(air whooshing)
(digital squawking)
(upbeat presidential music)
- A very good morning from Boeing Everett Factory here.
We will see the first take off of the Boeing 777X
after six years of development of the programme.
So very exciting indeed.
As many of you know the Boeing 777X
is the world biggest,
the most powerful twin-engine aeroplane ever made.
I'm checking out the beauty of this aeroplane,
it's really long.
The longest 777, I think about 2 metre longer
than the current 300ER.
As you can see the engine here,
this engine GE9X, it sets a world record lately.
It generated 134,000 pound of thrust.
That is well above the rated 105,000 pounds of thrust,
on the 777X so indeed, is a very powerful engine.
Looking at all the new composite wing here,
and this wing is much lighter than the conventional wing,
than the metal wing.
I think the most integral feature is the folding wingtip.
The folding wingtip cataclysm works like this.
At this gate here, the wingtip fold up.
So you save a lot of space.
It's the same wing category as the other 777.
So the airport doesn't have to modify the infrastructure
or the gate to fit the new aeroplane, it's very smart.
And when the plane goes out to taxi and take off,
the folding wingtip will fold down to produce a longer wing
to reduce drag and more efficiency on the lift off.
At 9:10 a.m. I'm standing here at this bar here.
It has a little elevated view with the rest of the media
all out waiting for the 777s first take-off.
As you can see,
this January weather in Seattle is not kind.
That's why yesterdays take-off has been postponed to today.
(aeroplane engine roars)
- So I've been watching First Flight since I was a kid.
The 747-400 I think was my first.
I may have seen one before, but I would have been so little
I don't remember.
And then the original 777 and the 787.
I was very emotional because we had waited so long for it.
And so today is just going to be phenomenal.
Really lookin' forward to it.
It's in my DNA, my grandfather was a pilot,
my dad was a pilot.
- I love you're scarf.
- Thank you. - Look at this aviation scarf.
- Every year my mom has an aviation scarf made for me.
I'm very proud of it.
(helicopter chattering)
- We saw the plane just push back
from the delivery centre gates, so he's waiting to taxi.
So the moments coming soon.
(distant chattering)
(upbeat presidential music)
(plane beeps)
(helicopter chattering)
(aeroplane engine idling drowns out helicopter)
(wind rattling in speaker)
(engine accelerating)
(helicopter chattering)
(aeroplane engine idling drowns out helicopter)
The plane earlier taxied down past us.
Now is holding at the end before turning on the runway.
Some say it's just waiting for the weather to improve.
- [Male Voice] So as Sam said,
it's kind of unusual to take-off
with a tail-wind, especially when it's gusting at 26 knots.
But this is the track, the aeroplanes right here
and so Sam said we're going to go out Runway 34.
And then as you can see here, it is going to then
sharply turn to the northwest
and then go out over the ocean.
- Unfortunately as you have seen,
the plane has taxied back to the stand.
It means it's not going to happen today
due to the gusting wind.
- [John] Right.
- Bummer, here is my friend, John.
- This is flight ten. - Air current,
this is flight ten.
- This is flight ten.
- Everything is very dynamic. (chuckles)
- Exactly, exactly.
Hopefully we will see you tomorrow?
- Yeah, I hope so.
I actually won't be here tomorrow.
- Oh.
- Because I won't be here tomorrow this plane will take-off.
(laughs)
and as long as have a good safety take-off
and Boeing needs this boost.
So fingers crossed for tomorrow.
(whoosh)
So after two days of waiting the 777X
under inclement weather with bad wind and rain,
the 777X finally took off on Saturday, January 25.
(aeroplane engine idles)
(Engine accelerates)
- And here we go.
(muffled pilot communicating with tower)
- Under the command of Captain Van Chaney,
at 10 til nine a.m. it took off
for the first time in history.
It flew three hour 59 minutes
and returned to Boeing Field at 2:00 p.m.
(aeroplanes engine roaring)
- [Female Voice] And you can hear the crowds
cheering for it.
Beautiful landing.
- [Male Voice] Beautiful take off, beautiful landing.
- [Host] So what do we know about a 777X so far?
The 777X development programme started in November 2013
during Dubai Airshow.
The CEO at that time has formally announced the go-ahead
of the Programme.
- I am pleased to announce today,
that Boeing is launching the Boeing 777X.
Our sales teams have been engaging with customers
around the world about this aeroplane
and the response has been quite frankly, overwhelming.
(camera shutters clicking)
[Announcer] It was an unprecedented display of demand
for a new aeroplane.
Leaders of some of the worlds top airlines announced
at the Dubai Airshow a record number of orders
and commitments for Boeing's newest jet, the 777X.
- There are a total eight airlines
and one undisclosed customer
has ordered a 777X family so far.
The list price on 777-9 is $442 million.
Making it one of the most expensive planes Boeing ever made.
Boeing said it's expecting to pick up more orders
as airline gradually replacing 777ER
with the 777-9.
The main rivalry of the 777X family is the A350-1000.
So far the A350-1000 has sold about 170 firm order
comparing to the 309 order 777X received.
However the 777-8 has been struggled in orders and sales.
Qantas recently has selected A350-1000
for their ultra-long haul Project Sunrise Operation.
The 777X has it's first taxi test in 2019
but it faces delaying the programme.
It was expected to take off last year,
however there was a compressor anomaly in the GE9X engine
that has set back the take off dates
from four to six months until January 25th.
There's no MCAS installed on this aeroplane
like the 737 MAX.
The maximum take off weights of this aeroplane is 351 tonnes.
The 777X cockpits includes
large LCD Touch Screen Displays.
The cockpit has similarities from the 787 Dreamliner.
Boeing says the 777X cabin will be more comfortable
than that of the current generation 777.
The side walls are redesigned on the 777X cabin,
makes it 4 inches wider.
Window in the 777X will be 16% larger
than those of existing 777.
So with today's successful test flight,
that is a huge boost to the 777X programme and also to Boeing.
Time will tell if the 777X family will be as successful
as its predecessors.
I am looking forward to fly one of the 777X family
in the sky very soon.
Thank you for watching.
(upbeat music)
(Whooshing)
(bings)
(pops)