First 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter Flight Test Program Begins with Flight from Xiamen to Hong Kong

Boeing and launch customer Cathay Pacific celebrated the arrival in Hong Kong of the first Boeing 747-400 passenger airplane to be converted to a freighter as part of the 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter program.

The prototype airplane was flown from Xiamen, People's Republic of China - where the modification was performed and certification ground testing was started - to Hong Kong, where the flight test and certification will be completed over the next few months.

“The start of flight testing for the first 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter is another in a long series of accomplishments achieved by our employees, our suppliers and our customer, Cathay Pacific,” said Lou Mancini, vice president and general manager for Boeing Commercial Aviation Services.

This is the first time Boeing has conducted a major flight test program outside the United States. It will be done by a Boeing flight test crew on site in Hong Kong in cooperation with Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific, along with HAECO and TAECO, aircraft maintenance and engineering companies based in Hong Kong and Xiamen respectively. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department is assisting.

The Boeing flight test crew plans to accumulate up to 200 hours of in-flight testing, which includes a prescribed and rigorous routine of scenarios that will certify the airplane's fire detection and suppression systems. The 747-400BCF is the first major Boeing program to be certified in accordance with the new U.S. Federal Aviation Authority Changed Product Rule.

Redelivery to Cathay Pacific Airways is scheduled for December.

See other recent news regarding: Travel News Asia, Boeing, Cathay Pacific