Category: Boeing

Photo – 747-8F in Cargolux Livery

The first Boeing 747-8 Freighter painted in customer livery left the Boeing paint hangar on June 7. The airplane sports an updated livery for launch customer Cargolux. The Luxembourg-based cargo operator has a total of 13 Boeing 747-8 Freighters on order.

Cargolux Boeing 747-8 Freighter - New Livery

“The design stands for continuity and commitment while confirming the fundamental principles that made Cargolux successful. The red, white and blue stripes symbolize the company’s roots in Luxembourg, its hub and home base,” said Ulrich Ogiermann, chief executive officer of Cargolux. The new livery features a distinctive new red tail and an additional logo on the belly further promotes the brand.

Boeing will deliver the first 747-8 Freighter to launch customer Cargolux in the fourth quarter of this year.

Source: Boeing
Photo: Boeing

Video – The Making of Southwest Airlines Florida One

Southwest Airlines recently published this video, featuring the making of “Florida One”. N945WN, a Boeing 737-7H4, wears a special livery representing Southwest Airlines’ ties to the Sunshine State since beginning service in January of 1996. Southwest has been growing from 17 daily nonstop departures to 284 daily nonstop departures and now carries 20 percent of all air traffic to the state of Florida. And last Southwest will begin service to the seventh Florida city, Panama City Beach, on May 23, 2010.

The challenge of this plane was to recreate the Flag Logo without the use of tools, using only the drawing for reference and the stencils for outline, while at the same time making both sides exactly symmetrical.

Interesting facts:
Process time: 8 days
Number of People: 32 over 3 shifts
Paint colors: 16
Total gallons: Approximately 46
Premask (stencil outline): 15 boxes or approximately 150 different pieces to create the logo

Video

Florida One joins thirteen other 737s in Southwest’s fleet that carry a unique paint scheme: Arizona One, California One, Illinois One, Lone Star One (Texas), Nevada One, New Mexico One, Maryland One, three Shamu aircraft (SeaWorld), Silver One (celebrating Southwest’s 25th anniversary), Triple Crown One (recognizing Southwest’s top rankings for ontime performance, baggage handling, and Customer satisfaction), and Slam Dunk One (tribute to our NBA partnership).

Video – 747 In-Flight Nose Gear Cam

A guy on YouTube called Balleka did a spectacular in-flight video of a Boeing 747-200F. He put a Contour HD helmet cam on the the nose gear and filmed takeoff and landing on a flight from Johannesburg (JNB) to Maputo International Airport (MPM).

You definitely have to watch this!

He also put this making of video online, in case you’re wondering how it was done.

Video – Boeing 747-8 Freighter First Flight

The Boeing 747-8 Freighter successfully took to the sky for the first time Monday Feb. 8.

With 747 Chief Pilot Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Tom Imrich in the flight deck, the newest member of the 747 family took off at 12:39 p.m. local time from Paine Field in Everett and landed at Paine Field at 4:18 p.m.

Video

This flight was the first of more than 1,600 flight hours in the test program for the newest member of the Boeing freighter family. The airplane followed a route over Western Washington, where it underwent tests for basic handling qualities and engine performance. The airplane reached a cruising altitude of 17,000 feet (5,181 m) and a speed of up to 230 knots, or about 264 miles (426 km) per hour.

Photos
Boeing 747-8 Freighter First Flight

Boeing 747-8 Freighter First Flight

Powered by four General Electric GEnx-2B engines, the 747-8 Freighter will transition its testing program to Moses Lake, Wash., and Palmdale, Calif., where the other two test airplanes will join it in the coming month.

Boeing launched the airplane on Nov. 14, 2005, with firm orders for 18 747-8 Freighters: 10 from Cargolux of Luxembourg and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines of Japan. All told, Boeing has secured 108 orders for the 747-8, of which 76 are orders for the new freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have ordered the 747-8 Freighter.

Source: Boeing
Photos: Boeing

Video – 747-8 Freighter Taxi Tests Completed

Boeing announced that they completed taxi tests on the first 747-8 Freighter today. The new airplane reached a top seed of approximately 90 knots (103.5 mph, 166.6 kph).

This was the last functional test planned before first flight. First flight of the 747-8 Freighter is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8.

Video: Boeing 747-8F (N747EX) high speed taxi at Paine Field

Boeing 747-8 Freighter First Flight Announced

Boeing announced the first flight of the 747-8 Freighter. The first flight window is planned to open on February 8. This date is dependent on several factors, including final internal reviews, taxi test, receiving the final experimental ticket from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and weather conditions. The first flight of the 747-8 will take place from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, USA.

Boeing 747-8 Freighter Special Boeing Commercial Airplanes Livery

You can enjoy LIVE take-off and landing of the 747-8 Freighter by visiting and exclusive website 24 hours before the flight. Bookmark this site now for easy access: http://747-8firstflight.com

For more up-to-date information, visit:
– www.boeing.com
– www.newairplane.com

Photo: Boeing

Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Crashed Into Mediterranean Sea

Today Ethiopian Airlines flight 409, a Boeing 737-8AS(WL) (ET-ANB), crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon. The flight was bound for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Unfortunately, no one of the 8 crew and 82 passengers survived this accident.
Weather reported about the time of the accident was: Wind 310 degrees at 8 knots, variable from 280° to 340°; visibility 8km; thunderstorms in the vicinity; few clouds with cumulonimbus at 2,000 ft; scattered clouds at 2,600 ft; temperature 13 degrees C

American Airlines 737 – Crash Landing in Jamaica

Today an American Airlines Boeing 737-823 (WL) (N977AN) crash landed at Kingston-Norman Manley International Airport (KIN/MKJP), Jamaica. Flight AAL331 was bound from Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA).
On landing, the plane overshot the runway in a heavy rainstorm, slid into an airport fence and stopped on a road. All 6 crew and 140 passengers survived, at least 40 have been injured. The plane was substantially damaged. The fuselage was cracked, nose section damaged, one engine and wing detached from the aircraft.

Video by CBS

Source: FAA