The Boeing 747-8 Freighter successfully had its first flight February 9 Monday from Paine Field in Everett, Seattle, Washington, at 12:39 p.m. PST, marking the start of a flight-test program scheduled to last until near the end of this year. The first of three 747-8 prototypes built for the program took off some two and a half hours later than originally planned due to a low cloud ceiling over Paine Field this morning. Plans called for a three- to four-hour test mission, during which program chief pilot Mike Feuerstein and senior test engineer Tom Imrich expect to perform basic handling and engine performance testing, according to a Boeing spokesman on the scene.

Originally planning to deliver the first freighter by the end of last year, Boeing’s 747-8 program team struggled through a series of delays related to production problems, a shift in resources to a troubled 787 program and what Boeing CEO James McNerney described as a lack of engineering maturity. Boeing now plans to deliver the first 747-8F to launch customer Cargolux some time near the end of this year and the first passenger version to Lufthansa in the fourth quarter of next year.

The new version of the 747 ‘Jumbo jet’, the 747-8 Freighter is set to make first flight on Monday February 8th. The 747-8 Freighter could take off from Everett’s Paine Field, Washington, USA at 10 a.m., if the preflight tests go well. It is also subject to weather condition and final Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance.

Boeing’s updated jumbo jet features a new wing design and improved engines. The company says its 747-8 will be about 16 percent more fuel efficient than the 747-400s currently in service.

The company will introduce the cargo version of its 747-8 before the passenger plane debuts. Boeing has won 76 orders for its 747-8 Freighter and orders for 32 of the 747-8 passenger plane, dubbed the Intercontinental. The passenger plane can be configured for up to 467 passengers, 51 more than the 747-400.

Boeing will Web cast live the first flight of its 747-8 on its Web site: www.747-8firstflight.com.

The Sukhoi PAK FA is a fifth generation fighter aircraft being developed by Sukhoi OKB for the Russian Air Force.

The current prototype is Sukhoi’s T-50. The PAK FA when fully developed is intended to replace the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker in the Russian inventory and serve as the basis of the Sukhoi/HAL FGFA project being developed with India. A fifth generation jet fighter, it is designed to directly compete with the American F-22 Raptor and American/British F-35 Lightning II. The T-50 performed its first flight January 29, 2010.

Iran has developed a new weapon to shoot down U.S. Apache attack helicopters, the Iranian Fars news agency has reported.

“Our enemies should not imagine that if their Apache choppers have shown a mighty and desirable performance in Iraq and Afghanistan, they can show the same might and power in any possible aggression against Iran. We will certainly put an end to the power of their Apaches through our measures,” Fars quoted Col. Nasser Arab-Beigi of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps.

The official did not specify the type of the weapon Iran is manufacturing to shoot down Apache helicopters.

Iran frequently holds military drills and shows off modern weaponry in an effort to demonstrate its readiness to thwart any attack on its territory.