When the Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its maiden voyage Tuesday, Dec. 15, it had quite an audience. Television stations carried the event live, while thousands of people gathered at Snohomish County Airport/ Paine Field (PAE) in Everett, Wash., for its departure and at King County International/Boeing Field (BFI) in Seattle for its eventual arrival. In addition to the people on the ground, dozens of general aviation pilots launched, hoping to get a glimpse of the new bird as it flew back and forth across the state.

Discreet frequencies buzzed with pilots querying one another as to whether they had seen the aircraft. Alas, the flight was cut short due to deteriorating weather.

Boeing is expected to conduct at least 3,000 hours of test flights with the Dreamliner before it goes to delivery, so there should be more opportunities to share the skies with the much-anticipated airliner.

For more information: Boeing.com