First look at the folding wings of the Boeing jetliner 777X

(CNN) – So, you want a plane with a huge lifting capacity and a reach that suits it, but you also need it to go through the usual airport gates.

What to do? If you are Boeing and you are using the new 777X, you can change the game by adding folding wings.

The world had a first glimpse of this unique innovation on Oct. 3, during a live broadcast on the site of the Boeing Plant in Everett, Washington State, where the first 777X flight test is under construction.

This is the 777-9X variant, the first of its new generation of 777, and when it takes off, it will become the largest airliner in the world.

It's a wing thing

When completed, the 777-9X will have the widest wingspan of any aircraft in its 102-year history: 235 feet, five inches.

Its articulated wingtips alone measure 12 feet, with locking pins to prevent them from bending during flight.

The wings give the jetliner extra lift, similar to that of a giant glider glider, allowing the aircraft to save a total of 12% more fuel than the Airbus A350, according to Boeing.

Now, you may have seen something similar about military planes – such as the F / A-18 fighters that have to sneak on the US aircraft carriers – but when it's about 39 commercial aircraft, this wing is the first of its kind.

In fact, the US Federal Aviation Administration had to develop new regulations only for the and his sister boat, the 777-8X.

Although its scale is quite epic, it is not the biggest there.

It is a little smaller than an Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner, whose range is 261 feet five inches.

And it's a bit less than the scope of the next Stratolaunch, which will be used to launch rockets and space planes in orbit. When it's flying, it will be the largest plane in the world.

Static test plane

The sail revealed in October follows the 777-9X static "fully assembled" test aircraft that will be deployed at the Everett facility in September.

Although it never flies away, the static aircraft must undergo nearly a year of ground testing to verify the structural strength and accuracy of the design.

Although the cell is largely complete, some components, such as engines and an avionics system, are missing.

Structure and support

"Static testing allows us to verify the design of the structure and the carrier components of the aircraft, ensuring that the end product is safe for our customers and the traveling public," said Doreen Bingo, Program Manager for Testing and evaluation of the Boeing 777X.

"By using a large-scale aircraft, we will perform various load conditions on the wings, gears, struts and fuselage."

The wings were tested at one-and-a-half times the designated load in previous static tests, which allowed the wing to flex more than 26 feet.

Revolution of engineering

The fuselage of the jet is aluminum, like most airliners, but the wings are ultra-strong and lightweight carbon fiber, which allows it to save fuel. (This is why the wings are so flexible.) A special process is needed to make the wings, including a huge custom pressurized oven to cook the carbon fiber material.

Accommodating from 350 to 425 passengers, the airliner is scheduled to debut in 2020 and test flights will begin next year.

Boeing has announced that its operating costs would be 10% lower than those of the A350-1000.

The range of the aircraft is expected to reach more than 14,000 kilometers (8,699 miles), about the distance between Dubai and Panama.

Several airlines have already placed orders, including Emirates, All Nippon Airways and Lufthansa.

Boeing's new X family is part of a revolution in engineering: two-engine airliners only use many of the same global routes as larger, energy-hungry four-engine airliners. the 747 and the A340 and the A380 Super Jumbo from Airbus.

The initial versions of the 777 had been flying for two decades. The X family will come with its own newly designed engine: the GE9X from General Electric, currently in the testing phase.

The 777-8X, which will have a longer range but a smaller capacity, is also in preparation.