Second Boeing 777X Begins Flight Tests

Boeing's second 777X airplane completed its maiden flight last week.

Captain Ted Grady, 777X project pilot, and Captain Van Chaney, 777/777X chief pilot, flew the plane for 2 hours and 58 minutes over Washington state before landing at Seattle's Boeing Field at 14:02 Pacific.

Designated WH002, this aircraft 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.

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.

The 777X family includes the 777-8 and the 777-9. In a typical two-class configuration the 777-8 will be able to seat aproximately 384 passengers and the 777-9 426 passengers.

The aircraft are powered by GE9X engines and they will have a range or 8,730 nautical miles (16,170 km) and 7,285 nautical miles (13,500 km) for the 777-8 and 777-9 respectively.

First delivery is currently scheduled for 2021.

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