boeing

Score one for the Airborne Laser.

In a milestone for the ambitious directed-energy project, now dramatically downsized, the Pentagon's Airborne Laser prototype weapons system destroyed a ballistic missile that was in flight. The shootdown took place February 11 off the central coast of California.

"The Airborne Laser Testbed team has made history with this experiment," said Greg Hyslop, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, in a statement released Friday. Boeing is the prime contractor for the Defense Department project.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency was equally enthusiastic about the results. "The … Read more

Updated at 4:28 p.m. PST with additional details about the 747-8F.

EVERETT, Wash.--With all the recent hoopla about the first flight of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, true aviation buffs may be the only ones aware that the most iconic jumbo jet of all time was also preparing for a crucial step forward.

And on Monday, it happened: the 747-8 Freighter, the next generation of Boeing's 40-year-old flagship jet, took off from Paine Field here, the first flight of the cargo version of what will be the longest commercial plane in the company's history, a very important advancement for the venerable 747 program.

The 747-8 is considered an essential airplane for Boeing, even as it proceeds with the 787 Dreamliner, because the former will be the aviation giant's entry in the more energy-efficient roster of planes that airlines and freight carriers are demanding for long-haul flights with high capacity for passengers and cargo. (The passenger version of the plane is set to arrive about a year after the cargo model.)

And while the passenger version of the 747-8 is perhaps sexier than the freighter that took off at 12:39 p.m. PST on Monday, the 747-8F's first flight is vital evidence that the 747 program is alive and well, and ready to move solidly into the 21st century.

Boeing says that the 747-8 will be quieter and far more fuel-efficient than the existing 747-400 series. It is thought that the passenger version will hold as many as 467 passengers, 51 more than on a current 747-400. The freighter version will offer 21 percent more lower-hold revenue cargo volume than the 747-400 and cost about 8 percent less per seat mile to operate, the company says.

A big part of the plane's improved efficiency comes from an innovative wing design which features double-slotted flaps inboard, and single-slotted flaps outboard, fly-by-wire spoilers and outboard ailerons. The plane also features GEnx-2B67 engines, similar to the GEnx engines that will power the 787 Dreamliner. The engine features a high-pressure compressor that is the most efficient and compact GE has yet produced, Boeing says. The result is said to be high fuel efficiency and low noise.

Boeing said the 747-8F will offer the lowest cargo cost-per-mile in the business. It weighs 154 tons, has a range of 4,390 nautical miles, a height of 63 feet, 6 inches, a wing span of 224 feet, 7 inches, and a length of 250 feet, 2 inches. It can reach Mach 0.85

The Monday takeoff was delayed by nearly three hours by low cloud cover, and the flight was scheduled for about four hours in the air, with a series of initial tests intended to demonstrate the plane's airworthiness.

But as Boeing deputy test program manager Brian Johnson said, Monday's flight was much more "a chief pilot time," as it marked the first opportunity for Capt. Mark Feuerstein, the man in that role in the 747 program, to have "four hours in the cockpit to just get comfortable with" the plane. … Read more

Boeing on Wednesday released the first image of an actual 787 Dreamliner interior.

The picture is from the third test flight 787, which is known as ZA003. That plane has a partial interior "that provides a glimpse into the new flying experience the airplane will offer," Boeing said.

It was the first time the aviation giant showed what a 787 decked out with passenger seats and luggage bins looks like on the inside. Previously, it had only shown mock-ups.

According to Boeing, the test plane's interior has 135 seats, several lavatories, and dual crew rests. "Passengers … Read more

Boeing on Friday reported that it has completed the first round of stall tests for its 787 Dreamliner, just over a month after the plane's much-publicized first flight.

That first flight took place at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on December 15, 2009. Since then, the company has been subjecting two separate 787s to a series of tests, all of which are meant to advance the plane toward its initial commercial delivery sometime later this year.

For the stall tests, the 787's pilots deliberately reduced power in both the plane's engines and then quickly attempted to resume … Read more

If Boeing is going to keep on producing jumbo jets with state-of-the-art networking technology, it may have to get used to dealing with government demands that it ensure the planes are not hackable.

Earlier this month, as reported by AVWeb, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued "special conditions" regarding Boeing's forthcoming 747-8--the next-generation of its iconic 747 line of planes--aimed at making sure that the new plane's high-tech networking systems are hack-proof.

The 747-8, which should have its first flight any day now, is intended to be a much more efficient and powerful version … Read more

Boeing announced Friday that its 787 Dreamliner airplane has completed the initial airworthiness testing. The milestone allows for more crew members to take part in flights and more airplanes to join the flight test program.

According to Boeing, since the first flight in mid-December, the test program has conducted 15 flights and achieved several important accomplishments. The test airplane has reached an altitude of 30,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.65 (close to 400 nautical miles per hour) with nearly 60 hours of flying time completed. During these flights, initial stall tests and other dynamic maneuvers have … Read more

Earlier this week I had the very awesome opportunity to attend the first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Seattle. This is usually Daniel Terdiman's beat, but knowing that I'm a huge airline geek, CNET let me take a break from cell phones to cover the first flight. Daniel wrapped up the event with blogs and great photos of the take-off and landing--I helped by shooting the take-off video--but I also had the opportunity to visit the Dreamliner Gallery.

The gallery, which is located in Everett, Wash., just near Paine Field where the 787 was … Read more

SEATTLE--It turns out that Boeing's 787 Dreamliner can land too.

Just three hours after taking off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., for its first-ever flight, the 787 made a gentle landing in a pouring rain at Boeing Field here. It marked the completion of an extremely vital step for this long-delayed and keenly watched $10 billion project.

As has been well-chronicled, the 787 project has been delayed for more than two years. Boeing rolled out the plane to great fanfare on July 8, 2007--07/08/07--and promised that its first flight was just months away at that point. … Read more

EVERETT, Wash.--At long, long last, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is aloft.

On July 8, 2007 (7/8/07), in front of thousands of enthusiastic onlookers, Boeing rolled out the 787 at its mammoth assembly plant here. The aerospace giant promised to change the nature of long-haul flight, making it significantly more efficient than ever before, and promised to showcase the new plane with its first flight just a few months later.

But one delay after another has substantially slowed the 787 program, and even though the plane was brought to the flight line last May, and it was expected … Read more