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Honeywell has completed an around-the-world trip conducting inflight wifi tests on its Boeing 757 flying tech lab.
The 757 N757HW, which stands out because of a third pylon behind the cockpit, was testing the Honeywell JetWave inflight wireless internet hardware and was in Sydney and Auckland in the middle of August as part of its four-continent itinerary.
Honeywell’s JetWave technology, which utilised the Inmarsat Global Xpress network of three Ka-Band satellites, received US Federal Aviation Administration certification for the Boeing 757 in January 2016 after 180 hours of flight tests on board the aircraft.
And in June, the European Aviation Safety Agency certified the Global Xpress technology for the Airbus A320 family of aircraft.
It has also received regulator certification for the Bombardier Global 5000 and 6000 business jets.
Qantas and Virgin Australia have both announced plans to offer on board internet wifi in 2017.
The aircraft, N757HW, was the fifth 757 built when it was delivered to Eastern Airlines in 1983. It flew with the now defunct carrier until 1985, before it was refitted for test flights on technology such as weather radar systems, engines and internet.
During its time in this part of the world, Honeywell conducted a series of flight loops over Sydney, and did the same over Auckland, before heading back to Phoenix via Pago Pago and Kona in Hawaii.
