Second Boeing 747-8 Freighter Completes First Flight

The second Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC 522, completed its first flight yesterday evening, the company announced today. The airplane took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., at 3:57 p.m. local time and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle at 6:25 p.m.

Captained by Kirk Vining and copiloted by Rick Braun, the airplane reached an altitude of 27,000 feet and an airspeed of 240 knots.

“The airplane performed well on its first flight,” said Andy Hammer, test program manager for 747-8. “It was a good start to a demanding flight-test program for this airplane.”

The

second of three 747-8 Freighters scheduled to participate in flight trials, RC 522 will soon move to the program’s test base in Palmdale, Calif., thus avoiding scheduling conflicts with the

787 Dreamliner, now undergoing testing in Seattle. Plans call for the second 747-8 to spend the bulk of its flying time conducting tests associated with community noise, environmental control systems and extended operation performance standards.