Boeing 787 Dreamliner's First Flight -- At Last

Long-delayed maiden voyage of Boeing's newest plane aircraft

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a mid-size aircraft (290 to 330 passengers), is the first large commercial jet made of light-weight, high-strength composite materials for fuel efficiency, reduced emissions and reduced noise. It was rolled out in July 2007, with an original plan for the first flight to take place in September 2008 and for it to enter commercial service in May 2009. Fifty-six airlines had placed orders for more than 900 of these new-generation planes, which would make it the best-selling widebody, two-aisle plane in aircraft history. There were delays of various sorts (subassembly part shortages, subcontractor issues, fastener issues and other unglamorous manufacturing problems), and that, coupled with the global economic downturn, resulted the cancellation of 70 orders, but there are still Dreamliner 777 orders on the books at this writing. All the frustrations seem to have washed away two days ago when the Dreamliner took off from Boeing's airfield in Everett, Washington. Click here for the video of that first three-hour-plus flight, and then click on "webcast" on the upper right part of the screen.