(air whooshing) (digital squawking) (upbeat presidential music) - A very good morning from
Boeing Everett Factory here. We will see the first take
off of the Boeing 777X after six years of
development of the programme. So very exciting indeed. As many of you know the Boeing 777X is the world biggest, the most powerful twin-engine
aeroplane ever made. I'm checking out the
beauty of this aeroplane, it's really long. The longest 777, I think
about 2 metre longer than the current 300ER. As you can see the engine here, this engine GE9X, it sets
a world record lately. It generated 134,000 pound of thrust. That is well above the rated
105,000 pounds of thrust, on the 777X so indeed, is
a very powerful engine. Looking at all the new
composite wing here, and this wing is much lighter
than the conventional wing, than the metal wing. I think the most integral
feature is the folding wingtip. The folding wingtip
cataclysm works like this. At this gate here, the wingtip fold up. So you save a lot of space. It's the same wing
category as the other 777. So the airport doesn't have
to modify the infrastructure or the gate to fit the new
aeroplane, it's very smart. And when the plane goes
out to taxi and take off, the folding wingtip will fold
down to produce a longer wing to reduce drag and more
efficiency on the lift off. At 9:10 a.m. I'm standing
here at this bar here. It has a little elevated view
with the rest of the media all out waiting for the
777s first take-off. As you can see, this January weather
in Seattle is not kind. That's why yesterdays take-off
has been postponed to today. (aeroplane engine roars) - So I've been watching First
Flight since I was a kid. The 747-400 I think was my first. I may have seen one before,
but I would have been so little I don't remember. And then the original 777 and the 787. I was very emotional because
we had waited so long for it. And so today is just
going to be phenomenal. Really lookin' forward to it. It's in my DNA, my
grandfather was a pilot, my dad was a pilot. - I love you're scarf. - Thank you.
- Look at this aviation scarf. - Every year my mom has an
aviation scarf made for me. I'm very proud of it. (helicopter chattering) - We saw the plane just push back from the delivery centre
gates, so he's waiting to taxi. So the moments coming soon. (distant chattering) (upbeat presidential music) (plane beeps) (helicopter chattering) (aeroplane engine idling
drowns out helicopter) (wind rattling in speaker) (engine accelerating) (helicopter chattering) (aeroplane engine idling
drowns out helicopter) The plane earlier taxied down past us. Now is holding at the end
before turning on the runway. Some say it's just waiting
for the weather to improve. - [Male Voice] So as Sam said, it's kind of unusual to take-off with a tail-wind, especially
when it's gusting at 26 knots. But this is the track,
the aeroplanes right here and so Sam said we're
going to go out Runway 34. And then as you can see
here, it is going to then sharply turn to the northwest and then go out over the ocean. - Unfortunately as you have seen, the plane has taxied back to the stand. It means it's not going to happen today due to the gusting wind. - [John] Right. - Bummer, here is my friend, John. - This is flight ten.
- Air current, this is flight ten. - This is flight ten. - Everything is very dynamic. (chuckles) - Exactly, exactly. Hopefully we will see you tomorrow? - Yeah, I hope so. I actually won't be here tomorrow. - Oh. - Because I won't be here
tomorrow this plane will take-off. (laughs) and as long as have a good safety take-off and Boeing needs this boost. So fingers crossed for tomorrow. (whoosh) So after two days of waiting the 777X under inclement weather
with bad wind and rain, the 777X finally took off
on Saturday, January 25. (aeroplane engine idles) (Engine accelerates) - And here we go. (muffled pilot communicating with tower) - Under the command of Captain Van Chaney, at 10 til nine a.m. it took off for the first time in history. It flew three hour 59 minutes and returned to Boeing Field at 2:00 p.m. (aeroplanes engine roaring) - [Female Voice] And
you can hear the crowds cheering for it. Beautiful landing. - [Male Voice] Beautiful
take off, beautiful landing. - [Host] So what do we
know about a 777X so far? The 777X development programme
started in November 2013 during Dubai Airshow. The CEO at that time has
formally announced the go-ahead of the Programme. - I am pleased to announce today, that Boeing is launching the Boeing 777X. Our sales teams have been
engaging with customers around the world about this aeroplane and the response has been
quite frankly, overwhelming. (camera shutters clicking) [Announcer] It was an
unprecedented display of demand for a new aeroplane. Leaders of some of the
worlds top airlines announced at the Dubai Airshow a
record number of orders and commitments for Boeing's
newest jet, the 777X. - There are a total eight airlines and one undisclosed customer has ordered a 777X family so far. The list price on 777-9 is $442 million. Making it one of the most
expensive planes Boeing ever made. Boeing said it's expecting
to pick up more orders as airline gradually replacing 777ER with the 777-9. The main rivalry of the 777X
family is the A350-1000. So far the A350-1000 has
sold about 170 firm order comparing to the 309 order 777X received. However the 777-8 has been
struggled in orders and sales. Qantas recently has selected A350-1000 for their ultra-long haul
Project Sunrise Operation. The 777X has it's first taxi test in 2019 but it faces delaying the programme. It was expected to take off last year, however there was a compressor
anomaly in the GE9X engine that has set back the take off dates from four to six months
until January 25th. There's no MCAS installed
on this aeroplane like the 737 MAX. The maximum take off weights of
this aeroplane is 351 tonnes. The 777X cockpits includes large LCD Touch Screen Displays. The cockpit has similarities
from the 787 Dreamliner. Boeing says the 777X cabin
will be more comfortable than that of the current generation 777. The side walls are
redesigned on the 777X cabin, makes it 4 inches wider. Window in the 777X will be 16% larger than those of existing 777. So with today's successful test flight, that is a huge boost to the 777X
programme and also to Boeing. Time will tell if the 777X
family will be as successful as its predecessors. I am looking forward to
fly one of the 777X family in the sky very soon. Thank you for watching. (upbeat music) (Whooshing) (Whooshing) (bings) (pops)
