A reader sent over a couple of photos of the long-anticipated Boeing 777x airplane flying over Everett earlier this week.

An curved arrow pointing right. Boeing just opened a facility in Everett, Washington, where engineers will craft the largest composite wings in the world for the company's forthcoming 777X airplane.

and wings. The new plane has tips that fold up to ensure it fits in the same gate space as the classic model. Operationally, the 777X is similar to its predecessor — and that's by design.

Both 777X variants have a wingspan of 71.8 meters, roughly 15% bigger than the 777-300ER's wingspan. Because the wingspan is ...