Today, the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental took off from Paine Field in Everett, WA. It is currently flying around Washington state and is scheduled to land at Boeing Field (KBFI) at 3pm PST.
HERE ARE 26 PHOTOS OF THE BOEING 747-8 INTERCONTINENTAL TAKE OFF
Boeing has been rocking creating their own videos and sharing them with the public on the 747-8 Intercontinental. Yesterday the 747-8I successfully completed high speed taxi tests at Paine Field. During the tests, the 747-8I reached a speed of 90 knots and lifted its front gear off the ground. She could have lifted off, but that will be saved until tomorrow.
Here are some other great 747-8I videos from Boeing:
* 747-8I’s dress rehearsal (03.16.11)
* Pilots of the 747-8I put it through the gauntlet (03.14.11)
* Start your engines! 747-8 starts engines its for the first time (03.09.11)
* The Intercontinental gets closer to first flight (03.04.11)
* The unveiling of the first 747-8I (02.13.11)
The first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental coming out of the Boeing hangar.
Are you ready? The first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is scheduled to fly tomorrow, Sunday March 20th at 10am PST.
Yesterday the 747-8I completed its high-speed taxi tests and according to Boeing, it “performed well” and they are confident the aircraft is ready for first flight on Sunday.
The 747-8I is scheduled to take off at 10am PST from Paine Field (KPAE). It will then have a five hour flight before landing at Boeing Field (KBFI) at about 3pm PST. Again, all these times are subject to change due to weather and delays.
If you are in the local area, I hope you can make it out to see this orange beauty either take off or land. If you are unable to, you have quite a few options for watching the events:
* Follow @AirlineReporter, @FlightBlogger, @BoeingAirplanes, @PIBoeing on Twitter (omg what is Twitter?)
* Follow #7478FF hashtag on Twitter
* Boeing will have a live feed of the take off starting at 9:45am PST
The word “azul” in Portuguese means “Blue.” This is odd for two reasons. First, this special livery is pink and the airline was created by David Neeleman, who was the founder and former CEO of jetBlue.
The airline started service in December of 2008 and has a fleet of 28 aircraft, consisting of Embraer 190s, Embraer 195s and a few ATR 72-600s. They fly to 30 destinations with more than 200 flights be day.
In the next few months, they will be taking delivery of 20 new ATR 72-600s and recently, ATR delivered a pretty-in-pink aircraft to Azul to help promote breast cancer awareness. In a recent ATR press release, they state, “On its fuselage, the aircraft will promote FEMAMA, a Brazilian non-profit organization dedicated to fighting the disease. In addition, ATR and its suppliers involved in the organization of the delivery of the aircraft will contribute funds for the Toulouse Cancer Campus.”
Although pink is not my favorite color, I think it looks good with Azul’s livery and actually I think the pink makes the plane pop a bit more than their standard blue livery.
Cockpit of an Airbus A320
What does the cockpit of the future look like? New technology? Fewer pilots? Maybe no pilots? I don’t know if people will ever be ready for no human to have some sort of control over their airplane, but maybe they will be ok letting computers take over a bit more.
Recently, Airbus has taken another step towards airplane automation. Now, when two airplanes get too close, the Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) will sound an alarm, the pilot will check out the situation and make needed adjustments. Many times, the system can provide false alarms or pilots can over-react to the alarm. Aibus’ new system will automatically adjust a plane’s altitude to avoid a collision. This will reduce false alarms and increase safety. For those that feel pilots should have more control — no worries. They are able to shut off the automated system and fly manually if they need to.
To see some quotes from Airbus and see what Boeing thinks, check out my story on AOL Travel News.