In this era of total uncertainty for airlines and aircraft manufacturers, it’s easy to miss the news that Boeing is rolling out testing on their largest twin-engine jet, the B-777X. At a time when most airlines are retiring their B-747s and many are looking at returning their A380s after they come off lease in favour of smaller, more furl efficient jets, Boeing is hoping a larger, stretched version of their highly successful B777 is what the world needs… and wants.
Late last week Boeing conducted a productive and successful first flight of the second 777X airplane. Capt. Ted Grady, 777X project pilot, and Capt. Van Chaney, 777/777X chief pilot, flew for 2 hours and 58 minutes over Washington state before landing at Seattle’s Boeing Field at 2:02 p.m. Pacific.
Designated WH002, this airplane is the second of four in a dedicated flight test fleet and will test handling characteristics and other aspects of airplane performance. An array of equipment, sensors and monitoring devices throughout the cabin allows the onboard team to document and evaluate the airplane’s response to test conditions in real time.
The 777X test plan lays out a comprehensive series of tests and conditions on the ground and in the air to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the design. To date, crews have flown the first airplane nearly 100 hours at a variety of flap settings, speeds, altitudes and system settings as part of the initial evaluation of the flight envelope. With initial airworthiness now demonstrated, the team can safely add personnel to monitor testing onboard instead of relying solely on a ground-based telemetry station, unlocking testing at greater distances.
About the Boeing 777X Family
The 777X includes the 777-8 and the 777-9, the newest members of Boeing’s market-leading widebody family.
|
Seat Count (Typical 2-class) |
777-8: 384 passengers 777-9: 426 passengers |
|
Engine |
GE9X, supplied by GE Aviation |
|
Range |
777-8: 8,730 nautical miles (16,170 km) 777-9: 7,285 nautical miles (13,500 km) |
|
Wingspan |
Extended: 235 ft, 5 in (71.8 m) On ground: 212 ft, 8 in (64.8 m) |
|
Length |
777-8: 229 ft (69.8 m) 777-9: 251 ft, 9 in (76.7 m) |
|
Program Launch |
2013 |
|
Production Start |
2017 |
|
Ground Testing |
2019 |
|
First Flight |
January 25, 2020 |
|
First Delivery |
2021 |
So Boeing goes big and continues to develop their 777X program. The first deliveries are scheduled for 2021, hopefully they’ll coincide with a return to some normalcy in long haul air travel, as this isn’t the kind of plane airlines need for the Boston-Atlanta route. In fact no US airlines have ordered any variations of the planes as of yet.
| Initial date | Customer | Combined orders |
|---|---|---|
| November 17, 2013 | Lufthansa[a] | 20 |
| November 17, 2013 | Etihad Airways | 25[b] |
| December 20, 2013 | Cathay Pacific | 21 |
| July 8, 2014 | Emirates | 115 |
| July 16, 2014 | Qatar Airways | 60 |
| July 31, 2014 | All Nippon Airways | 20 |
| June 4, 2015 | Unidentified customer(s) | 10 |
| June 19, 2017 | Singapore Airlines | 20 |
| March 22, 2019 | British Airways | 18 |
| Totals | 309 | |
Emirates will be the launch customer and also the largest buyer with 115 planes on order as of January 2020.
