The world’s first Boeing 777 is being donated to a museum by its operator, Cathay Pacific. As one of the most efficient widebody twin aircraft, today it is the workhorse in long haul fleets around the world.
Arizona is the final destination for this aircraft, registered B-HNL, with the Pima Air and Space Museum planning to put it on display. It departs Hong Kong for Tucson today.
World’s First Boeing 777
First flying on 12 June 1994, the world’s first Boeing 777 was used by Boeing for test purposes. It eventually joined the Cathay Pacific fleet in 2000 and was retired in May 2018. During its airline service, B-HNL operated 20,519 flights, recording 49,687 hours of flying time.
Boeing invited a number of airlines to have input on the 777 at the design stage. This allowed the aircraft to be tailored for the needs of the airlines that would purchase it.
Among the requests were a cabin cross-section similar to the Boeing 747, a modern glass cockpit, fly-by-wire, and lower operating costs. Today, Cathay Pacific operates one of the largest 777 fleets in the world.
All the airlines who assisted in the design have purchased the aircraft except one – Australia’s Qantas. That may change if the new Boeing 777-8 is selected for their Project Sunrise ultra long haul flights.
Overall Thoughts
Over 350 other historic aircraft live at the Pima Air and Space Museum, so the world’s first Boeing 777 will be in good company. Donating to museums gives future generations the ability to have a hands on look at what flying was like in the 21st Century.
It is a shame that this mentality of preservation did not come about earlier. There are so many different aircraft that no longer survive any longer as they were scrapped back in the day. The Flying Boats most especially spring to mind.
What do you think of Cathay Pacific’s donation? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Images via Cathay Pacific.
Nice addition to the collection. Suppose the 777 will be flown to the adjacent USAF base and be tugged across to the museum. A great outing for avgeeks when you include the “boneyard” tour, a bus ride through thousands of grounded Air Force planes (Andrew engines). As for the 777, I recall early renderings and promotional material from Boeing depicted the plane with fold up wing ends. The thinking was the wing spread was so wide that several feet at each end would have to be raised upright to be accommodated at airport gates, adopting a design element found on… Read more »
Actually the folding wingtip will be introduced in the new B777x planes that are expected to be introduced next year. this is done to fit the wider B777x planes into existing gates that fits the current B777.
the folding wingtip has already received FFA approval this year.
Exactly! Can’t wait to see it 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I certainly would enjoy doing a boneyard tour. I’ve seen pictures of that place and it looks pretty awesome, I have to say! As the person below has commented, the folding wingtip is happening on the new 777X programme. I’ve seen it myself, so that old thought on the design is now coming to fruition! It’ll be interesting to see it in action on a flight, that’s for sure. Thanks for the comment!