Boeing's highly anticipated new 787 Dreamliner aircraft took off for the first time today in a critical milestone for the overdue jetliner seen as the future for the aerospace giant.
The 787 Dreamliner passed its final functional tests on Saturday and was cleared for takeoff for its maiden flight.
The delay-plagued maiden flight came after more than two years of production problems that pushed back delivery of the first plane to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways to late next year.
During the final taxi testing on Saturday, the airplane reached a top speed of approximately 130 knots (150 miles an hour, 240 kilometers an hour), and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement, Boeing said.
Boeing, vying with European rival Airbus for commercial supremacy, is betting its cutting-edge Dreamliner is the winning vision for global commercial aviation.
The mid-size, twin-engine 787 Dreamliner is the company's first new model in over a decade. About half of the aircraft is made of lightweight composite materials, such as carbon fiber-reinforced resin, compared with 12% on the Boeing 777, contributing to fuel efficiency, the company said.
Boeing says the Dreamliner will use 20% less fuel than today's airplanes of comparable size. The first-flight date before year-end confirmed Boeing's latest calendar, as announced in June after a fifth delay in the 787 Dreamliner programme to fix a structural problem.
Boeing launched the Dreamliner programme in April 2004 and initially had planned to deliver the first airplane to ANA in the first half of 2008, a delivery now set for late 2010.
But Boeing still faces stiff competition in the commercial aviation market from Airbus, a unit of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.
Airbus is working on a new long-range A350 plane aimed at competing with the Dreamliner and expected to fly in mid-2013. Boeing says it has 840 orders on its books from 55 customers for the cutting-edge plane, which it claims is the 'fastest-selling all-new jetliner in aviation history.'
United Airlines announced last week it would buy 25 Dreamliners, as well as 25 A350s, with the option to buy 50 more of each aircraft.
Airline companies that have announced cancelled orders for the delay-plagued 787 include Russian carrier S7, Dubai-based aircraft leasing company LCAL and Australia's Qantas.
