787 Finally flies.

On December the15th 2009 Boeing's new lightweight carbon and titanium Dreamliner lifted off the runway for the first time into cloudy skies after more than two years of delays. It was witnessed by several thousand Boeing employees as well as industry VIP's, Enthusiasts and of course reporters from around the world.

The 787 Dreamliner production has been delayed five times in the past three years due to a shortage of bolts, faulty design and a two-month strike at its factory.The most recent delay was the most serious, as Boeing needed to reinforce the side of the plane where the wing meets the fuselage, and the first flight has been postponed six times which has stretched the patience of many of its customers, The advantage it has is that it will save airlines million of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs.

Airlines from around the world have ordered a total of 840 of the aircraft which is worth about $US140 billion, since 2004, when work began on the plane.

The four-hour test flight of the Dreamliner, painted in Boeing house colors, began at Paine Field adjacent to its factory in Everett 30 miles north of Seattle. This is only the start of an extensive flight test program that will take around 9 months to complete and will involve six 787s running around the clock, which Boeing executives have said will be like running a small airline.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long range, mid size, wide body and twin engine jet airliner . It will have three versions, The 787-3 short range version will have a capacity of 330 passengers, 787-8 baseline version will carry 210-250 passengers and the 787-9 stretched version will carry up to 290 passengers. All three versions of 787 family will carry passengers non-stop on routes between 6500 km and 16000 km . Boeing 787 is using two types of engine, The General Electric GENX engine and the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine . The length of the plane is 56 m with a wingspan of 59 m and its height is 17.4 m.