1. N7771t
2. N7771

On April 9, 1994, the first 777, line number WA001 registered by Boeing as N7771, was rolled out and the first flight took place on June 12, 1994. Boeing kept WA001 as demonstrator and test. N7771 (2010 ROGERS GROVER/FOY JOHN P RV 12 owned by ABNEY DOUGLAS) Aircraft Registration - FlightAware Want more information about this aircraft? You might be interested in our FBO ToolBox service.

.Boeing (demonstrator) 1994-2000 as N7771.Cathay Pacific 2000-2018 as B-HNL preserved at Pima Air & Space Museum. Media in category 'N7771 (aircraft)' The following 10 files are in this category, out of 10 total. Boeing 777 above clouds, crop.jpg 1,630 × 852; 393 KB. N7771 Vicksburg Way #F, Oconomowoc, WI 53066 is a 1,600 sqft, 3 bed, 2 bath home. See the estimate, review home details, and search for homes nearby.

The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occupying 127 acres (513,000 m²). It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.

Overview[edit]

A large number of the museum's aircraft are displayed outside with the remainder located in one of the museum's four display hangars.^[1] In addition to the display hangars, the museum has a restoration hangar.^[2]

Opened to the public in May 1976 with 48 aircraft then on display, the Museum's main hangar houses an SR-71A Blackbird, an A-10 Warthog, a United States Air ForceThrough the Years exhibit, and a mock-up of a control tower.

The museum is adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), affiliated with the base, also known as the 'Graveyard of Planes' or 'The Boneyard', is the largest aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world.^[3]

History[edit]

N7771t

The museum opened to the public on May 8, 1976. In early 1982 the first hangar on the site was completed. A second was built in 1987, a third in 1992, and a fourth in 1994.^[1]

In 2012, the museum collaborated with artists, in The Boneyard Project, to place some abandoned aircraft on display as canvases for art.^[4][5]

During 2015, Boeing donated to the museum the second 787 aircraft to be built. It is exhibited in the colors of the 787 customer, ANA.^[6]

In November 2016, Orbis International donated their first McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 Flying Eye Hospital to the museum, after receiving a second DC-10 from FedEx. The DC-10, which was the oldest flying example of its type and at the time of its donation, while being the oldest surviving example and the second overall built, was restored for display at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base.^[7]

The museum acquired 77 acres in January 2021 for the construction of the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum. The new museum will house a large number of mostly land vehicles, including 50 donated by the Imperial War Museum.^[8]

Selected aircraft on display[edit]

Out of a collection of 300 aircraft, these are the most prominent:^[1]

• Boeing 777-200^[9]
• Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress^[10]
• Boeing B-29 Superfortress^[11]
• Consolidated B-24 Liberator^[12]
• English Electric Lightning^[13]
• Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird^[13]
• Martin PBM Mariner^[13]
• North American F-107^[13]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcStemm, James. 'History of the Pima Air & Space Museum'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Pimaair.org. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
2. ^'RESTORATION HANGAR & PROJECT STATUS'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
3. ^''BONEYARD'/AMARG TOUR'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Pimaair.org. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
4. ^Firestone, Eric (2012). '[Homepage]'. The Boneyard Project: Return Trip. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
5. ^Francis, Christopher (2013). 'Plane becomes canvas at Pima Air & Space Museum'. Tucson News Now. Raycom Media. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
6. ^'Boeing donates 787-8 ZA002 (N787EX) to the Pima Air and Space Museum'. World Airline News. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
7. ^Wilson, William. 'Pima Space Museum to get DC-10 that served as flying eye hospital'. Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
8. ^'Expansion of the Pima Air and Space Museum with the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum'(PDF). Pima County. January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
9. ^'First Boeing 777 now at Pima Air and Space Museum'. News for Tucson. September 18, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
10. ^'390TH MEMORIAL MUSEUM'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
11. ^'HANGAR 4'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
12. ^'HANGAR 3'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
13. ^ ^abcd'HANGAR 1 SOUTH THE SPIRIT OF FREEDOM HANGAR'. Pima Air & Space Museum. Archived from the original on February 8, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2017.

External links[edit]

N7771

• Official website
• The Boneyard Project, Eric Firestone Gallery, Tucson. Includes narrated video/slide show.

Coordinates: 32°8′24.34″N110°51′53.19″W / 32.1400944°N 110.8647750°W

Phoenix seem to continue on oblivious to the rest of the 1:400 world producing much the same types of model as they have done for years now. That would not be so damning if their models were particularly good or interesting, alas too often they are not. It doesn’t help that many of their better moulds have been eclipsed by rival JC Wings and NG Models offerings either. Even so they do sometimes surprise and their 777s are still on the whole decent. So, I have taken a chance and acquired this ‘classic’ 777, but does it meet expectations. Sadly, yes it does!

THE REAL THING

Boeing was the last of the big three airframe manufacturers of the 1990s to bring their next generation widebody product to the market and unusually this paid off for them. By waiting they were able to take advantage of the new engine technology that allowed their new 777 to be a twinjet whereas McDonnell Douglas struggled to coax the necessary range out of its MD-11 trijet and Airbus added four engines to its A340. Neither of those designs could come to match the 777 in the long-term, although Airbus was lucky to be able to expand its A330 into a true competitor for the Boeing twin.

One of the major benefits the 777 programme had was that it was the first time Boeing worked so closely with the airlines. Its “Working Together” group of 8 major airlines (All Nippon, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Qantas and United Airlines) first met in January 1990 and they had a major part to play in what was at the time still called the 767-X. Amongst other things the airlines steered the cabin cross-section, cockpit and flight control design, ETOPS status and wingspan.

Not all of these were successful steers. United’s keenness for the 777 to fit into DC-10 gates led to the initial suggestion of folding wingtips (as on carrierborne naval aircraft) but nobody ever ordered this option and it was dropped. By October 14, 1990 the design had coalesced enough for United to place its launch order for 34 777s with 34 further options.

It would take nearly four years until the first flight of the 777 with the first aircraft, N7771, rolled out on April 9, 1994 and flying for the first time on June 12. Flight testing was successful and by April 1995 the test aircraft could be released for a world tour flying 45,890 miles in 10 days. Finally, the first 777 entered airline service on June 7, 1995 as United flight 921 took off from Heathrow bound for Washington Dulles.

The 777 has certainly proven itself a winner for Boeing and 7 of the 8 Working Together airlines purchased the type (Qantas has been the exception). Interestingly the prototype aircraft were on-sold to airlines and N7771 became B-HNL with Cathay in December 2000, after conversion to Rolls-Royce power. She served for 18 years prior to withdrawal in June 2018 and has since been sent to the Pima Air Museum for preservation.

THE MODEL

The format for my reviews is to split them into three key areas:

• The mould of the aircraft
• The paint and livery
• Printing and quality control

Each can get a maximum score of 10 for a section giving a maximum combined total score of 30.

THE MOULD

Phoenix has been trading on its 777 mould’s success for some time but its lead has gradually been eroded and overtaken by competitors so that it is now the second best 777-200 in 1:400 scale. Even so, the casting is accurate and still a more than competent addition to any collection.

The shape of the nose and fuselage is very good with my only very minor complaint being that the diagnostic 777 tailcone is not squared off enough and is a little too rounded. The landing gear is also very good with Phoenix’s trademark silver detailed gear leg and hubcaps. I do think the nosegear sits a little too short and sometimes the Phoenix 777 has a slight nosedown attitude. It is certainly not as tall as the JC Wings 777 mould.

The wings slot into the fuselage well, with a tighter fit than on the JC Wings mould. The actual wings themselves are fine. The engine pylons hang well under the wings but their shape on the underside is not 100% accurate and neither are the shape of the maingear doors.

The Pratt & Whitney engines are well shaped and this mould hasn’t given into Phoenix’s latest fad, spinning fanblades. That’s fine by me and means the engines do not suffer from having a multi-part construction with the rims attached to the rest of the nacelles separately.

It is certainly not the mould that let’s this model down.

SCORE – 10

PAINT & LIVERY

Boeing’s 1980s era house colours made it into the late 90s with no problem and they are rather attractive and suit the 777 well. The colours are simple, a base white with a deep blue belly and pair of pinstripes above and a final red pinstripe atop all the blue. The colours are fine on the model and broadly the placement of livery items looks correct, that is until you take a closer look.

The blue belly curves up onto the tail of the aircraft but it is not a straight diagonal line until the tail is reached. Phoenix haven’t correctly captured the curve where the lines meet the tail base and so the portion of blue on the tail is too small and the amount of white space between the 777 and the striping is too large.

At the nose the small ‘Working Together” titles are present but they are too far from the lowest pinstripe and too close to the cockpit windows. This isn’t aided by the cockpit window printing, but more of that in the next section.

The livery also has the customer airline tails visible, which by airline front to back are: United, All Nippon, Euralair, Thai Airways Int, British Airways, Lauda Air, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, [unknown – ILFC?], China Southern, Continental Airlines, Japan Air System, Gulf Air, Transbrasil and Korean Air. The tails are all present and correct, although to be honest it is a little hard to tell what some of them are, even when you know what they should be.

SCORE – 8

PRINTING & QUALITY CONTROL

Broadly this is one of Phoenix’s better printing efforts, although I do think the airline tails could be printed more finely. The big let down from a printing perspective is the cockpit windows. For some time now, Phoenix just seem to have forgotten how to do this on a 777. They are significantly too long and poorly placed at the sides (kind of similar to their 737s). They need to revisit the printing plans for their 777 cockpits. For me it is a serious off-putter since it so impacts the look of the aircraft. Additionally, I would rather the main part of the window was darker and not the medium grey they choose to use.

Unfortunately, it is build quality that really lets this model down, but I’d expect nothing more from Phoenix. First the model came with the starboard wing detached, an all too common Phoenix trait, and inspection shows it has almost no glue on it. Fortunately, that means that at least it hasn’t damaged the fuselage. That issue is fixable but the other major build problem isn’t.

The port side engine is not properly fitted to the wing pylon. It is far too low so on that side the engine is nearly on the ground. Annoyingly the engine is very well glued to the pylon so there is no hope of detaching it and fixing it properly. Mine isn’t the only model with this issue I’ve seen and the starboard engine is fitted properly. It really mars the model. Lastly the nosegear isn’t fitted straight and tilts to the left.

SCORE – 4

CONCLUSION

I am far from happy with this model, which ought to be an easy win for Phoenix. The level of care involved in this is very low and shows that simply having a decent mould isn’t enough to mean a model should be purchased. The sloppiness around the livery application I can live with but the engine and cockpit windows seriously damage the model’s looks. I guess I should be thankful as I was beginning to think that NG Models superior quality was putting me out of business. It is a lot easier reviewing bad models but the downside is now I am stuck with this in my collection. If JC Wings get off their bums and produce this model before I turn 50 this subpar Phoenix attempt will be exiting my collection as soon as possible.

FINAL SCORE – 22/30