First-flight Euphoria in Montreal Matched by Satisfaction in Everett
The first Boeing 787-9 takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, for a five-hour, 16-minute maiden mission. (Photo: Boeing)
The first Boeing 787-9 takes off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington, for a five-hour, 16-minute maiden mission. (Photo: Boeing)

A pair of first flights last week carried big stakes for each of the respective airplanes’ North American airframe makers. But while the maiden mission of the Boeing 787-9 meant a return to “business as usual” in Everett, Washington, the first flight of the Bombardier CSeries outside Montreal, in Mirabel, Quebec, marked the climax of a project on which the Canadian company has bet its future.