Boeing Dreamliner’s ‘Interesting’ Flight Pattern Is One For The Books

Earlier this week, a Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner took off, but the unusual flight pattern left everyone scratching their heads. 

It took off from Seattle and reached Marquette, Mich. before switching directions and traveling southwest. 

Just after reaching the tip of South Dakota, the Dreamliner banked right again, doing a seemingly random tour of the state’s airspace before turning south and veering into Nebraska.

 

What in the world was this plane doing?

It’s pretty cool. Apparently, this was all part of an endurance test. But Boeing decided to have a little fun with it. Instead of flying in a completely random pattern, the pilot flew the plane in the shape of…a Dreamliner!

This #Dreamliner has been drawing a giant #Dreamliner for 13 hours now!

Live link:https://t.co/ltUSXWvJ2a pic.twitter.com/SWe4oaBbqi

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 3, 2017

Records show the Dreamliner is registered to Boeing Corporation. Boeing confirmed Thursday that the Dreamliner had been performing an 18-hour endurance test flight.

 

“Rather than fly in random patterns, the test team got creative, flying a route that outlined a 787-8 in the skies over 22 states,” Boeing spokesman Doug Alder, Jr., said in an email to The Washington Post.

 

“The nose of the Dreamliner is pointing at the Puget Sound region, home to Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The wings stretch from northern Michigan near the Canadian border to southern Texas. The tail touches Huntsville, Alabama.”

How cool is that? At least, I think it’s cool. Some people are kind of upset, because it’s fun to have a problem with everything these days.

I’m curious to know what u guys r doing this for charity? A fundraiser? Or just for fun to say u did it?

— kristina LP (@khyatt25) August 3, 2017

Boeing is performing an endurance flight test for a new engine that will power the 787-10.

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 3, 2017

Nice but don’t u think that it’s a waste of fuel? U can test it out in a lab with weights to simulate the passengers

— kristina LP (@khyatt25) August 3, 2017

Sometimes flight conditions are necessary for tests.

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 3, 2017

utter BS. no airline would waste that much fuel, or be able to do it so accurately, weather and atc force you to make course corrections

— The4LIST (@the4list) August 4, 2017

Hello, please see https://t.co/9zGZc72Prf for additional information and flight data. Thanks!

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) August 4, 2017

What an obscene waste of fuel

— solcarzemog (@superpapiananas) August 3, 2017

It is a flight range test. They have to fly 16h without a destination. Why not make something funny then?

— David Weinberger (@davidwei98) August 3, 2017

Exactly. You go, Boeing.

h/t WaPo