The plane is the fourth version of the 737, which made its first flight in 1967 and has become one of Boeing’s most profitable aircraft.
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Crews have been busy assembling the 737 MAX at the Renton plant.
Today’s flight was carried out by the first of the 737 MAX 8 aircraft and three more are now under construction. The flight is scheduled to take place in Renton, Wash. During its maiden flight Friday, the airliner reached a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet and an air speed of about 288 miles per hour, Boeing reportedly added. The flight never exceeded 250 knots, but perhaps owing to the maturity of the basic platform, the landing gear was retracted “cleaning up the airframe” for flight testing.
Rival Airbus Group SE’s A320neo-or new engine option- entered passenger service for the first time Monday with Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
“We were amazed at how quiet the cabin was”, said Captain Wilson after the flight. The second MAX aircraft built will be incorporated into the test program within a month.
Boeing’s newest airplane, the 737 MAX, was born in the Pacific Northwest.
Boeing say it has so far secured 3,072 orders from 62 customers for the 737 MAX, with the first delivery to Southwest Airlines slated for late 2017.
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The CFM-International LEAP-1B-powered 737 MAX 8 took off from Renton, Washington at 9:42 am local time on January 29 as hundreds of rain-soaked onlookers cheered. The first flight marks the beginning of more than a year of flight tests to achieve federal certification of the airplane.
