It was a big day for aerospace giant The Boeing Company (BA), which celebrated the inaugural flight of the biggest plane the company has ever built.

The plane, the Boeing 747-8, was originally planned to get off the ground over a year ago, but the delay did not dampen the mood at today's take off. Hundreds of employees and spectators on hand to watch the massive 253 foot jumbo jet take flight for the first time.

Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: In another sign of an improving global economy, Airbus' Chief Operating Officer John Leahy has indicated that the market for commercial aircraft deliveries has improved, Bloomberg News reported.

"Six months, nine months ago, people were talking about delaying aircraft, Leahy told Bloomberg News at briefing at the Dubai air show. "I'm not hearing anything like that today."

Boeing is closing-out 2007 in fitting fashion: with yet another order in an already record year for commercial plane orders for the company.

Boeing announced Thursday Australia-based Qantas has ordered 31 more 737-800 commercial jetliners, in a deal worth roughly $2.3 billion, Reuters reported.

The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) officials told the Puget Sound Business Journal Friday that Qantas' order is the largest order for its 737 class single-aisle plane.

Two years ago, in December 2005 Qantas agreed to buy up to 115 next-generation 787 Dreamliners worth up to $6.1 billion, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported Friday.

Boeing announced Tuesday that it is still on track to fly its first 787 Dreamliner in Q1 2008 and deliver the plane to its first customer, All Nippon Airways, by the end of 2008, The Wall Street Journal reported (subscription required).

Boeing (NYSE: BA) also confirmed full-build 787 aircraft production plans. Earlier this year, Boeing delayed delivery of the 787 by six months to about December 2008, instead of May 2008, due to a parts shortage and also to complete additional work previously assigned to contractors, Bloomberg News reported. Boeing's shares were down 40 cents to $92.33 in Tuesday mid-day trading.

Boeing has 762 orders for the 787, valued at about $120 billion. Analysts view an aerospace company's ability to deliver planes on time as critical to the company's future prospects, due to the high cost airlines incur for delayed planes. Delayed plane deliveries also discourage future plane orders, analysts generally agree.



In addition to the 787's next-generation passenger amenities and substantially improved fuel efficiency, the plane also serves as a touch-point in the aerospace battle between Boeing and Airbus.

Look for Textron (NYSE: TXT) to continue to benefit from the global economy's tailwind.

Strong global economic growth should continue to generate solid demand of the company's Cessna jets and planes, which accounted for 51% of its profits. Further, analysts expect Textron's Bell division to perform well in 2008-2009 on strong commercial and military helicopter orders.

Textron's Industrial division should also post solid results, manufacturing everything from golf carts to lawn care machinery to auto parts. A decent, stable dividend adds to the mix. The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for TXT are $3.49/$4.09.

Remember four, five years ago when everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Boeing (NYSE: BA)? The company not only lost market share to Airbus SAS but ousted its CEO, Phil Condit, and his successor, Harry Stonecipher, for among other things having affairs with subordinates. Former CFO Michael Sears was sent to prison for his role in one of many Pentagon scandals involving the company.

Under Chief Executive James McNerney, who joined the plane maker from 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM) in 2005, Boeing has managed to put its problems behind it. The company reported net income of $1.11 billion, or $1.44 a share on revenue of $16.5 billion, beating Wall Street expectations. Boeing also raised earnings, revenue and cash flow guidance for the year. It trimmed back its forecasts for 2008, but that's to be expected given the delays in the 787 Dreamliner and the slowdown in the defense business.

Shares of the Chicago-based company are up about 6% this year, underperforming peers Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD) and Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) mainly because of worries about the Dreamliner. This reaction is overblown. First of all, the fact that new, sophisticated aircraft has been delayed is hardly surprising. If the delays continue however, that's more serious. For now, Boeing's customers haven't lost faith, placing 710 firm orders.

If the Dreamliner stays on track and the company gets its fair share of defense spending, the shares may head higher.

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