TUNNEL TO TOMORROW

Commercial Airplanes recently completed high-speed line development tests on a model of the 747-8F (shown here)--a member of the new 747-8 family of airplanes--at the Boeing Transonic Wind Tunnel in Seattle. The 3 percent scale model of the 747-8 measures about 87 inches (2.2 meters) long with a wingspan of 74 inches (1.8 meters). This test is one of several wind-tunnel tests the 747-8 program recently concluded, marking another milestone for the program launched in November. Other tests completed include low-speed line development and fine-tuning of the noise characteristics on the fully integrated airframe. More than 3,000 hours of wind-tunnel time have been logged to date in the 747-8 development program.