Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

The 787 Dreamliner, with its composite-fibre chassis, lithium-ion batteries, and super-efficient engines, can fairly claim to be the coolest airplane in the world. Another reasonable choice, if you really revere giant flying tubes of aluminium, is the gloriously ginormous Airbus A380. And of course, true aerospace connoisseurs would probably choose the SR-71 Blackbird, or perhaps even the Concorde. But I can tell you now, all of these planes pale in comparison to the Boeing 757, built in 1982, that I just had the pleasure of flying in.

Externally this 757, which was only the fifth of its type to roll off Boeing's production line, looks fairly normal—until you spot a giant bracket on the side of the fuselage where an optional third engine can be mounted. That pylon isn't for redundancy or extra power, though: it's for field-testing new jet engines.

Stepping inside the airplane, which is owned by multinational conglomerate Honeywell, things get even cooler: to the left is an open cockpit with two softly-spoken American pilots, and to the right there are 10 ageing leather seats. And then, behind the seats... there's a 1980s-era science lab.

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

Sebastian Anthony

There is no plastic cladding, nor overhead bins. There's insulation, of course, so that you don't freeze to death, but in a few places you can see and touch the three millimetres of aluminium that make up the airplane's hull. There are the usual windows, and the space feels a lot lighter than a normal passenger jet. Miles of neatly ducted, shielded cables run along the ceiling. A big steel box on the floor contains the emergency oxygen supply. A number of large cabinets contain diagnostic equipment for the third engine mount (which sadly isn't equipped today).

Heading deeper into the aircraft there are a bunch of terminals: large metal enclosures that can be outfitted with whatever equipment is required for the flight. In front of each terminal is an engineer or technician who is poking around on a keyboard or fiddling with some switches; chunky switches that take me straight back to electronics class at school 25 years ago. I was on the plane to try out a specific technology, but most of the terminals were being used to test other Honeywell prototypes. It's mighty expensive to crew and fly a 757, after all—Honeywell wants to make the most of every flight.

Listing image by Sebastian Anthony