Hoping a fuel economy tweak will kickstart sales of its lagging 747-8, Boeing completed its first flight test this week of an enhanced version of the 4-engine jumbo jet.
The 747-8 Intercontinental left Everett’s Paine Field Monday about 1:30 p.m. and landed four hours later at Seattle’s Boeing Field. The plane was equipped with modified General Electric engines and an improved version of the plane’s flight management computer software.
Together, those two improvements are expected bolster the plane’s fuel economy by 1.8 percent. Other enhancements Boeing has incorporated in the latest version of the 747 since its rollout have already …