Boeing 787 Boeing 787 Dreamliner Begins First Flight
Newest Boeing airplane takes off for three-hour mission
EVERETT, Wash., December, 2009 – The Boeing 787 Dreamliner took to the sky for the first time, ushering a new era in air travel as it departed before an estimated crowd of more than 12,000 employees and guests at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. The flight marks the beginning of a flight-test program that eventually will see six airplanes flying nearly around the clock and around the globe, leading to the airplane’s first delivery in fourth-quarter 2010.
Today’s 3-hour, 6-minute flight was the first of a rigorous test program through 2010, culminating in first delivery in the fourth quarter. After takeoff from Everett, the airplane followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and back to Boeing Field in Seattle, its home for the rest of its flight-test period.
The long passenger plane with slender wings was painted blue and white. Its engines made a low-pitched whine as it took off and rose quickly into cloudy skies.
787 First Flight Takeoff
The plane is supposed to be more fuel-efficient, quieter and put out less pollution than earlier aircraft.
The world’s second-largest commercial aircraft company used a revolutionary design using less metal and more composite materials to make the 787 lighter than other planes.
About This Post
