Boeing 737 MAX maiden flight a success

“[The] 737 MAX 8 remains on track for first delivery in [the] third quarter of 2017”, the release stated on Friday.

Live video supplied by Boeing showed the smooth take-off of the plane, the fourth version of the original 737, which made its first flight in 1967 and has become one of Boeing’s most profitable aircraft.

A webcast of the first flight of the 737 MAX can be viewed here beginning at about 12:30 p.m., weather permitting. From there it turned around and flew north-northeast toward Canada before flying a pair of oval patterns west of Puget Sound, heading back toward the northernmost reaches of Washington state, turning east and then south, taking it past Boeing’s Everett widebody plant and into the Seattle area for landing at Boeing Field. “We did get out of Renton in the nick of time”.

The aircraft limited its speed to 250 knots and initially climbed to 15,000 feet (4,570 meters), and later climbed higher than 20,000 feet (6,096 meters).

“We are thrilled that ALC has committed the majority of its existing single-aisle fleet to the Boeing 737 program”, said Bill Collins, vice president, Leasing and Asset Management Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Wilson also noted that the aircraft may return to flight test tomorrow after inspections.

The 737 MAX features new engines from CFM International and other refinements which should improve fuel efficiency by 14 percent compared with the current generation 737.

Currently, Boeing’s order book for the 737 MAX family aircraft stands at 2,827 aircraft, spanning over more than 40 customers.