Boeing's 787 first flight videos delight
As a colleague said, when you own the plane, you get the best photos. That holds true for videos, too. Boeing's Newairplane.com (click on webcast) has some terrific takeoff and landing videos, but you have to go to Boeing's site because it does not allow video embedding. There's three videos: highlights, full takeoff and full landing.
Takeoff and landing are longish and I liked the highlights best (the music adds to the drama). There's lots of airborne shots from the T-33 military trainer chase planes, helicopters and what appears to be the Paine Field tower in Everett, Wash. They're pretty impressive and expertly produced to boot. Well worth a half hour of your time.
Don't look for me, but I am in the highlights for a second or two toward the end milling about the gangway (red ski cap, red and black jacket) just after the test pilots have set foot on the ground.
Also, here's a photo from Boeing Commercial Airplane marketing VP Randy's Tinseth's blog called Randy's Journal. And if you still have not had enough, check out Flight Tracker if you want to see the back and forth route the plane flew over the north end of the Olympic Peninsula. I thought 787 ZA001 took off to the north to avoid populated areas, but this indicates it initially flew south southeast over the Seattle suburbs.
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http://www.newairplane.com/dreamlinerfirstflight/widgets/flightmap.asp
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com