Maiden flight for Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - Boeing's newest passenger plane took off on Sunday for its first flight.

As a public address system blared out the countdown, "ready, ready, go," the 747-8 Intercontinental left Paine Field in Everett at 9:58 a.m. under blue skies. Crowds of Boeing workers and others cheered as the jumbo jet took its initial test flight. The jetliner is slated to land at Boeing Field in Seattle.

The passenger plane will carry up to 467 people. Boeing has already sold 33 of the planes. You can watch a video of the takeoff here.

Photos: Maiden flight for Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental

One major highlight is its new wing design. Created using what Boeing calls "the latest in computational fluid dynamics validated in the world's most sophisticated wind tunnels," the all-new wings are said to offer better aerodynamics and improved fuel capacity, while also allowing the plane to be as fast as, or faster than, any other passenger aircraft in the world.The new wing design sports "fly-by-wire spoilers and ailerons that make it possible to incorporate a flight control feature known as a maneuver load-alleviation system," Boeing said.

"Pioneered on the 787 Dreamliner, it changes the lift distribution over the wing during non-normal flight conditions, reducing the load on its outboard portion." This translates into a smaller wing structure that is 1,400 pounds lighter than that used on the 747-current-generation 747-400 while not compromising structural integrity.Boeing is aggressively touting the plane's economic and green credentials: it is the only passenger plane in the 400- to 500-seat market, its four General Electric GEnx 2B engines use 16 percent less fuel per seat than those on the 747-400 and 11 percent less than does Airbus' giant A380.This is all possible, Boeing said, because of its use of advanced materials in the construction and design of the plane, as well as its use of the GEnx engines, and the form factor and materials of its wings.

Photos: Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental Unveiled

While most of the plane is made from new aluminum alloys, it also incorporates graphite composites in the rudder, spoilers, flaps, and other areas.As designed, the 747-8 Intercontinental will carry 467 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a range of 8,000 nautical miles. The freighter version of the 747-8 can fly up to 4,390 nautical miles. The Intercontinental has a wing span of 224 feet, 7 inches, and is 250 feet, 2 inches long. Its tail towers to 63 feet, 6 inches high. And its four GEnx-2B67 engines produce 66,500 pounds of thrust. The passenger plane's top cruising speed is Mach 0.86, while the freighter can fly at Mach 0.845.

CNET contributed to this report.