Brien Wygle could easily be included in a conversation about celebrated Canadian test pilots, such as de Havilland Canada’s Russ Bannock, Avro’s Mike Cooper-Slipper, and Canadair’s Al Lilly. But Wygle isn’t well known to Canadian aviation historians, thanks to a twist of fate that led him across the border to a long and distinguished career with Boeing.
It’s been 44 years since the first 747-100 was delivered to Air Canada, in February 1971. That was barely a year after the industry-changing wide-body aircraft entered service with launch airline Pan American Airways, and just two years after the 747’s first flight. In Canada, different versions of the 747 transported passengers on Air Canada, CP Air/Canadian Airlines, Nationair, and Wardair for over 30 years.
The very first Boeing 747 took to the air February 9, 1969, barely four months after the airplane rolled out of its then new factory in Everett, Washington. The prototype, “Queen of the Skies,” was known by her serial number RA001. She was soon joined by additional test aircraft, all working towards the airplane’s entry-into-service in January 1970 with Pan American World Airways. Since then, over 1,500 747s have been delivered.
Joe Sutter is a giant in the history of commercial aviation. And he’s also not the least bit reserved about speaking his mind! Sutter, now in his ‘90s, graduated from the University of Washington’s College of Aeronautical Engineering in 1943. After World War II, in 1946, he joined Boeing’s aerodynamics group and was assigned to work of the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, a four-engine propeller passenger plane that would enter service in 1949. Sutter would go on to a life-long career with Boeing, and is famously known as “The Father of the 747.”
With the 10 July departure of Air New Zealand’s first Boeing 787-9 on its delivery flight to Auckland, the airline is anticipating a smooth entry-Into-service (EIS) for the first “stretch” Dreamliner. The 787 will flight plan with 180min extended operations (ETOPS) certification, according to Capt Dave Morgan, Air New Zealand’s chief pilot. The airline expects to eventually obtain 240min ETOPS for the 787-9, or 90min fewer than allowed by regulations
Air New Zealand is not ready to confirm if the launch of the Boeing 787-9 in commercial service will come with one of the Star Alliance carrier’s strategically viral marketing videos. When asked if a new safety video was to be premiered with the introduction of Air New Zealand’s new 787-9, chief financial officer Rob McDonald just smiled and said,“That’s something we keep under wraps.”
Air Canada “got the keys” to its very first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner early in the morning on Sunday, May 18. After a small celebration at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center near Seattle, Wash., a select group of Air Canada executives and employees boarded C-GHPQ (Fin #801), for the plane’s first flight to Canada. The trip to Air Canada’s main operational base in Toronto (YYZ) was a short three hours, 48 minutes at a cruising altitude of 41,000 feet.
Air Canada’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (C-GHPQ) had its initial test flight on April 22 at Paine Field (PAE), in Everett, Wash. The General Electric GEnx-1B-powered plane lifted off from Runway 16R at 4:03 p.m., in the shadow of Boeing’s massive widebody assembly plant. This initial test flight was unexpectedly short, and the plane returned to land at 4:22 p.m. The flight test crew then did a high-speed ground run northbound along Runway 34L before taxiing to the flightline ramp.
YVR-Vancouver International Airport’s first scheduled Boeing 787 service began Monday morning with the arrival of Japan Airlines Flight #18 from Narita Airport (NRT) in Tokyo. The Dreamliner landed a few minutes ahead of its scheduled 10 a.m. (PT) arrival time, and was greeted at the gate by officials from Japan Airlines, the Government of B.C., the Government of Japan, the Vancouver Airport Authority, and Boeing.
