sit during flights to test locations or other factors.

The seats feature tray tables, leg rests, and large winged headrests; there’s also a forward galley where crew can store and prepare meals, as well as a couple of lavatories.

“It allows us to be a self-contained testing facility when we go off-site,” Ohman said.

Upstairs is the cockpit.

The stairs to the 747 upper level. — The upper level of a passenger 747 usually hosts business or first class.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

The second level of the giant 747 was not open to the media, but it’s where Ohman does his flying.

Before working for GE, he served in the US Marine Corps for 20 years and conducted test flights of the F-18 and F-35.

The two test pilots have specific roles.

The chief test pilot speaking to the media. — GE chief test pilot Jonathan Ohman.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

Ohman said two certified test pilots fly the plane: a captain, who is usually the “pilot flying,” and a first officer, usually the “pilot monitoring.”

The first officer is responsible for controlling the test engine, he said, which is almost always doing something different from the jet’s other engines, three production GE CF6s. These produce about 60,000 pounds of thrust each, almost half of the GE9X’s rated 110,000 pounds.

The captain is responsible for keeping the airplane stable and in whatever condition is needed for the testing. “It becomes an exercise of the pilot who’s flying the airplane to maintain the other throttles, to balance or manage that asymmetrical thrust,” Ohman said.

Up to 15 test engineers typically work the flights.

The test engineer workstations with computer screens. — Some of the workstations for the test engineers.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

Ohman said the test engineers on the plane monitor everything from onboard failures to a variety of engine parameters across all sorts of weather conditions.

“We’re collecting the data on the engines in real time, then we store it on the plane, and then when we land, we download it, and we send it to our operation in Evandale, Ohio, for further processing and analysis,” he said.

The 747 is tested in a wide range of weather conditions.

The GE 747 flying over Yosemite. — The GE 747 flying over Yosemite National Park in 2023.

Jason Chapman/General Electric

Ohman said the GE jet is extremely mobile and can fly anywhere it can physically reach. For testing in very cold conditions, the plane goes to Alaska. For natural icing, northern Canada.

For the engine’s “cooling climb” — testing its thermal limits at full takeoff power — the 747 heads to sea-level Hawaii, where it can operate in the warm temperatures and low altitudes needed for the test.

Pilots conduct complex maneuvers to push the engine’s limits.

The full GE 747 on display at the airshow. — The GE9X is usually mounted as the inner-left engine.

Taylor Rains/Business Insider

Ohman said that to ensure the engine inlet provides uninterrupted airflow to the fan at all times, even in challenging conditions such as a steep angle of attack, the crew performs dynamic maneuvers that they wouldn’t do as a normal 747 pilot.

“We put [the engines] through a lot of demanding tests to make sure that when it goes to the customer, and the production engine ends up on an airline, that we don’t have any surprises,” he said.

The GE9X will eventually power Boeing’s highly important 777X.

Boeing's 777x at the Dubai Airshow with wingtip folder. — Boeing’s 777X on display with its wingtips folded during the Dubai Airshow in 2025.

Bloomberg/Getty Images

The 777X aircraft was initially expected to enter service in 2020, but Boeing expects the first commercial deliveries to start in 2027.

Over a dozen airlines have placed over 550 orders worth billions of dollars for the two passenger variants, the 777-9 and the 777-8.

Sporting revolutionary folding wingtips that allow it to fit into existing gate space, the new jet will become the world’s largest twin-engine airliner ever built.

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