New Boeing 747-8 Completes First Flight

Boeing's 747-8I Completes First Flight Today - credit Boeing

The long awaited maiden flight of the new Boeing 747-8 was completed just hours earlier today. The first flight of the redesigned legend of commercial aviation lasted for just about four and a half hours. The flight departed Paine Field in Everett WA around 10AM local and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle a few minutes before 2:30PM.

The redesign of the aircraft includes updated avionics in the flight deck, a more comfortable and attractive interior for passengers, a larger upper deck, and engines which are quieter, more energy efficient and more powerful than their predecessors. The new 747 will compete head-to-head with the A380 from Airbus in its ability to move massive numbers of passengers in comfort and economic efficiency.

The aircraft was flown by Boeing’s 747 chief project pilot Captain Mark Feuerstein along with captain Paul Stemer. During the flight throughout the skies over Washington State, the crew performed a variety of flight handling checks an maneuvers.  Throughout the flight, the aircraft was escorted by two Lockheed T-33 chase planes to monitor and lend support to the ship and her crew.