First flight of the second B747-8I

The second Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, RC021, took off on its first flight this morning from Paine Field and returned a few hours later after making a trip to eastern Washington. RC021 will be used primarily for testing the various interior systems that will be on the Intercontinental, such as heating, venting and air conditioning, and galleys. In addition, Boeing will conduct fuel consumption and function and reliability tests on the airplane. The 747-8 Intercontinental flight-test program will perform approximately 600 hours of flight testing.