Dreamlifter delivers first 787 assemblies to Everett

Published 9:00 pm Monday, April 23, 2007

For those of you who didn’t get to watch the arrival of the first major piece of Boeing’s new 787, here’s a brief sketch of what happened Tuesday:

11:08 a.m.: Boeing announces one of its modified 747 cargo jets will arrive in Everett at 7 p.m.

2:19 p.m.: A lack of strong headwinds prompts Boeing to pull in the landing time an hour.

5:25 p.m.: The plane maker revises the Dreamlifter’s arrival to 6:30 p.m.

6:31 p.m.: Amid gray skies, the bloated 747, sporting its new white and blue livery, touches down at Everett’s Paine Field. The Dreamlifter taxies down the runway and passes the unpainted original large cargo freighter sitting not far from Boeing’s delivery center.

7:05 p.m.: Customs officials clear the Dreamlifter’s cargo.

7:10 p.m.: Boeing’s crewmembers hold a brief meeting.

7:50 p.m.: The Dreamlifter’s tail begins to open. Shortly after, workers inch the cargo loader toward the freighter’s open fuselage.

8:37 p.m.: The cargo loader extracts the first 787 horizontal stabilizer pieces built in Italy.

Ten people were on board the flight: two Boeing test flight pilots; one pilot from Everegreen (the company modifying the 747 cargo jets); one U.S. Federal Aviation Administration representative; six other Boeing personnel.