Farnborough’s aircraft arrivals begin with GE’s huge Boeing 747 flying testbed
The 2026 edition of the Farnborough International Airshow is just days away, with the first aircraft already arriving on site. Arrivals today included a rather special Boeing 747 and the Airbus A350 test aircraft, while other aircraft are set to arrive in days or are already on the airfield.
Over the next few days, aircraft participating in the flying display will be undertaking validation to ensure they have the correct permissions to fly next week, and those on static display will be carefully parked in their jigsaw formation.
GE’s Boeing 747 FTB arrives in Farnborough
One of today’s early arrivals is the largest aircraft on display at Farnborough this year – GE Aerospace’s Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed.
The jet had flown into the UK from Plattsburgh on 12 July, but landed at Bournemouth Airport on the UK’s south coast. After an overnight stop by the seaside, the 747 took off just before 09:00 this morning and arrived into Farnborough at 09:29.
GE Aerospace uses its Boeing 747-400 Flying Test Bed as an airborne laboratory for developing and certifying new engines and propulsion technologies. One of the aircraft’s four engines is replaced with the test engine, allowing engineers to assess performance, fuel efficiency, controls, air restarts, icing behaviour and other demanding operating conditions in real flight.
🔴 The largest aircraft to appear at the 2026 Farnborough airshow, GE's Boeing 747 (N747GF), has touched down at FAB airport.
— Airways Magazine (@airwaysmagazine) July 15, 2026
📸: Alex Berman/Airways#Aviation #Boeing #FIA2026 pic.twitter.com/dbfDNK3ToA
The aircraft has supported programmes including the GE90, GEnx, GE9X, Passport, CFM56 and LEAP, and is expected to play a major role in testing technologies developed under the CFM RISE programme.
Visitors to Farnborough International Airshow will have a rare chance to get up close and personal with this interesting aircraft.
Airbus A350-1000 flies in from France
Hot on the heels of the big Boeing was Airbus’s biggest aircraft, the A350-1000. Taking off from Chateauroux in France, it flew for just under an hour to touch down in Farnborough at 14:18 this afternoon.
F-WMIL is Airbus’s first A350-1000 development aircraft, formally designated an A350-1041 and carrying manufacturer’s serial number 059. It completed the variant’s maiden flight from Toulouse on 24 November 2016 and was one of three aircraft used for the A350-1000’s certification programme, including performance, handling, systems and hot-and-high testing.
Airbus retained the aircraft after certification, and it continues to be used for development work, customer demonstrations, promotional flights and airshow displays. Unlike GE Aerospace’s 747 Flying Test Bed, it is not primarily used to carry experimental engines, but instead serves as a test and demonstration platform for the A350-1000 itself.
The A350X will be participating in the flying display every day at the airshow, and will be on static display for visitors to get a close-up look the rest of the time.
Embraer C-390 participates in validation flights
Embraer’s military transport aircraft, the C-390, arrived in Farnborough yesterday after a 3-hour and 45-minute transit from Gran Canaria. Previously, the aircraft had flown from Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto facility via Recife to the Canaries.
Today, the aircraft was spotted undertaking its validation flights for the flying display earlier today, with several circuits of the Farnborough airfield performed lasting for around 15 minutes.
A validation flight is a formal rehearsal used to demonstrate an aircraft’s planned routine to the airshow’s accredited Flying Display Director (FDD), who is responsible for the safe conduct of the flying display. The FDD assesses the pilot’s positioning, manoeuvres, heights, display lines and overall suitability for the venue, and may approve the routine, impose additional limits or require changes before allowing it into the public programme.
The aircraft cannot simply arrive and perform: the event must hold a Flying Display Permission from the CAA, while participating pilots must have the appropriate civil Display Authorisation or military approval. In some cases, particularly for unfamiliar or specially approved display items, a satisfactory validation flight may also be required before permission to perform publicly is confirmed.
The C-390 will be on static display all week, and will be conducting a flying display at least on Monday, although the rest of the week has not been confirmed.
More aircraft due to arrive in Farnborough tomorrow
Several interesting aircraft are due to fly into Farnborough tomorrow, including a pair of M346 trainers from Turin in Italy. Also scheduled to fly in tomorrow is an AW149 helicopter, travelling from Paris and due to arrive around lunchtime.
Excitingly, the Do228NXT, the under-development upgrade to the classic Dornier aircraft owned by General Atomics AeroTec Systems, is scheduled to fly into the airshow site on Friday, 17 July. At present, it is expected to leave Oberpfaffenhofen at 10:00 and arrive into FAB at around midday.
It’s only the second public display of the aircraft and its first outside of Germany.
