The original Boeing 727 took to the skies again thanks to joint restoration efforts among Pratt & Whitney, Boeing, and United Airlines.
Powered by three restored Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines, after a 25-year restoration project, the original Boeing 727 – which first flew in 1963 – made a historic final flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, to Seattle’s Museum of Flight on March 2. The aircraft, which was restored both inside and out, will remain on permanent display at the museum.
“This was a really exciting project for Pratt & Whitney to be involved with,” said Rick Deurloo, Pratt & Whitney’s senior vice president of sales and marketing, who brought the project to the East Hartford jet engine maker’s attention.
Pratt & Whitney’s JT8D engines have completed more than 673 million flight hours since entering service in 1964. (Add 30 miles to that statistic – the distance between Everett and Seattle, as Pratt reported.) Of the more than 14,750 engines built, there are almost 2,400 engines still in service.
