Boeing on Thursday conducted what it called a productive and successful first flight of the second 777X airplane. Designated WH002 and the second of four 777-9 flight test articles, the big widebody will test handling characteristics and airplane performance, the company said.

During the first flight, 777X project pilot Ted Grady and 777/777X chief pilot Van Chaney flew for 2 hours and 58 minutes over Washington state before landing at Seattle's Boeing Field at 2:02 p.m. local time.

WH002 carries an array of equipment, sensors, and monitoring devices throughout the cabin, allowing the onboard and ground-based teams to document and evaluate the airplane's response to test conditions in real-time. The 777X test plan lays out a series of tests and conditions on the ground and in the air to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the design.

Crews have flown the first airplane nearly 100 hours at a variety of flaps settings, speeds, altitudes, and systems settings as part of the initial evaluation of the flight envelope. With initial airworthiness now demonstrated, the team can safely add personnel to monitor testing onboard instead of relying solely on a ground-based telemetry station, unlocking testing at greater distances, said the company.

The 777X program resumed flight test operations soon after Boeing reopened production in the Puget Sound region in Washington state on April 20. The company shuttered most production activity in the area on March 25, after Washington declared a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Launching the flight test program with WH001 on January 25, Boeing had originally hoped to gain FAA certification for the larger of a duo of planned 777X variants this year, but engine-related delays and promises of more intense scrutiny from regulators arising from the twin crashes and grounding of the 737 Max had already created expectations of a longer wait. The company now cites a broad 2021 entry-into-service target.