The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000

We waited, hundreds of us, in the cold and wet December Pacific Northwest weather. Shortly after 10 AM, the first-ever 787 Dreamliner pulled away from the flightline. It taxied down the runway, turned around and fired up its two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. Seconds later it filled the viewfinder of my Nikon as I held down the shutter release, clicking off 6 frames a second as it climbed into the atmosphere. Within moments the 787 was a spec against the cloudy sky, and several minutes later it vanished into the horizon. After almost a decade of hard work and billions of dollars in investment, the flying 787 Dreamliner became reality.
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