New Dreamliner 787-9 off on test flight
Updated 10:00 AM Wednesday Sep 18, 2013
A Boeing 787-9 taking off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington this morning. Photo / AP
The next model of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner took off today for a four-hour test flight.
Air New Zealand is the launch customer of the 787-9 aircraft and the first of the planes is due to join its fleet in the middle of next year.
The flight was due to land around 10am NZT, but is currently still flying east of Seattle.
The aircraft took off early today from Paine Field, near the factory where the plane was assembled, to the cheers of a couple of hundred Boeing employees who watched the blue and white plane with a number 9 on the tail rise into a cloudy sky.
See more details of the flight, including live streaming
at Boeing's website here.
A Boeing 787-9 taking off at Paine Field in Everett, Washington
After its maiden test flight, the plane was scheduled to land at Boeing Field in Seattle.
The 787-9 is 6 metres longer and can seat 40 more passengers than the original 787-8, which carries between 210 and 250 passengers. The new version of the fuel-efficient, long-haul widebody also can carry more cargo and fly further, Boeing spokeswoman Kate Bergman said.
The 787-9 has 388 firm orders, which account for 40 per cent of all 787 orders, Bergman said.
After flight tests and certification, the first 787-9 will be delivered next June to Air New Zealand.
The airline won't get the test aircraft first but one that is still on the production line. The first two test planes will be refitted before being delivered to Air New Zealand which has 10 of the 787-9s on order to fly routes, initially in the Pacific rim and Australia.
The original 787-8 was delivered in September 2011, nearly three years late because of production problems. The worldwide fleet of about 50 planes was grounded for almost four months this year after lithium batteries smouldered on two planes in January.
The redesigned battery system, which resolves the overheating problems, is built into the 787-9.
Boeing plans another stretch with the 787-10. That plane would seat between 300 and 330 passengers.
By
Grant Bradley Email Grant