We’ve heard a lot about Boeing’s new 787-9 Dreamliner, the first of which will be added to Vietnam Airlines’ fleet in a few months. But ahead of its delivery and debut at next week’s Paris Air Show, the plane has already made a serious impression with breathtaking “technical maneuvers.”
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This short video shows some of the plane’s first flight tests over Moses Lake, Washington where it makes incredible ascents and beautiful banks.
The most impressive part of the video is when the aircraft appears to undertake a vertical 90 degree takeoff. While a Boeing spokesperson declined to tell CNN the exact takeoff and banking angles, a pilot told the news service that they might seem overly dramatic due to the way it was filmed.
"Some of what you're seeing on takeoff is a trick of perspective," said 767 pilot Patrick Smith. "It looks like the takeoff is at a near vertical 90 degree angle — trust me it's not," adding "Presumably the plane was very light because it wasn't carrying any passengers, probably had a very light fuel load, no freight, so it would have been able to perform a steeper than normal ascent — but not to the extent the video seems to show."
Either way, the plane looks mighty impressive and it will be interesting to see what else pilots have in store for crowds at the Paris Air Show that will take place from June 15 - 21.
Once it is delivered to Vietnam Airlines, the 787-9 will go into operation on the HCMC – Hanoi route before being used for flights between Vietnam and London’s Heathrow Airport.
