Fri, Aug 19, 2011
Newest, Largest Member Of The Boeing Jumbo Family
Boeing has received FAA and EASA certification for the new 747-8
Freighter, passing two of the final landmarks on the airplane's
journey to entry into service. The FAA granted Boeing an Amended
Type Certificate (ATC) and an Amended Production Certificate for
the 747-8 Freighter, while the EASA also granted the company an ATC
for the airplane.
File Photo
With these certificates, the program is
in the final stages of preparing to deliver the first 747-8
Freighter to launch customer Cargolux in early September.
"This is such a great day for everyone on the 747 team," said Jim
Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, announcing
the certification Friday morning. "Over the last several years,
this team has overcome challenge after challenge. Through their
hard work and dedication, they have ensured that the 747, the Queen
of the Skies, will fly for decades to come."
The drive to certify the 747-8 Freighter was a team effort, said
Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager, 747 Program.
"This is a day to express our profound thanks to everyone at Boeing
and at our suppliers who played a part in designing, building and
testing this airplane," she said. "It's a day to thank our
colleagues at the FAA and EASA for all of their hard work. And it's
a day to appreciate our customers for their commitment to the
program."
The Amended Type Certificate acknowledges that the FAA and EASA
have certified that the design of the 747-8 Freighter is compliant
with all aviation regulatory requirements and will produce a safe
and reliable airplane. The airplane logged more than 3,400 hours of
flight testing and many thousands more of ground, part, component,
materials and other testing on the road to certification.
The Amended Production Certificate shows the FAA has validated that
the Boeing 747 production system can reliably produce airplanes
that will conform to the airplane's design. EASA accepts FAA
oversight of Boeing production certificates as sufficient for its
regulations, as FAA accepts EASA oversight of European
manufacturers' production certificates.
The 747-8 Freighter is the new high-capacity 747 that will give
cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of
any freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental
performance. It is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18
feet and 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400 Freighter. The
stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo
volume compared to its predecessor. That translates to four
additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold
pallets. The 747-8 Freighters will be powered with GE's GEnx-2B
engines.
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