THIRD 747-8 FREIGHTER JOINS FLIGHT TEST

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- The third Boeing 747-8 Freighter, RC
521, successfully completed its first flight Wednesday.

It is the final test airplane scheduled to participate in the flight-test
programme for the 747-8 Freighter, Boeing said in a statement.

Piloted by Captains Paul Stemer and Keith Otsuka, with Ralph Chaffin serving
as systems operator, the RC 521 which took off from Paine Field in Everett,
Washington, completed a two-and-a-half-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in
Seattle.

The airplane reached an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 m) and an airspeed of
245 knots, or about 282 miles (454 km) per hour.

RC 521 has several tests scheduled in the test programme, including
fuel-mileage testing, it said.

The 747-8 Freighter flight-test programme calls for all three airplanes to
perform approximately 3,700 hours of testing, both on the ground and in the air.

The first 747-8 Freighter delivery is planned for the fourth quarter of this
year, it said.

-- BERNAMA