A Boeing 777-9 aircraft, soon to join the Singapore Airlines fleet, has completed its first test flight.
Prototype number 1, registration N2007L, took off yesterday from Paine Field in Seattle at 11:03 a.m. and flew for 2 hours and 27 minutes, reaching an altitude of 39,000 meters.
According to The Air Current, this test is the first for a Boeing 777-9 aircraft in five years.
The 777-9, a next-generation aircraft with a production system, was integrated into the development program earlier than any other aircraft.
The first member of this long-haul family, the 777-9 builds on the successes of the 787 Dreamliner. It can accommodate up to 425 passengers in its standard configuration and has a range of 14,075 km. It’s the largest twin-engine jet available on the market.
It should be noted, however, that this aircraft is still in the testing phase. There’s still a long way to go and several steps to go before we see it flying with the Singapore Airlines logo, as reported by The Air Current. The next step is to subject the aircraft to high-intensity radiated field (HIRF) testing. This step is essential because it demonstrates that the fly-by-wire controls, as well as all other systems used to fly the aircraft, fail, even when exposed to strong external radio frequency emissions during flight.