Boeing’s new 747-8 Freighter took to the sky for the first time last week, nearly 41 years to the day that the orginal B747-100 first flew, for the start of the freighter’s 1,600 hour flight test programme. Boeing’s 747 chief pilot Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Tom Imrich took the aircraft through its paces in the blue skies over Boeing’s Washington production headquarters. “It was a real privilege to be at the controls of this great aeroplane on its first flight, representing the thousands of folks who made today possible,” said Feuerstein. “The aeroplane performed as expected and handled just like a 747-400.” Powered by four General Electric GEnx-2B engines, the 747-8 Freighter will transition its testing program to Moses Lake, Wash., and Palmdale, California, where the other two test aircraft will join it in the coming month.