Plane to see

It was a rather clever way for Boeing to show off just what its new Rolls-royce engines can do.

The aircraft manufacturer’s idea was to fly its 787-8 Dreamliner for more than 17 hours non-stop on a flight path across the continental US that would outline the shape of the plane – much in the manner of a child tracing the shape of a plane in the sky with his finger.

The jet took off from Seattle on Wednesday afternoon and returned yesterday morning local time after flying 15,766 miles over 17 states, including Washington, Oklahoma, Idaho, Montana and North Dakota.

It flew east out of Washington State, passing over Minnesota and Michigan before beginning to draw the plane’s outline, starting with a wing tip.

The ‘nose’ of the aircraft was drawn over Wyoming and the left wing tip in Texas, not far from the border with Mexico. The tail was outlined near Huntsville, Alabama. Landmarks the plane flew over on its route included Spokane, Minneapolis, Fort Collins, San Antonio, Nashville and Kansas City.

As well as putting the Rolls-royce Trent 1000 engines through their paces, the flight was also intended to demonstrate the precision of a route possible with the jet’s flight controls and navigation equipment. “The mission to outline the airplane was completed per plan,” said a Boeing spokesman in Seattle. “We’re very pleased with the result.”