After its official unveiling this spring, Boeing’s first 777X flight test aircraft has now made its runway debut. In a YouTube video, published by the U.S. manufacturer on June 24, 2019, the 777X can be seen rolling down the runway for its first-ever taxi test.
Boeing engineers have recently performed a series of low-speed taxi tests on the 777X flight test plane. Although the test was just one of many to be conducted in the certification process of the world’s longest passenger airliner, it marked a milestone moment – it was the first time the 777-9 moved on its own power.
The 777X is powered by the massive GE9X engine, purpose-built for the new jetliner by General Electric’s arm, GE Aviation. Although the flight test program of the 777X was expected to begin early this summer, an anomaly in the compressors of the GE9X, detected during pre-delivery tests, will require a redesign and further testing of the component, pushing the date of the 777X’s maiden flight to late in the fall.
The 777X is powered by the massive GE9X engine, purpose-built for the new jetliner by General Electric’s arm, GE Aviation. Although the flight test program of the 777X was expected to begin early this summer, an anomaly in the compressors of the GE9X, detected during pre-delivery tests, will require a redesign and further testing of the component, pushing the date of the 777X’s maiden flight to late in the fall.
Boeing unveiled the very first 777X on March 13, 2019, presenting the airliner to company employees inside its main wide-body manufacturing facility in Everett, Washington. This plane, a 777-9, is larger of the two models that make up the 777X family. Despite problems with the GE9X and the delay of the first flight, Boeing maintains the brand-new plane will enter into service in 2020 as scheduled. The second, smaller model, 777-8, will follow.