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EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing’s new 787 jetliner finally got airborne Tuesday, the long-delayed inaugural flight of the world’s first commercial plane constructed with half its components made from lightweight composite materials.

The jet lifted off from Everett’s Paine Field on a flight over Washington state, beginning an extensive testing program needed to obtain Federal Aviation Administration certification.

The two-member crew performed a variety of basic system checks before landing at Seattle’s Boeing Field about three hours later.

Deteriorating weather brought the plane back about an hour earlier than planned, but company spokeswoman Lori Gunter said the pilots managed to test the landing gear and flaps.

The plane is the first of six 787s Boeing will use in the nine-month flight-test program that will subject the planes to conditions well beyond those found in normal airline service.

Chicago-based Boeing, which has orders for 840 of the jets, plans the first delivery to Japan’s All Nippon Airways late next year.

The 787 is a radical departure in aircraft design. Where other passenger jets are made mostly from aluminum and titanium, about half of the 787 is made of lightweight composite materials such as carbon fiber payday loan lenders.

Those materials have long been used on individual parts such as rudders, and on military planes, but the 787 is the most ambitious use of the technology aboard a passenger plane.

Boeing says the aircraft will be quieter, produce lower emissions and use 20 percent less fuel than comparable planes, while giving passengers a more comfortable cabin with better air quality and larger windows.

Boeing has relied on suppliers to build huge sections of the plane, which are later assembled in Everett. But that approach so far has proved problematic, with ill-fitting parts and other glitches hampering production.

The first flight was supposed to be in 2007. Boeing was forced to push that back five times — delays that have cost the company credibility, sales and billions of dollars.

The version being tested will be able to fly up to 250 passengers about 9,000 miles. A stretch version will be capable of carrying 290 passengers and a short-range model up to 330.

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