Maiden flight for brand new 747

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Boeing Co.'s 747-8 freighter successfully completed its first flight on Monday, the U.S. aerospace giant said.

More than 5,000 employees, customers, suppliers and other guests witnessed the moment when the jumbo jet, the biggest plane Boeing has ever built, took off shortly after noon local time from Paine Field Airport in Everett in the western state of Washington, one day before the 41st anniversary of the first flight of the 747.

The flight lasted three hours and 39 minutes as the plane followed a route over western Washington, where it underwent tests for basic handling qualities and engine performance, Boeing said in a press release.

The 747-8 freighter is 76.3-meter long, 5.6 meters longer than the 747-400 model. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared with its predecessor, according to Boeing.

The company said the jet is more eco-friendly than the current 747-400 model, calling it "the world's most efficient freighter."

Boeing is also developing a passenger version of the 747-8, seen as a competitor to Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet though both the 747-8 freighter and passenger jets are smaller than A380.

The 747-8, listed on the market for some 300 million U.S. dollars, was launched in November 2005 and was originally scheduled to take its first flight in 2009.

However, the first flight and first deliveries of 747-8 freighter and passenger jets have been delayed due to limited availability of engineering resources, design changes and other reasons.

First freighter model of 747-8 is now expected to be delivered by the end of 2010, followed by the first delivery of the passenger version a year later.

Boeing said it has secured 108 orders for the 747-8, of which 76 are orders for the freighter model.

Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have ordered the 747-8 freighter, according to Boeing.

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Original Steyr

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Run_to_da_hills

looks just like a stretched version of the 100.

Danbo!

The 747 design is absolutely timeless. Always looks great.

Plowman

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donkey balls

Plowman wrote: »

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the A380 F is still undergoing tests and there was problems with offloading the upperdeck(at the time they didnt know wether to build an internal lift to offload the upperdeck whcih would impact on the payload)
also a lot of the big freighter outfits are going for B777F to replace there older 747F DC10

pclancy

Shame they don't have the cash to actually design a new airframe instead of streching a 41 year old model. I've always loved its look though, the classic queen of the sky.

globemaster1986

I think the 747-8 looks better than all of the previous 747's! Much sleeker looking, nice curves:D

Run_to_da_hills

pclancy wrote: »

Shame they don't have the cash to actually design a new airframe instead of streching a 41 year old model. I've always loved its look though, the classic queen of the sky.

41 years of being tried and tested is the way most potential customers would look at it.

Just Like the Concord the Boeing 747 will never look out of fashion.