Oklahoma's Spirit Aerosystems Helps Boeing's 787 Take Flight

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, OK -- Boeing's new 787 jetliner took off for the first time Tuesday morning, without a hitch.  The takeoff was witnessed in person by hundreds of Boeing employees in Seattle, and via the internet by hundreds of Spirit Aerosystems employees in Tulsa and McAlester.

The Oklahoma employees of Spirit Aerosytems built parts of the wings, called the Fixed Leading Edge and the Moveable Leading Edge. 

According to the Spirit Aerosystems web site, both components are aluminum and carbon-reinforced fiberglass plastic.    

The plane is unlike anything Boeing, or any other airliner manufacturer, has built before, with about 50 percent of it made of lightweight composite materials, like the components produced in Oklahoma.

Boeing says it will run quieter, put out fewer emissions and also burn 20 percent less fuel than similar sized jets made with an aluminum shell. 

Spirit Aerosystems employees 2,127 in Tulsa and 276 in McAlester.

The pilots on Tuesday's flight were supposed to put the 787 through a four-hour flight and tests meant to make sure the airplane flies the way it's supposed to, but deteriorating weather forced the pilots to land after only about three hours.

But spokeswoman Lori Gunter says the flight went well, with the crew able to test the landing gear, flaps and other equipment.

Boeing has orders for 840 of the new 787s.  It plans to make the first delivery to Japan's All Nippon Airways late next year.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.