Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

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The second <a href="?q=node/23770">Boeing 747-8 Freighter</a>, RC521, landed in Palmdale, Calif., yesterday, marking the beginning of a planned transition of testing to Southern California. The more than four-hour flight from Boeing Field in Seattle included testing on avionics and cruise performance.
“Taking the airplane to Palmdale is a big step,” said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. “The team is focused on ensuring a seamless transition into the next phase of the flight-test program as we prepare to expand testing of the 747-8 Freighter’s performance characteristics.”
Boeing chose to base the three 747-8 prototypes in Palmdale for most of the flight-test program to avoid scheduling conflicts as the company proceeds with <a href="?q=node/24423">787 testing</a> at Boeing Field in Seattle. Fuel-mileage and engine-performance testing will account for the “key” areas of assessment on the second airplane.
“Palmdale provides an excellent test environment for the 747-8 Freighter,” said Andy Hammer, 747 test program manager. “It allows us to take full advantage of one of the world’s premier experimental test flight facilities and the excellent weather conditions to meet our flight-test requirements on the road to obtaining our amended type certification.”
Boeing has stationed a contingent of employees at Palmdale for the testing, including flight-test engineers and the support personnel who prepare the airplane for each day’s flights. The two other 747-8 in the flight-test fleet will join RC521 in Southern California “in the coming weeks,” said Boeing. 
The entire flight-test program calls for the three airplanes to perform a total of about 3,700 hours of ground and air testing. The first 747-8 Freighter delivery to Cargolux is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Boeing 747-8 Freighter Begins Flight-Test Operations in Southern California

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The second <link news/single-news-page/article/

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