Amanda Jacob

Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes first flight

News
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes off for its first flight.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes off for its first flight.
After takeoff from Everett, the 3-hour, 6-minute flight followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and back to Boeing Field in Seattle.
After takeoff from Everett, the 3-hour, 6-minute flight followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and back to Boeing Field in Seattle.

The flight marks the beginning of a flight test programme involving six aircraft, culminating in the aircraft's first delivery scheduled for fourth quarter 2010.

Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be joined in the flight test programme by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.

55 customers around the world have ordered 840 787s.

Further information

This first flight comes at the end of a series of delays to the Dreamliner programme. For an overview of the project and the problems it has encountered see our feature: Boeing's 787: trials, tribulations, and restoring the dream.