SO you want a plane with huge lift capability and the wingspan to match, but you also need it to fit through regular airport gates.

What do you do? If you’re Boeing and the craft is the new 777X, you switch up the game by adding folding wings.

The world got its first glance at this unique innovation Oct. 3, during a live webcast from Boeing’s factory floor in Everett, Washington, where the first flight-test 777X is being built.

The aircraft is the 777-9X variant, the first of its next-generation 777s, and when it takes to the air it will be the world’s biggest twin-engine jetliner.

Once completed, the 777-9X is to have the widest wingspan of any aircraft in the company’s 102-year history: 235 feet, five inches (71.75 meters).

Its hinged wingtips alone measure 12 feet, with locking pins to prevent them from folding during flight.

With the aircraft’s wingtips folded, the wingspan is reduced to 231.2 feet.

The wings give the jetliner extra lift, similar to that of a giant sailplane glider, helping the plane save an overall 12 percent more fuel than the Airbus A350, according to Boeing.

While its wingspan is pretty epic, it’s not the biggest out there.

It’s a little smaller than an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airliner, which has a span of 261 feet, five inches.

The jet’s fuselage is made of aluminum, like most airliners, but the wings are made of super-strong, light weight carbon fiber, which helps it save fuel.

Seating 350 to 425 passengers, the airliner is due to debut in 2020. The plane’s range is expected to reach more than 14,000 kilometers (8,699 miles) — about the distance between Dubai and Panama City.

(SD-Agencies)