Boeing's First Locally-Made Plane Takes Flight

Reporters from all over the Lowcountry camped out in North Charleston Wednesday morning to catch a glimpse of a locally-made Dreamliner taking to the skies for the first time.

Boeing rolled the first plane out of the hanger last month, and it spent the past few weeks getting the final bells and whistles before takeoff.

The Post and Courier's Brendan Kearney watched the plane take to the air with some of the employees who put it together.

The cheers from the throng of Boeing employee onlookers grew louder when the big bird began to roll forward toward the final assembly building that produced it.

“Fast little rascal, isn’t she?” an employee was overheard saying as the jet began to move under its own power.

Live 5 News has a brief video of the takeoff. News 2 spoke with employees watching the Dreamliner on a video stream inside the facility.

Boeing is also on the radio Thursday with ads thanking congressional members for , a federal financing program that will be used to help Boeing sell most of the planes manufactured in North Charleston to airlines overseas.

The ads thank reps. Jim Clyburn and Tim Scott, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham. The ad does not mention Sen. Jim DeMint, one of the most outspoken critics of the bank.