On Wednesday afternoon, a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner took off from Seattle on a test flight. Flight tracking apps show the Dreamliner followed a flight path over the United States that draws an outline of the Dreamliner.
It set the internet abuzz, likely one of the goals. But the Dreamliner was actually conducting a flight test of its new Rolls Royce engine “to prove to regulators that the airplane can safely operate on one engine for an extended period of time,” according to Flightradar24, a flight-tracking app.
Flightradar24 said the Dreamliner flew an 18-hour flight of 16,000 km at 12,000 metres.
On its website, Boeing said, “With time to spare in the air, a Boeing test team got creative, flying a route that outlined a 787-8 in the skies over 22 states,” with the nose pointing at Boeing’s home, the Puget Sound region of Washington state.
See how and *why* @BoeingAirplanes decided to draw a giant 787 in the sky. https://t.co/9zGZc72Prf #dataviz by @itoworld #avgeek pic.twitter.com/VCvUasoFfz
Flighradar24 says, “This isn’t the first time Boeing has made sky art during endurance testing.” Pilots testing a 737-MAX-8 drew the letters ‘MAX’ over the northern U.S. in February.
Previously, pilots drew “a ‘787’ with the Boeing logo and a large ’12’ in support of the Seattle Seahawks,” Flightradar24 says.
