2nd 747-8 Freighter achives first flight

Not to be outdone by its more popular and cooler younger brother the 787 Dreamliner, the 747-8 program also achieved a first flight success for one of its test aircraft.  On the same day that the 4th 787 Dreamliner took to the skies (Sunday, March 14th), RC522 completed its first test flight later that evening, taking off from Paine Field in Everett, WA and landing 2.5 hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle.  During the flight, RC522 reached an altitude of 27,000 ft. and an airspeed of 276 mph (240 knots).  The primary focus of this aircraft will be to test noise performance, environmental control systems, and extended operation performance standards.  RC522 is the 2nd of 3 total 747-8 Freighters in the flight test program.

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