B1 of sorts

Line 1434 (RC001) 9K-GAA, the recently repainted BBJ for the State of Kuwait, is up in the air for the first time since the new livery. This frame was the first 747-8I test frame (so it's been in the air many times before, in the 747-8I orange and red sunrise livery), and should be ready for delivery by the end of the month. (Photo by royalscottking)

Speaking of deliveries, the flight line is getting mighty crowded with not only 787s but 747s. There are a bunch of 747s due for delivery over the next few weeks though; six exactly. Line 1430 for ABC, line 1434 for Kuwait, line 1456 for Lufthansa, line 1459 for BBJ, and lines 1464 and 1465 for Cathay and Cargolux respectively, should all be delivered by the middle of November. Filling in those six vacancies through November will probably be three frames: lines 1467 and 1468 for Atlas and BBJ, and line 1422 for Nippon Cargo which has been going through test flights after refurbishment at Lackland AFB and will probably be returned to Everett when space clears up.

Nice stripes

RC001 is out of the paint hanger in full State of Kuwait livery. Looking very "presidential", and much less red and orange. And here I was expecting boring white. Thanks to Matt Cawby.

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Update: Just hit a thousand blog views. Takin' over the world, Baby!

Welcome back, Number One

Line 1420 (RC501) LX-VCA is headed back from Lackland Airforce Base in San Antonio to Paine Field. This frame was the first 747-8 test aircraft. It recently went on a couple test flights so there was suspicion that it was getting close to being completed after undergoing a leisurely refurbishment in Texas. I'd guess that the next step will be a trip to the paint hanger before a hand off to Cargolux, but we'll see. After all this is Boeing and Cargolux we're talking about, and just look at all the drama currently going on in 787 land. Anyway it's always good to see progress on getting these older frames out the door.

Line 1456 for Lufthansa has gone on a B2 flight, and line 1462 finally left on a delivery flight to Atlas after some mysterious delay (see my previous post). Line 1430 for AirBridgeCargo should be delivering any day now. I'm also looking forward to seeing line 1434 coming out of the paint hanger, although on second thought she'll probably just be plain white, so that won't be too exciting. Oh well, you take what you can get in the slow moving world of 747-8 production.