B777X med folding av vingetuppene - Curt Lewis

Jeg føler umiddelbart litt uro her. Enda en ting som kan gå galt........ (Red.)

Boeing flashes 777X jet's folding wingtips in live webcast from Everett (Photos)

The airplane and its wings are so large that it could not fit in many of the world's airports. To resolve that challenge, Boeing engineers designed folding wingtips, which are retracted as the plane arrives at the gate and extended after it leaves.

Boeing offered a glimpse of its 777X wide body passenger jet Wednesday, sharing images of the unique folding wingtips on its newest, biggest and most advanced airplane.

During a live video webcast direct from the Chicago-based jet maker's Everett factory floor, Boeing showed off the wingtips, which are are 11.5 feet long. They were shown folded for the first time, but not shown actually moving, which is how they are expected to work.

Instead, Boeing host Jeff Haber and Boeing 777X mechanic Hillary Anderson talked about the program and ongoing work on the first test airplane under construction in Everett.

Anderson discussed - using sign language - her job as a mechanic, installing wiring and probes in the wings. She has worked on 777X for a year.

Anderson also said she comes from an-all Boeing family: her father, brother and two uncles all work there.

Discussing the wingtips, Haber took steps to reassure viewers who may have concerns about the idea of folding wings on a commercial passenger airplane.

"The folding mechanism for the wing is simple, durable and reliable. The process will be automatic," Haber said. "The next time you see this wing, it's going to be going down the runway and taking off."

The 777X's composite wings will be so long - it has wingspan of 235 feet - that they would not have been able to use the gates at most existing airports.

That's why Boeing engineers and airplane designers came up with the folding wingtip idea, which allows 777Xs to use all gates now used by existing model 777 wide-body jets.

Boing expects to fly test flights in 2019 with the first jet to be delivered to launch customer Lufthansa, the German airline, in 2020.