Introduced by Boeing in 1959, the 720 is a smaller capacity, lighter, medium range variant of the 707, one of the most successful airliners of the 20th century. Boeing 720-023B was completed on October 28, 1960 and registered as N7538A. It was used as a commercial airliner by American Airlines (1961-1971) and by Middle East Airlines (1971-1985). In December of 1985 Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) purchased the aircraft and re-registered it as C-FETB (Flying Experimental Test Bed). Pratt & Whitney Canada is one of the most successful manufacturers of turboprop and small turbofan engines in the world. For more than two decades, between 1988 and 2010, the Québec-based company flight tested its engines on a specially-modified Boeing 720-023B. In its new role with PWC it was heavily modified between October 1986 and January 1988.

Following its modifications, it able to test a variety of engines, including a large turbofan that could take the place of the inside / inner engine underneath the right/starboard wing, a small turbofan that could be mounted on the right/starboard side of the forward fuselage, and a turboprop that could be mounted in the nose. At the time of its retirement in 2012, C-FETB was the single remaining operational 720 in the world.

On May 9, 2012, the aircraft made its final flight, travelling from Saint-Hubert to the NAFMC at CFB Trenton – the last flight ever of a 720. Eager to preserve this historically significant test bed, Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum (CASM) came to an agreement that saw C-FETB on loan to the National Air Force Museum of Canada, in Trenton, Ontario.