Second Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental begins flight test

The second Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, RC021, successfully made its first flight on April 26th. The airplane completes the two-airplane test fleet for the 747-8 Intercontinental. RC021 will be used primarily for testing the various interior systems that will be on the Intercontinental, such as heating, venting and air conditioning, smoke detection 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.