Tag Archives: Boeing 747-8

Lufthansa and Boeing to conduct pre-delivery 747-800 testing at Frankfurt

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) and Boeing (Chicago) will start pre-delivery testing of the new Boeing 747-830 (D-ABYE) at Lufthansa’s main operations base at Frankfurt Airport from December 6 to December 9 .

According to Boeing, “Lufthansa will conduct a number of tests to help ensure a smooth integration of the newest member of the 747 family into Lufthansa operations. Lufthansa maintenance and engineering personnel will rehearse ground-handling processes for the 747-8 Intercontinental within the airline’s facilities and on its ramps at the airport. In addition, the crews will check how their ground-support equipment accommodates the airplane. These checks will help Lufthansa ensure a smooth entry into service for crews and passengers in early 2012.”

The airplane is scheduled to arrive at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in the late afternoon (Central European Time-CET) on December 6 after an approximately 9-hour flight from Seattle (Boeing Field) . Three Lufthansa pilots will join two Boeing pilots on the flight crew for the flight. The airplane will depart in the early afternoon CET on December 9 . Lufthansa will release photographs of the airplane’s visit to Frankfurt , at its website http://presse.lufthansa.com/de/mediathek/bildarchiv.html.

The airplane that will visit, known to Boeing as RC021, is one of three airplanes that have served in the 747-8 Intercontinental flight test fleet. 747-830 D-ABYE (msn 37826) was specifically used to test interior systems such as heating and air conditioning, cabin lighting and systems and galleys.

D-ABYE is painted white with a gray belly and a blue tail fin – a basecoat of the Lufthansa livery without decals – and will be the fifth 747-8 Intercontinental to join Lufthansa’s fleet when it is delivered in the third quarter of 2012. The first 747-830 Intercontinental (D-ABYA, msn 37827) destined for Lufthansa is completing construction at Boeing’s facility in Everett, Washington.

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Cargolux to take delivery of the first Boeing 747-800F Freighter on September 19

Cargolux Airlines International Boeing 747-8R7F N5573S (LX-VCC) (msn 35807) PAE (Nick Dean), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing (Chicago) will deliver the first 747-800F Freighter to launch customer Cargolux Airlines International (Luxembourg) on September 19, 2011 at Paine Field in Everett. Cargolux will fly the airplane away that morning and put the airplane into revenue service. Boeing will celebrate the first delivery with Cargolux, employees and other stakeholders the following day at the Everett factory. Cargolux will take delivery of the second 747-8 Freighter on September 21. The carrier has a total of 13 of the airplanes on order.

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Boeing receives the type certificate for the new Boeing 747-800F freighter, Cargolux to take delivery next month

Cargolux Airlines International Boeing 747-8R7F N5573S (LX-VCC) (msn 35807) PAE (Nick Dean), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing (Chicago) today received U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification Friday for the new 747-8 Freighter, passing two of the final landmarks on the airplane’s journey to entry into service. The FAA granted Boeing an Amended Type Certificate (ATC) and an Amended Production Certificate for the 747-8 Freighter, while the EASA also granted the company an ATC for the airplane.

With these certificates, the program is in the final stages of preparing to deliver the first 747-8 Freighter to launch customer Cargolux in early September 2011.

The Amended Type Certificate acknowledges that the FAA and EASA have certified that the design of the 747-8 Freighter is compliant with all aviation regulatory requirements and will produce a safe and reliable airplane. The airplane logged more than 3,400 hours of flight testing and many thousands more of ground, part, component, materials and other testing on the road to certification.

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New Boeing 747-8 Freighter completes certification flight testing

Boeing 747-8R7F N747EX (msn 35808) SBD (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing (Chicago) yesterday announced the 747-8 Freighter successfully completed its certification flight test program Tuesday, with two airplanes landing at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. Flight test airplane RC522 completed testing of the flight management computer (FMC) and RC523 completed function & reliability (F&R) testing.

The first 747-8 Freighter is scheduled to be delivered to launch customer Cargolux in September after certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The 747-8 Freighter has flown more than 1,200 flights and 3,400 hours since its first flight February 8, 2010. During that time, the five-airplane test fleet was used to gather data for more than 1,700 FAA certification requirements. Boeing tested the capabilities of these airplanes far beyond what they are expected to encounter in normal service. Tests concluded with F&R testing, a final phase in which an airplane must accrue 300 FAA-approved flight hours in its final delivery configuration.

Boeing signs orders and commitments for 17 747-8 Intercontinentals

Boeing 747-8JK Intercontinental N6067E (msn 38636) PAE (Nick Dean) (taxies out for first flight), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing Company (Chicago) today announced orders and commitments for 17 747-8 Intercontinentals. Placed by two undisclosed customers, the combined deals are valued at $5.4 billion at list prices. One carrier has committed to 15 of the new passenger version of the 747-8 while another carrier placed an order for two.

The orders bring the 747-8 Intercontinental total backlog to 50 firm aircraft, plus five from a commitment from Air China contingent on Chinese Government approval. It also brings the total 747-8 backlog, including 76 747-8 Freighters, to 126.

The new 747-8 Intercontinental carries 467 passengers in a three-class configuration. The airplane features a new wing design and an upgraded flight deck. The airplane interior incorporates features from the 787 Dreamliner including a new curved, upswept architecture that will give passengers a greater sense of space and comfort, while adding more room for personal belongings. The architecture will be accentuated by lighting technology that provides smooth transitions for a more restful flight.

According to Boeing, “using 787-technology GEnx-2B engines, the airplane will be quieter, produce lower emissions and achieve better fuel economy than any competing jetliner. The 747-8 Intercontinental is more than 10 percent lighter per seat than the Airbus A380 and consumes 11 percent less fuel per passenger. That translates into a trip-cost reduction of 21 percent and a seat-mile cost reduction of more than 6 percent compared to the A380.”

Boeing 747-8 Freighter to fly to Paris Air Show on sustainable biofuel

Cargolux Airlines International Boeing 747-8R7F N5573S (LX-VCC) (msn 35807) PAE (Nick Dean) (launch customer of 747-8F), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing (Chicago) will fly the new 747-8 Freighter to its international air show debut in a doubly historic fashion, flying the airplane across the Atlantic Ocean to the Paris Air Show using a renewable aviation jet fuel – the world’s first transatlantic crossing of a commercial jetliner using biologically derived fuel.

Camelina, the plant source used to create the biofuel, was grown in Montana and processed by Honeywell’s UOP. Boeing does not need to make any changes to the airplane, its engines or operating procedures prior to departure to accommodate biofuel use. Normal flight parameters are being followed and were approved in advance by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The airplane will be on static display at the Paris Air Show June 21 and 22. It is scheduled to leave the air show the evening of June 22 and fly to Cargolux headquarters at Luxembourg for a two-day visit. Cargolux is scheduled to take delivery of the first 747-8 Freighter to enter service this summer.

Boeing pilots Capt. Keith Otsuka and Capt. Rick Braun and Cargolux Capt. Sten Rossby will fly the airplane with each of the 747-8 Freighter’s four GE GEnx-2B engines powered by a blend of 15 percent camelina-based biofuel mixed with 85 percent traditional kerosene fuel (Jet-A). The airplane is scheduled to arrive at Le Bourget Airport Monday at about 5 p.m. Paris local time (15:00 GMT) after a 4,989-mile (8,029 km, 4,335 nautical mile) trip.

Boeing to have two 747-800s, one 787 and one 737-700 with the Sky Interior on display at the Paris Air Show

Boeing 747-8R7F N747EX (msn 35808) SBD (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Boeing (Chicago) is planning to have two 747-800s, one 787 Dreamliner, one 737-700 with the Sky Interior and various military aircraft on display at the Paris Air Show later this month.

Boeing puts a second 747-8 Intercontinental into flight testing

Boeing (Chicago) on April 26 put a second Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, designed by Boeing as RC021. Destined to Lufthansa as D-ABYE (msn 37826), N6067U successfully made its first flight on April 26. The airplane completes the two-airplane test fleet for the 747-8 Intercontinental.

N6067U was piloted by Captains Keith Otsuka and Ron Johnston, with Ralph Chaffin serving as system operator and Greg Lichneckert as flight analyst, RC021 took off at 9:26 a.m. Pacific time from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The airplane completed a three-hour, twenty-minute flight landing at 12:46 p.m. at Paine Field. During the flight, the airplane reached an altitude of 28,000 feet (8534 m) and airspeed of 275 knots, or about 316 miles (509 km) per hour.

RC021 will be used primarily for testing the various interior systems that will be on the Intercontinental, such as heating, venting and air conditioning, smoke detection and galleys. In addition, Boeing will conduct fuel consumption and function and reliability tests on the airplane. The 747-8 Intercontinental flight-test program will perform approximately 600 hours of flight testing.

The new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental makes its first flight

Boeing’s (Chicago) 747-8 Intercontinental successfully began its flight test program today (March 20), taking off from Paine Field in Everett, WA, before more than several thousand employees, customers, suppliers and community leaders. The airplane landed four hours and 25 minutes later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The 747-8 Intercontinental’s first flight marks the beginning of a flight test program that will finish in the fourth quarter.

With 747 Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Paul Stemer at the controls, the newest member of the 747 family took off at 9:59 a.m. (0959) and landed at 2:24 p.m. (1424) local time.

Today’s flight was the first of more than 600 flight hours in the test program for the new 747-8 Intercontinental. The airplane followed a route over Eastern Washington, where it underwent tests for basic handling and performance. The airplane reached a cruising altitude of 19,000 feet (5,791 meters), and a speed of up to 250 knots, or about 288 miles per hour (463 kilometers).

The 747-8 Intercontinental will have the lowest seat-mile cost of any large commercial jetliner, with 12 percent lower costs than its predecessor, the 747-400. The airplane provides 16 percent better fuel economy, 16 percent less carbon emissions per passenger and generates a 30 percent smaller noise footprint than the 747-400. The 747-8 Intercontinental applies interior features from the 787 Dreamliner that includes a new curved, upswept architecture giving passengers a greater feeling of space and comfort, while adding more room for personal belongings.

Korean Air and VIP customers have joined launch customer Lufthansa in ordering a total of 33 747-8 Intercontinentals. First delivery of the 747-8 Intercontinental is scheduled for the fourth quarter. Air China also has agreed to order five Intercontinentals, pending government approval.

The airplane is painted in a new Sunrise livery of red-orange and is a significant departure from Boeing’s standard blue. The new colors honor many key Boeing customers whose cultures recognize these colors as symbols of prosperity and good luck. The Sunrise livery only will appear on the first 747-8 Intercontinental, which is scheduled to be delivered to a VIP customer at the end of the year.

Watch the Boeing video of the historic event: CLICK HERE

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Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental completes taxi tests

Boeing (Chicago) successfully completed high-speed taxi tests on the first 747-8 Intercontinental yesterday (March 18). This is the last in a series of functional tests planned in preparation for first flight.

During the testing, the airplane reached a top speed of approximately 90 knots (103 mph, 167 kph), and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement.