Images: The first 747-8

Even as Boeing was capturing the world's attention with the long-awaited--and much delayed--first flight of its groundbreaking 787 Dreamliner, it is also preparing for the first flight of the 747-8, the next-generation of what is probably the best-known jetliner in the world.

Boeing has built three 747-8 freighters, and probably won't produce any passenger versions of the plane until 2011. It's not entirely clear when the company will deliver the first plane, but it expecting to conduct the first flight in early 2010, most likely sometime in January.

This is the very first 747-8, seen sitting on the tarmac at Boeing's Paine Field in Everett, Washington, on Dec. 15, 2009, as thousands of people were on hand for the 787 Dreamliner first flight.