Lufthansa's first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental at Paine Field on March 21, 2011. Photo by Lee Karas. Click for larger.
The very first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental got a lot of great attention this Sunday, flying for the first time. However, I think some attention should go to the first 747-8I to be delivered to an airline.
The second Intercontinental (RC022) will be the first to go to an airline: Lufthansa Airlines and was caught out at Paine Field. Lufthansa’s first 747-8I came out of the paint hangar on Monday March 21st. She is painted with a gray belly and blue tail.
I am in process of finding out when the titles and logo will be put on the 747-8I. Not having them present makes me question if there might be some special livery or a new, updated livery for Lufthansa. Until I find out… let the rumors fly.
A huge thank you to Lee Karas for taking this photo and letting me share it.
The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental during it's first flight yesterday. Photo by Boeing - click for larger.
Over the past few months, there has been a lot of attention around the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. I wanted to wrap it all up with a conclusion of the first flight and links to all the interesting events since the start of assembling the first 747-8I in May 2010.
Yesterday, the 747-8I took off for the first time just before 10am from Paine Field with chief 747-8 test pilot Captain Mark Feuerstein at the controls and Captain Paul Stemer to his side. During the flight, the airplane reached about 19,000 feet and flew up to 250kts (288mph). After almost four and a half hours, the 747-8I successfully landed at Boeing Field to a cheering crowd.
Once landed, the plane taxied and waited for all the media to move to a white tent before being towed up closer. Stairs were brought out and the two smiling pilots were greeted by their families and Boeing executives.
“What a great privilege to be at the controls of such a great airplane on its first flight,” said Feuerstein. “And what an honor to share this day with the thousands of men and women who designed and built this airplane.”
While parked right outside the media tent, the blue initials “JFS” became quite noticeable. These initials are for Joe Frederick Sutter who is considered by many to be the father of the original Boeing 747 program. He was present for the event and today is actually celebrating his 90th birthday (Happy Birthday Joe!).
There will be two Boeing 747-8I’s completing 600 test hours before being certified for delivery. Boeing is expecting to deliver their first Boeing 747-8 Freighter by the end of the summer and the first Intercontinental by the end of 2011.
The excitement of the first flights for the 787 Dreamliner, 747-8 Freighter and Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is now completed. Now we wait for the first deliveries and watch closely as Bombardier works on their new C-series and Airbus completes the A350. In this business, the excitement never seems to end!
After a successful flight around Washington state, the first Boeing 747-8 International landed at Boeing Field, located in Renton, WA. On this post is an HD video of the landing and taxi. Sorry for it being wobbly, I had to get in a really awkward position to get this video without getting people in it, but it worked.
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.
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.
