The Last First Flight

For a frame in the overdue category at least. Line 1433 (RC553) B-LJC for Cathay Pacific took off today for the first time, well over two years after rolling off the assembly line and starting her long slumber, stored in various places around KPAE in an unflyable state. This marks the last "old frame" that needed refurbishment to take to the air; all of the old frames have now flown, and as such it's sort of a milestone for the program. Boeing can start focusing all resources on new build frames, shaving off weight and optimizing performance. B-LJC should deliver towards the middle of next month, after some more test flights and a fresh paint job. Thanks to Roy Yang for the pics (which show a very dirty airplane).

Also, line 1482 (RC605) VQ-BRJ for AirBridgeCargo rolled off the FAL, as you can see in the top picture. Judging by my rough rollout date records, they're likely already producing new frames at the adjusted 1.75 per month rate.