Boeing made history this week with the first flight of their newest jet, the 787 Dreamliner. The three hour flight included flying up to 15,000 feet and 180 knots and appeared to be as close to perfect as it gets.

There were over 12,000 people on hand to watch the event and it's no wonder there was so much hype. A purported fifty five customers have ordered 840 of these aircraft! Building that many aircraft will keep them busy for a long time. Boeing hopes to complete testing and start delivering production models about this time next year.

Unfortunately, Boeing has seen a lot of delays with the 787 program and could probably already have their aircraft in service. CNN.com has an article (with more video) that discusses some of the delay issues. Although these delays are definitely costly, the 20% fuel savings and 45% more cargo capacity of the 787 seem attractive enough that customers are letting the delays slide.

Boeing has really been pushing this plane as the airline industry's key to a new level of efficiency. There's no doubt they've done a great job with their innovations and they have produced a jet that will help airlines become more profitable. I still wonder if it'll be enough though. The airlines generally all seem to be in real trouble and with deliveries of this plane so delayed it could be tough for them to survive long enough to start operating these new machines. The Dreamliner is supposed to have a range around 2,500 miles. It'll have a lot of application, especially for domestic flying, but it certainly doesn't have the legs to replace a lot of large-capacity, long-distance jets. Boeing plans to start designing the next generation 747-8 after they get the Dreamliner under control. It'll be interesting to see how much of this technology makes it into the 747 redesign.

I hope that the technology does prove as helpful as Boeing thinks it will. It's great that we're working on products that save money and reduce our environmental impact at the same time. Congratulations to Boeing on this milestone. I'm looking forward to my first flight in one of your new jets!

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There are videos of the takeoff all over the web, but it seems fitting to include the landing here. I don't know that I've ever ridden in an airliner that landed as smoothly as the 787 appeared to. Hopefully, the line pilots can keep their landings like this when they finally get their hands on the Dreamliner.

Videos via the AP, hosted by YouTube