Boeing moves 747-8 flight test to Moses Lake and Palmdale, Calif.

The Boeing Co. will move the flight test program for its delayed 747-8 jet to Moses Lake and later to Palmdale, Calif.

The move was announced by Boeing 747 and flight test program leaders in an e-mail, obtained by The Herald.

Boeing announced a delay in the 747-8 Freighter program earlier this week.

The 747-8 Freighter flight test schedule will overlap with the 787 flight test program forcing the company to make changes in its flight test locations, said Tim Bader, Boeing 747 spokesman.

Typically, the company conducts flight tests out of Boeing Field.

But Boeing will use Moses Lake to perform air worthiness tests on the first 747-8 Freighter. Additional testing on test planes two and three will take place in Palmdale, Calif.