Rolls-Royce North America has retired its iconic Boeing 747-267B testbed, N787RR (c/n 21966), after nearly 20 years of groundbreaking flight trials. These tests have included flying on 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and in-flight engine development and certification, such as the Trent 1000. The Tucson International Airport-based airliner had originally been delivered to Cathay Pacific in 1980 as VR-HIA. It later served with Air Atlanta Icelandic before joining Rolls-Royce North America in June 2005, where it was stripped of its passenger cabin and equipped with instrumentation, recording stations and a custom mounting configuration to support up to five engines simultaneously
VINCENZO PACE