After over two years of delays, Boeing's state-of-the-art next generation commercial jet, the 787 Dreamliner, completed its first flight on Tuesday, taking off into a gray, cloudy sky in Everett, Washington.

The Dreamliner marks several new advancements for airplane design. It is the first major airliner to use lighter composite materials for the majority of the plane body, equaling a lighter jet that will fly faster, farther and with greater fuel economy than current models according to Boeing.

The 787 is also being touted as the environmentally-friendly travel option, with lower emissions and noise in addition to decreased fuel consumption, as well as a structure made of recyclable, less hazardous materials.

A comprehensive flight-test program will take at least a year, and the first planes are set to be delivered in late 2010 to All Nippon Air. Houston may see more than our share of the planes by 2011-2012, as Continental has ordered 25 of the planes and will be the first American airline to receive its fleet.

Click through the slide show for more design and technology specs, and check out the first Dreamliner takeoff video below.