KBDL 5-2-2012 Pratt & Whitney 747SP!!!

So, yesterday while I was on a working visit to Pratt and Whitney I was informed that there would be a 747 flyby of their East Hartford and Middletown campuses. I had not realized that it was a 747SP until my contact showed me an email with the flyby details. After being shown this I was definitely glad that I was scheduled to go back to their facility today as well. I had every intention to catch the flyby from the parking lot of the East Hartford campus, but when i saw that the clouds had not moved out, and knowing that this bird had arrived at BDL the night before, I headed up to the airport to catch the departure. The fact that I was getting to see and photograph my first 747SP was enough of a treat, but when I got to watch it from next to the runway, that totally made my day. Who'd have thought that I would see the 747 SCA aircraft with the shuttle attached on Friday and then not even a week later get to see the Pratt engine testbed 747SP?? What a week!!!

I only wished that the light had been better. But I can't complain too much after getting to see this bird. Enjoy

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0516-L.jpg

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0520-L.jpg

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0530-L.jpg

Some other shots from next to the runway while waiting for the departure.

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0493-L.jpg

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0500-L.jpg

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0452-L.jpg

http://www.fursteditionphotography.c.../IMG0462-L.jpg

Sick!

That is one crazy 747SP

unfreaking real man...catch of the year!

Right place, right time. You better be hanging near me at Air Show!

Cool catch!

Doug

Niiiice ... Awesome catch and shots pal !!!

Holy sh*t dude are you kidding me??? That's freakin awesome! Congrats Steve

Oh my effin God, Steve... I had no idea that thing even existed... you lucky bastard... makes getting F1 and DreamLifter seem silly :tongue:

I'd love to see a pic of that engine sticking out the side like that... wow.

The test engine pod is pretty unusual. It reminds me of that cars.com commercial with the guy with the singing second head.

Nice shots!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gonzalu

Oh my effin God, Steve... I had no idea that thing even existed... you lucky bastard... makes getting F1 and DreamLifter seem silly :tongue:

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Apparently Pratt has two of them :)

Amazing catch. Perhaps the visit of the year for KBDL.

for anyone who may desire to make a wisecrack at this baby being ugly because of the extra engine (cough...kenny....cough)....

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lEdu9wUJAJ...5085468750.jpg

This sucker is really rare... I can;t find any pictures of the engine test pod...

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6092/7...ec837cacd0.jpg
Pratt & Whitney 747SP C-GTFF with a motor mounted on it's additinal wing for testing by PhotoGennie, on Flickr

Quote:

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Originally Posted by threeholerglory

for anyone who may desire to make a wisecrack at this baby being ugly because of the extra engine (cough...kenny....cough)....

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lEdu9wUJAJ...5085468750.jpg

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Kenny would not wisecrack about the beloved 747. Now, if this were an A380.....

Amazing! This bird spends most of its time in Mirabel Canada, where they are doing the cold-weather testing for their new geared turbo fan engines. Great to see it made its way to the States for a visit!

From Aviation Week:

http://www.aviationweek.com/Blogs.as...1-71d88c969133

Inside Pratt's new flying testbed
Posted by Guy Norris 3:49 PM on May 04, 2012

Pratt & Whitney’s latest geared turbofan engine – the PW1200G for the Japanese MRJ project – is now starting test flights on the company’s recently-inaugurated Boeing 747SP flying testbed. The high-altitude, long endurance and wide speed range capability of the SP make it ideal as a testbed particularly since the unusual-looking stub wing, which houses the test unit, can be adapted to take everything from small GTFs and business jet engines to turboprops. Sister company Pratt & Whitney Canada will use this testbed predominantly, while Pratt & Whitney will use the sister 747SP for testing larger engines. The second 747SP mounts the test engine in the No.2 inboard position under the wing in place of one of the aircraft’s standard JT9D powerplants.

The aircraft, now Canadian-registered with the appropriate identity C-GTFF, was originally built for Korean Airlines. First flown at Everett in January 1981, it entered service with Korean in March 1981 and remained in service with the carrier for the next 18 years. Following stints with The Air Medical Foundation and Transatlantic International Airlines, the 747SP spent several years in storage after being acquired by P&W in the mid-2000s. As with GE’s ex-Pan Am 747-100 flying testbed, Pratt’s 747SP gives away its origins in the first class area in the nose where the original seats and KAL décor can still be seen.

Link includes lots more pics!