Fifth Boeing 747-8 Freighter enters flight-test program

Boeing (NYSE: BA) successfully conducted the first flight of the fifth 747-8 Freighter Thursday. The airplane, coded as RC523, took off from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., for a 3-hour, 30-minute flight before returning to Paine Field.

The flight included a standard 2-hour, 30-minute "B1" flight profile that Boeing conducts on all production airplanes prior to delivery, plus an hour of engineering testing woven into the profile.

"The airplane performed well," said Andy Hammer, test program manager for 747-8. "It was a fine start to the test plan for this airplane."

This is the fifth 747-8 Freighter being used in the flight-test program. Each airplane is used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on functionality and reliability testing.

The airplane will remain based at Paine Field throughout its test plan.