Boeing flies giant ‘MAX’ in the sky on 737 test flight
You can’t accuse Boeing’s test pilots of lacking imagination.
The cockpit crew making a test flight with Boeing’s new 737 MAX this past Saturday was tasked with a nine-hour flight, part of routine endurance testing for a new aircraft type. But instead of flying in circles or some other ho-hum route, the pilots got creative.
“For eight of its nine hours aloft, the 737 MAX worked on its aerial penmanship writing a 997 km (619 mi) long, 277 km (172 mi) high ‘MAX’ over the states of Washington and Montana,” writes flight-tracking site FlightRadar24, one of the first to report on the unique flight plan.
“The ‘MAX’ portion of the flight covered approximately 5,534 km (3,439 miles),” the website added on its blog, which included a flight-tracking map simulating the plane's route.
Boeing's new 737 MAX completes its maiden flight
Boeing spokesman Tom Kim confirmed the test flight to Today in the Sky.
"We did conduct a roughly 9-hour test flight over the weekend," Kim said by email. "It's just one of the many tests we're doing to validate the 737 MAX's industry leading range and reliability."
Of course, this isn’t the first time Boeing’s test pilots have gotten creative.
You may recall that time in June 2011 when test pilots on Boeing’s then new 747-8 – the latest variant of that aircraft – made a 2,500-mile trip to Pittsburgh so the crew could order a sandwich from Primanti Bros., a well-known local restaurant.
There was also the 2014 test flight when another 747 crew flew in the outline of a giant “12” over eastern Washington state. That flight, operated with a 747 painted in the colors of the Seattle Seahawks, was a tribute to the NFL team's boisterous home crowd that makes Seattle fans a figurative "12th man" on the field for the team's games.
As for the latest test flight, the 737 MAX crew not only traced the intricate outlines of the word “MAX,” but did so in mimicking the distinctive font that Boeing has been using to market the latest version of its 737.
TWITTER: You can follow Today in the Sky editor Ben Mutzabaugh at twitter.com/TodayInTheSky
American’s new 737 MAX won't have seatback screens
Boeing rolls out a mean-looking Seahawks 747 jumbo jet
IN PICTURES: A photo tour of Boeing's 737 MAX assembly line
Watch 737 MAX take off on first flight
