Featured in the video is Boeing chief 747 pilot Mark Feuerstein, whom we joined in a 747-8 simulator in January. Feuerstein and the 747-8 flight test team are nearing the program’s halfway mark, having flown nearly 1,500 hours in the new jumbo jet since its inaugural flight in February.

We’re the first to say there’s plenty of corporate cheerleading in Boeing’s video, but it’s still impressive to see a 747-8 really maneuver.

While the flight testing continues, the 747-8 assembly line is also moving along well. The first airplane will be a cargo version delivered to launch customer Cargolux. The first passenger version, known as the 747-8 Intercontinental (photo above), was recently put together on the assembly line, and the internal power was turned on for the first time.

While not quite as big as the Airbus A380, the 747-8 Intercontinental is the biggest passenger airplane Boeing has ever produced. It’s expected to be delivered in late 2011. Like the 787, the cargo version has suffered several delays, but it should be the first of the new airplanes delivered to a customer, most likely early in the new year.

Photo, video: Boeing

Authors: Jason Paur

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