Boeing 747History, variants & specifications

First Boeing 747-8 Freighter Leaves Paint Hangar

The first 747-8F emerged from the paint hangar in a special livery in 2009.

Boeing 747-8 in Boeing house livery standing outside a floodlit paint hangar at night, with ground crew in high-visibility jackets walking past
Out of the paint hangar at Everett. The house livery is Boeing's own, not a customer's — the aircraft would be repainted before delivery.

Boeing moved the first 747-8 Freighter out of the paint hangar in Everett, Wash., Tuesday night sporting a special “light” livery.

Painted white with blue accents, the 747-8 Freighter unveiled a new twist on the Boeing Commercial Airplanes livery. It features an oversized “8” on the background of the tail as well as “747-8” on the belly.

The light livery, which saves time and expense compared to the full Boeing livery, will remain on the airplane until the flight-test program is completed. After flight test, it will be refurbished and delivered to a customer.

The first freighter will begin preparing for the necessary tests leading up to first flight in early 2010.

Update

That aircraft went on to fly. The 747-8 Freighter made its first flight on 8 February 2010 — 41 years and a day after the prototype 747 first flew — and entered service with Cargolux in October 2011.

The freighter carried the whole programme. 107 were built against 48 Intercontinentals, and it was a 747-8F that closed the production line on 31 January 2023 when the last of all 1,574 747s was handed to Atlas Air.

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