In a rehearsal for this week’s Paris Air Show, Boeing recently pushed the latest version of its Dreamliner aircraft to the limit with a jaw-dropping – and positively stomach-churning – near-vertical takeoff.
While there may have been some jiggery-pokery going on with the camera angle – Boeing told CNN it’s not “sharing specifics about the profile such as bank angles at this time” – there’s little doubt that this was no ordinary takeoff, and one that its steely nerved pilots won’t be forgetting in a hurry.
The acrobatic rehearsal, which took place over Moses Lake in Washington, gives those attending this week’s Paris Air Show a taste of what to expect. Going by what we’ve seen here, they won’t be disappointed.
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is its most sophisticated and eco-friendly aircraft to date. It flies with super-efficient engines and features a light yet strong carbon fiber frame, enabling it to use significantly less fuel than other similarly sized aircraft currently in operation.
However, the plane hasn’t been without its issues. Production and design problems, for example, led to a three-year delay in getting the Dreamliner to its first customer, Japan’s All Nippon Airways, in 2011. More trouble came two years later when problems with the plane’s lithium-ion batteries forced the Federal Aviation Administration to ground the aircraft while investigators looked into the issue.
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