While it may seem like yesterday, it’s actually been an entire year since Boeing – battling inclement weather in the process – managed to fly its 777X for the first time.
At that point, the Coronavirus crisis had only just begun to inflict its devastation on the world and there was a sense of optimism and enthusiasm about the type, which was also the first new aircraft the US giant had flown since the 737 MAX groundings began in 2019.
More than 8,000 employees and thousands of spectators reassembled at Boeing Field in Seattle after the first attempt two days prior on January 23 was called off due to the weather.
Flown by Van Chaney, 777 chief test pilot, and Craig Bomben, Boeing chief pilot, the jet departed at 10.09am local time against very dark skies and embarked upon a three-hour, 51-minute flight over Washington state.
What’s special about the 777X?
The aircraft is the next-generation variant of the world’s best-selling widebody airliner. More than 1,600 have been built since production started in 1993 and this latest version provides various benefits including increased…
