Flight Testing

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31809, 14 October 1968, Page 15

Flight Testing

The first Boeing 737 was delivered to the company’s flight test staff on February 21, 1967.

It was moved from the new Boeing 737 final assembly building at Seattle, Washington, to the nearby flight test hangar on Boeing Field. There it received final installations and more than three tons of test equipment. Engineers checked all the systems and components and conducted final inspections in preparation for the aircraft’s first flight. Shortly after noon on April 9, 1967, the new Boeing 737 took off from Boeing Field on its successful maiden flight It was airborne for two hours 30 minutes before landing at Paine Field—site of the first 10 hours of testing—2o miles north of Seattle. General aircraft performance and handling characteristics were Investigated during the first flight in

addition to the basic tests of the twin-jet’s electrical, hydraulic, and flight control systems. The successful first flight marked the beginning of an intensive Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration flight test programme.