WASHINGTON - US aerospace giant Boeing's newest version of its 747 jumbo jet is set for its first flight Monday, the company said, after successfully completing taxi tests.
A 747-8 Freighter destined for launch customer Cargolux, a Luxembourg-based cargo airline, is expected to take to the skies from Paine Field Airport in Everett, Washington state.
The airport is home to the Boeing manufacturing plant for the 747, 767, 777, and the new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
The 747-8 Freighter "performed well" in taxi tests Saturday, the last functional test before the aircraft's first flight, said Mo Yahyavi, 747 program vice president and general manager of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
"Based on early indications, the airplane is ready to fly."
Boeing claims the high-capacity 747-8 Freighter will give cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance.
It provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared with the 747-400 freighter, the company says.
A commercial passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental, is also under development.
The designation 747-8 was chosen to reflect 787 Dreamliner technologies, the Chicago-based aerospace giant said.
Boeing highlights that this latest fuel-efficient version of its popular jumbo jet is the only large airplane that fits existing airport infrastructure.
The 747-8 Intercontinental is 16 percent more fuel efficient than the 747-400 and 11 percent more fuel efficient than the A380, the super jumbo plane made by European rival Airbus, the company says.
Like the 787 Dreamliner program, the 747-8 program has been plagued by a series of setbacks from the initial schedule of delivering the first freighter by the end of 2009, due to production problems and a machinists strike.
The first delivery of the 747-8 Freighter is now set for the fourth quarter of 2010.
The 787 Dreamliner made its first flight on December 15, more than two years behind the original schedule.
Boeing launched the 747-8 airplane on November 14, 2005, with firm orders for 18 747-8 Freighters; 10 from Cargolux of Luxembourg and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines of Japan.
As of January, the company said it had 76 orders for the 747-8 Freighters, including from Cathay Pacific Airways and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
For the 747-8 Intercontinental, Boeing reported 32 orders: Lufthansa (20), Business Jet/VIP customers (seven), and Korean Air (five).