History of Rockwell Collins’ Sabreliner

Wednesday, February 06, 2013 at 01:14 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

The Sabreliner N50CR was a unique aircraft with a significant history, initially owned by Autonetics before becoming a dedicated flight testbed for Collins Radio (later Rockwell Collins) starting in the mid-1960s.
It was heavily modified for its role, featuring a distinctive enlarged nose to accommodate various radar dishes and a reconfigurable cabin and cockpit for testing new avionics.
N50CR was instrumental in the development of advanced avionics, including Rockwell Collins' Pro Line II and Pro Line 4 systems, and was eventually retired to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in 2013.

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The weird, whacky and important history of Rockwell Collins’ Sabreliner, N50CR.

The first owner of the one-of-a-kind Sabreliner 50 was avionics pioneer Autonetics (at the time a North American subsidiary and now part of Boeing) which bought the fetching blue-on-blue Sabre in 1964, at the dawn of the bizjet age.

While the original nose seemed pronounced enough, it proved too petite for the radar dishes that new owner Collins Radio would soon need to mount for test flying.

With external fuel tanks and the gear hanging out, the Sabreliner was an imposing airplane, one whose military heritage could be clearly discerned.

The Sabreliner parked next to its North American cousin, the B-47 Stratojet.

The cabin of the Sabre 50 served as the flight testing ‘heart’ of the aircraft, with customizable racks housed with various test equipment to complete missions.

The Sabre 50’s flight deck utilized Rockwell Collins’ Pro Line II avionics, however the right side of the aircraft was reconfigurable for testing, including the development of Pro Line 4 avionics.

What’s inside the Sabre 50’s big nose? Plenty of room for business and air transport weather radars!

N50CR departs Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for its permanent home at Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, Ore. on January 24, 2013.

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