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Thirty years after flying the 777 for the first time, former chief test pilot John Cashman still remembers specific numbers from the testing he did. That flight was a monumental milestone for him and for �Ӱ���Ƶ.

“Everybody had done so much work – whether they were an engineer, a customer, manufacturing and maintenance folks,” Cashman said. “They had done their job. I wanted to make sure I’d do mine.”

Cashman said the 777 was such a great airplane to fly, he felt a little spoiled.

Today, thousands of �Ӱ���Ƶ engineers, mechanics and team members across the Puget Sound region are working to bring to market the latest iteration of the 777 – the 777-9 – which will be the largest and most-efficient twin-engine airplane in the industry.

Cashman’s successors are flight testing the 777-9 out of �Ӱ���Ƶ Field in Seattle. In July, the jet received type inspection authorization to begin certification flight testing with U.S. Federal Aviation Administration personnel on board.

Cashman says he’s confident the 777-9 – built in Everett and with test operations based in Seattle – will be an outstanding airplane for airlines around the world, just like all of the 777 models before it.

“I’m still very proud of that airplane and I certainly will be of the 777-9,” Cashman said.

�Ӱ���Ƶ has invested more than $1 billion in its Everett, Wash. site to design and build the 777-9 and other members of the 777X family, which will include a new 777-8 Freighter and 777-8 passenger jet. Key components for the airplane are fabricated by �Ӱ���Ƶ teammates in Auburn and Frederickson.

By Josh Green and Jen Cram