Anyone saw the first flight of the 747-8? Great bird, good to see a new Queen flying. I imagine that it´s certification program will be shorter because of the freighter program.

Why do they leave the landing gear down for so long after take-off on the first flight?

They always leave the landing gear down for the entire first flight of every new airplane. "Just in case" I believe is the reason.John Guidry

Hmmm, I can understand caution. But I've seen videos of a B737 put together quickly (time-lapse video, obviously) and they tested the landing gear numerous times before the tires even touched the concrete. Not trying to be argumentative, just curious. Perhaps Robert can shed some light?

Hmmm, I can understand caution. But I've seen videos of a B737 put together quickly (time-lapse video, obviously) and they tested the landing gear numerous times before the tires even touched the concrete. Not trying to be argumentative, just curious. Perhaps Robert can shed some light?

I can answer your question here...On first flights of a new aircraft prototype, they leave the gears down just in case they have to make an emergency landing if something goes seriously wrong. If I also recall, I was told that another reason was to save one checklist item since the crew would be so busy during the first flight that if something would go wrong, they can quickly turn around and land. They do cycle the landing gear only when they have ensured that everything is functioning normally. On the first flight of the 747-8i, they left the gears down for almost half of the flight until they entered east Washington airspace test area that the gears were cycled. You'll see a dozen or so air-to-air photos showing the gears are up. From the second flight of the prototype and onwards, the gears are raised at takeoff because they know its safe to do so.Production aircrafts such as the 737 in your case, the first prototypes have already flown, they have tested everything so there is no need to keep gears down on production aircrafts as the system has been proven. What you saw in those videos are the normal testing on the ground which is part of standard procedure. When those production airplanes fly for the first time, gears are raised as usual, just another normal flight ;-)Hope that answers your question...Cheers,

I would also think that, because of the new wing design, the mounting point of the main bogies (steerable) and Mid bogie may have been re-designed/altered to allow for the new tech. Therefore, it would be a test run for the "new" retraction/extention geometry. Or am I just putting way too much thought into this?

But I've seen videos of a B737 put together quickly (time-lapse video, obviously) and they tested the landing gear numerous times before the tires even touched the concrete.

Hmmm... maybe they still leave it out to test it in flight, but it seems that this only happens on the first flight of an aircraft type, then a completely new aircraft from that type (Not the first one) flies with the gear retracted normally, right after takeoff, when a positive rate of climb is achieved.

reminds me, anyone willing to do the orange roll out livery of the 747-8i?

reminds me, anyone willing to do the orange roll out livery of the 747-8i?

Already out! First on the list "Boeing Sunrise"http://www.precisionmanuals.com/pages/downloads/liveries.html-Raven Harris

Wow, this is one ugly bird!

Wow, this is one ugly bird!

wow, you must ethier love the 747-400 (which I do!) or the a380

wow, you must ethier love the 747-400 (which I do!) or the a380

Not really a fan of either of those, the best looking 747 is the SP, its cute. The big ones just looks bad, like it has cancer or something. The A380 is possibly even worse tho.

Um, if you go to the Boeing site you will see the landing gear was retracted for at least the photo part of the flight. Also remember it's not like the plane's gear has never been tested. They put the plane on jacks and cycle the gear as part of routine testing. I saw the beast land at BFI - I volunteer at the Museum of Flight. Looks like a slightly bigger 747. Liked the proportions, and the new engines look very cool. Lots of VIP types at the Boeing facility. Came in very smoothly. Colin Ware.

Wow, this is one ugly bird!

Seriously? I think it looks great.You want ugly? Go look at the 380. Looks like a manatee or something.

Seriously? I think it looks great.You want ugly? Go look at the 380. Looks like a manatee or something.

(From an Airbus fan living right next to the Airbus factory)