After finally being painted in a beautiful tribute livery and released to the flight line, D-ABYT finally took to the skies today for her inaugural flight, also known in Boeing-speak as a B1 flight.
She took off early in the afternoon after a 3 hour weather delay at Paine Field and is due back later today.
Next up is a B2 flight which will be followed up by a C1 (Customer) flight and ultimately delivery to Lufthansa on or about March 13. She will no doubt be the guest of honor when Lufthansa celebrates its 60th Anniversary in mid-April.
So for now, enjoy the images of our favorite new Queen of the Skies! I’ll be back later after she lands.
For additional photos of her, please click here and here for my other related posts.
Over the next month, Lufthansa will take delivery of their final 3 747-8i aircraft. When all is said and told, 19 ‘Queens of the Sky’ will be in the fleet for what should be 15-20 years. It also marks the beginning of the end of new 4-engine aircraft for Lufthansa (there are also 2 A380s set to still join the fleet).
The first 747-8i joined the fleet in 2012 and had her inaugural flight on June 1, 2012. I was fortunate to be in Frankfurt for the festivities surrounding the first 747-8i to join the fleet and now look back and see how quickly time has ‘flown’ by. Pun probably intended.
With ‘YS’ ready for delivery, it leaves D-ABYT and D-ABYU as the final 2 747-8ii that will join the fleet. ‘YT’ is the much-anticipated ‘Retro Jet’ who will sport the livery that was on Lufthansa aircraft in the 1980s. ‘YU’ should have her paint work completed this weekend and I’ll be able to bring you a few images of her as the last 747-8i that is scheduled to join the fleet.
Here is a look at the Retro Livery. She’s parked over a mile away and unfortunately a SCOOT 787 is in the way……
For now, here are several shots I took at Paine Field as ‘YS’ was put through the motions during a ‘B2’ test flight. Typically new aircraft go through three test flights: B1, B2, C1. The ‘B’ flights are conducted by Boeing pilots who troubleshoot and certify the aircraft. The C flight is conducted by the ‘Customer’ and typical involves the Airline’s pilots and technicians. Once A ‘C’ flight is completed, it is ready for delivery to the airline.
By the way, if you missed yesterday’s posted regarding LH Cargo’s last 777F delivery, click here!
PLEASE NOTE: As of the publishing of this post, the video has yet to be processed properly by YouTube – so you may need to come back later to see the video. The video may appear very grainy at the moment. It has been a few hours – my patience has expired.
Lufthansa Cargo today took delivery of their 5th of 5 777F aircraft that had been ordered from Boeing. D-ALFE or ‘Hallo Germany’ was handed over to Lufthansa Cargo and the capable hands of her crew at 3:00p on February 11, 2015 and took off shortly there after to join her sisters in Frankfurt.
It was a bit of a bittersweet moment to watch her fly away since she is the last of the 777Fs that Cargo had ordered. Cargo now operates 5 777F aircraft along with the rest of their MD-11 Freighter fleet.
Next up for Lufthansa is the delivery of 3 more 747-8i aircraft over the next few weeks. After these deliveries it will be quite some time until we see the Lufthansa livery around Paine Field. The next opportunity will come when the 777X aircraft start to show up in Frankfurt in a few years.
Here are few photos and video that captured the moment. The video starts a bit out of focus because the other camera that was being used was not auto-focusing. You may want to reduce the size of the video however it does get sharper once the aircraft enters the runway.
Enjoy!
D-ALFE only seconds after her official delivery to Lufthansa Cargo.
D-ALFE is towed to a point where she could start her engines.
Holding short of Runway 16R
Taxi into position or as I’d like to call it: ‘The Money Shot’
