Today Boeing sent its newest creation to the sky for its first flight. While it may look like a normal 747, this one is all new and the future of super jumbo flight. Like its stablemate the 787 this plane is cutting edge technology. The engines are the GE GenX and are the most powerful in the world for the type. They were originally designed for the 787, but were adapted for this monster.
In the background of a couple of these photos you can see the modified Boeing 747-400 Dreamlifter which is used to transport the pieces of the 787 from plants around the world to Seattle for final assembly. Currently there are 4 Dreamlifters in the fleet. Boeing will also have a second assembly site in Charleston South Carolina to assemble the 787 to meet the huge backlog of orders.
Airbus did not want to see this plane built as their A380 has been slow selling and has had lots of small development issues. While Boeing has numerous orders for this as a freighter Airbus killed off the A380F variant due to lack of interest. Boeing has about 32 orders for the passenger version of this 747-8I for Intercontinental. The next 9 month will see 2 others join this one for flight testing with deliveries due to begin in late December. Congratulations to Boeing!
1 comment:
It is impossible for me to look at any 747 and not think of Pan Am's visionary chief Juan Trippe and Boeing's William Allen. The two bet their companies on the 747! A great plane!!
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