Recently we put together a post charting the various prototype aircraft produced for each Airbus type. It proved popular, so next in line is the Boeing prototype aircraft.
The prototype model is the first of the type to fly, and will later be joined by other examples to help achieve flight certification.
Following this, the prototype will often either be kept for future testing and modification, delivered to an airline customer, sent to a museum or stored and ultimately scrapped.
Boeing 707 (original 367-80)
N70700. Preserved at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA (alongside Washington Dulles Airport).
Boeing 707-100
Crashed 17 September 1965.
Boeing 717
N717XA. Scrapped at Long Beach, CA. Parts may still exist.
Boeing 720
Scrapped in 1982.
Boeing 727-100
N7001U was preserved at Everett Paine Field, but on 2nd March 2016 undertook its final flight as it positioned to the nearby Boeing Field in Seattle for display at the Museum of Flight.
Boeing 727-200
Scrapped in 2003.
Boeing 737-100
N515NA. Preserved at Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle, WA.
Boeing 737-200
Scrapped in 2013.
Boeing 737-300
Scrapped in 2006.
Boeing 737-400
N406US. Withdrawn from use and being broken up at Tucson, AZ. May be gone already.
Boeing 737-500
Scrapped in 2013
Boeing 737-600
LN-RRO. Active with SAS.
Boeing 737-700
© Marco Dotti
N707SA. Active with Southwest Airlines.
Boeing 737-800
TC-SNY. Active with SunExpress.
Boeing 737-900
N302AS. Active with Alaska Airlines.
Boeing 747-100
N7470. Preserved at the Museum of Flight, Boeing Field, Seattle, WA.
Boeing 747-200B
Scrapped in 2003
Boeing 747-300
Scrapped in 2010.
Boeing 747-400
N661US. Recently retired at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, GA. Will be preserved at Delta Flight Museum.
Boeing 747SP
Scrapped in 1999.
Boeing 747-8i
 |
| Photo Courtesy of FlightAware.com |
9K-GAA. Active with Kuwait Government.
Boeing 747-8 Freighter
LX-VCA. Active with Cargolux.
Boeing 757-200
N757A. Active as a testbed with Boeing. Usually at Boeing Field, Seattle, WA.
Boeing 757-300
D-ABOA. Active with Condor.
Boeing 767-200
Scrapped in 2006.
Boeing 767-300
JA8236. Scrapped, but cockpit retained with Scroggins Aviation for movie work.
Boeing 767-400
By Curimedia | P H O T O G R A P H Y [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Boeing 777-200
B-HNL. Preserved at Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson (from September 2018)
Boeing 777-300
By Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Boeing 787-8
One of the prototype 787s, N787BX / ZA003 is now on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, alongside the original 737 and 747.
N787BA. Preserved at Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport, Japan.
N787EX / ZA002 is at the Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson, AZ.
N7874, the fourth prototype aircraft, is used as a demonstrator at Seattle Boeing Field, but is likely to be converted to a BBJ and sold off.
Boeing 787-9
© Nathen Sieben
ZK-NZC. Active with Air New Zealand.
13 comments
Fine job you´ve done! Interesting, indeed. Did´t know SAS was still flying first 737-600.
All these planes are very intresting but there are other plane makers in the world where do they put these.i go to Manchester a lot.but I in goingto Heathrow soon I will see some bigger aircrafed there.
Don’t worry, I’ll be covering some other manufacturers soon, like Embraer, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas etc
Hi Matt,
I like what you are doing with keeping track of the 1st aircraft in your feature “Catching up with the Boeing prototype aircraft” I would like to send you a photo of the B-767, ex-JAL, JA8236 cn 23215 to post on your site.
We recently just painted it this week for a upcoming project.
Cheers, Doug
Hi Doug, thanks for the comment. Please do send me the picture – mattfalcus@hotmail.com
Thanks!
nice article, though one mistake, the prototype for the 787 is at Boeing Field. It is currently being used as a test aircraft for new green technologies.
Museum of Flight docent,
Rees Shuman
Hi Rees, thanks for your comment! All three prototype 787s are in different locations, so I’ve changed the article to reflect that. The one in Seattle is the 3rd prototype, whilst the original is in Nagoya, Japan. The 2nd prototype is in Tucson, AZ.
no, I know that the 3rd prototype is at our museum, I mean the first prototype is also at Boeing Field. Its being used as a eco demonstrator.
Ahh ok, you’re right! Will update the post. Thanks for letting me know!
[…] [Catching Up With the Boeing Prototypes – Where the First Aircraft Are Located Now] […]
Hi there,
How about adding the 747-400 ER that only Qantas have (6 of them). VH-OEE, EF, EG, EH, EI & EJ. These are all GE CF6 powered aircraft.
Kind regards,
Lynley
Thanks Lynley!
ZA004 is active still but also not going to be sold to no one once done.