High five: Fifth 777-9 takes flight

Above: Tuesday's flight marked the first time in nearly five years the team built, prepared and flew a 777-9 airplane. (Marian Lockhart photo)

A fifth 777-9 took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on August 5 at 11:03 a.m. PDT, a sign of progress in the journey of Boeing’s new widebody airplane to certification and eventual entry into commercial service.

• This marked the first time in nearly five years the team built, prepared and flew a 777-9 airplane.

Capt. Ted Grady, 777X chief pilot, and Capt. Mark Brown, 777-9 project pilot, completed an 2-hour, 27-minute flight profile to validate the airplane’s handling and performance.  

• During the flight, Grady and Brown navigated a route over Washington, reaching an altitude of 39,000 feet (11,887 meters) and an airspeed of Mach .84 (511 knots), which is typical for a first flight.
• Zach Lewis and Joel Conard, systems operators, and Cody Bruinsma and Mike Deutsch, flight analysts, accompanied them. The airplane safely returned to Paine Field at 1:30 p.m. PDT.

“The 777-9 flies beautifully, and this airplane performed just as we expected,” said Grady. “We appreciate the hard work of our teams who designed, built and prepared this airplane for flight, and we’re continuing our focus on getting the 777-9 certified and in our customers’ fleets.”

Capt. Ted Grady, 777X chief pilot, inspects the 777-9 prior to Tuesday's first flight. (Marian Lockhart photo)

Preparing for flight: Since the airplane rolled out of the factory last month, teams worked to fuel the 777-9, conduct engine runs and complete taxi tests.

• As Engineering ship captain for the airplane, Michael Kellner coordinated across Engineering disciplines to support production team as they completed the airplane and prepared it for flight.
  
• “We care for these airplanes; we even view them as our kids,” said Kellner, who joined Boeing as an Engineering intern over 16 years ago. “We’ve invested a lot of hard work to ready this airplane and bring us one step closer to delivering the 777-9. It’s just an immense surge of pride and excitement to see our airplane take flight.”

Continuing test: The airplane, which features a production configuration, will undergo a defined series of ground and flight tests.

• These tests will focus on demonstrating compliance with requirements for resilience against electromagnetic interference and lighting strikes.

Catch up quick: The team recently surpassed 4,000 hours of flight testing on the dedicated 777-9 test fleet, subjecting the 777-9 to a variety of tests and conditions to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the airplane’s design.

• Boeing is working to deliver the first 777-9 in 2026.

About the family: The 777X family – the 777-9, the 777-8 Freighter and the 777-8 passenger airplane – are the newest members of Boeing’s market-leading widebody family.

• Customers have ordered more than 550 777X airplanes.