There's An Awesome Way To Watch The First Test Flight Of The New Boeing Dreamliner

This afternoon, the new, upgraded version of Boeing's Dreamliner took off for the first time. The maiden test flight of the 787-9 is an important milestone considering the troubles of the original jet, and Boeing is making a big deal out of it.

The plane maker provided a live stream webcast of the takeoff, which went perfectly. For those who want to follow along for all four to five hours of the test flight, there's a different way to keep up.

You can watch a virtual version of the plane's flight, thanks to Google Earth. It's very cool and surprisingly mesmerizing. You can also replay the flight so far (at regular or 5x speed). The feature is available for all the Dreamliners currently in service.

Here's what it looks like:

Watch the first 787-9 flight here, or check in on where Boeing's other Dreamliners are flying.