Boeing 787-9 is more a fighter jet than a commercial airliner

Boeing 787-9 is the biggest and most advanced Dreamliner to date

Boeing's latest Dreamliner the 787-9 is not your typical passenger jet. It can take off almost vertically; do side-by-side rolls and banks hard enough to make it feel as if the wings will break off. These are all maneuvers you’d expect from a fighter jet, but test pilots Randy Neville, Van Chaney, and John Misuradze believe otherwise.



The 787-9 is a lot lighter and stronger than its predecessors, owing to the fact that the body panels are made using a carbon fiber composite. It also features a heads-up display and highly computerised flight controls making it the biggest and most advanced Dreamliner to date.

The 787-9 entered service in 2014 and so far 38 customers have placed 571 orders. The test flight gives pilots a chance to practice their moves for the upcoming demonstration of the Dreamliner at the Farnborough International Airshow.



The airshow, being held this week in the UK, will give Boeing a chance to showcase the capabilities of the 787-9 to attract potential buyers.

Boeing diligently monitors all the plane’s maneuvers in order to make sure the stunts conducted by the test pilots do not push the plane over its limit. The moves are conducted to demonstrate the plane’s capabilities in case of emergency.



So, the 230 passengers traveling next time around can leave their vomit bags in the seat pockets and rest easy knowing that they are in one of the most advanced commercial jets ever constructed.


This article originally appeared on Wired.