777X

A brief intermission from the GT40 build to highlight what I’ve been working on for the last 5 years…the 777-9 airplane; it’s a slightly longer version of the 777-300ER, but with new GE engines (less powerful, as aerodynamics are improved), composite wings & folding wing-tips. We had our 1st flight, which I got to see with my family at the end of the runway in typical January Seattle weather. This airplane is 20% more fuel efficient than it’s predecessor, and 10% better than the competition. I’m proud to be part of this team, especially the smaller group I work with daily. It’s been a hard year with all of our 737 MAX issues, but it’s only reaffirmed our engineers complete commitment to producing the Safest airplanes…these are all airplanes we (and our families) fly on every day.

the 777X taxing past us…this 1st flight was delayed due to weather.
1st flight on Saturday, which let the family join…so we hung tight in my wife’s Model 3 and watched the progress online. This let the girls stay warm!
after 1st flight: watching the progress on Flightaware.com