Aviation Week - May 23, 2008:
FlightBlogger - August 5, 2008:While Boeing VP and 787 General Manager Pat Shanahan says most systems are ready to go, the airplane's brake control monitoring system supplied by Crane Aerospace to the former Smiths Aerospace division of GE Aviation has fallen behind schedule and remains a threat to first flight in the fourth quarter this year.
Design concerns about the brake monitors arose during build and test reviews by GE and Crane. As those issues were being worked out, power supply issues also cropped up. A joint GE-Crane team is addressing the problems at Crane's Burbank, Calif., facility.
A GE manager says the team is making "good progress" toward supporting Boeing's flight test schedule. "They are later than we want, but they will support first flight," the manager said.
Boeing expects to have all of the hardware on Dreamliner One qualified by the second or third week of August, "with the exception of the brakes."Boeing - October 31, 2008:
"The issues with the brake software are behind us, functionality required for flight test is in the labs and is working well. (The final "blue label" version -- for flight test -- is in the lab and is undergoing tests, all known software problems are resolved. The formal "red label" version will follow in two weeks. We plan on a service-ready update during flight test that adds some additional functionality including tire pressure, operator initiated test, and dataload)," said 787 spokeswoman Yvonne Leach.Crane Co. CEO Eric Fast - February 18, 2009:
"The Company expects to complete development of the brake control system for the Boeing 787 that meets the originally specified requirements during the second quarter of 2009 although engineering efforts at reduced levels will be needed to support test flights.
However, Boeing has communicated certain changed aircraft requirements that affect the brake control system, and we have recently entered into discussions with our customer, GE Aviation Systems, regarding development of a new version of the 787 brake control system, including whether this additional development work will be funded by the customer.
It is the Company's position that it is not required to undertake this additional development work without customer funding, and the costs of such work, which could be material, are not included in our guidance." Emphasis added.
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