One of the most satisfying takeoff POVs you'll ever watch... complete with an incredible landing gear retraction
Watch the legendary Grumman HU-16 Albatross accelerate down the runway before its twin radial engines lift it into the air and the amphibious landing gear retracts neatly into its boat-shaped hull.
Built for military search-and-rescue missions, the Albatross could operate from both land and open water, allowing it to reach survivors where most aircraft couldn't. Powered by two 1,425-hp Pratt & Whitney radial engines, it became one of the most capable amphibious rescue aircraft ever built.
BOEING HAS QUIETLY SCRAPPED ONE OF ITS EARLIEST-BUILT 777-9 AIRCRAFT
As first reported by The Air Current, Boeing has dismantled WH007 (Line No. 1611), the seventh Boeing 777-9 ever built, after the aircraft sat undelivered at Everett since 2019.
The jet, originally destined for Emirates as A6-EZT, even rolled out with its folding wingtips painted in Emirates' livery. Instead of being delivered, it was reportedly disassembled in late summer 2025 due to the extensive and costly modifications required to bring it up to the final certified design standard.
The aircraft later formed part of the billions of dollars in charges Boeing has accumulated on the delayed 777X program. Every aircraft built before certification must undergo "change incorporation"—a process of retrofitting already-assembled airframes to match the final certified configuration.
Boeing has around 40 already-built 777X aircraft requiring these complex reworks, and reports indicate that some customers are reluctant to accept the earliest-build airframes because of the amount of modification involved.
WH007 ultimately became the first known 777-9 to be scrapped before ever entering commercial service.
📹: SkyEye787