Video Courtesy of KOMO News in Seattle.
This morning, ZA001 conducted its first slow lap around Paine Field. Taxi tests began a little past 10 AM in Everett. The fleet of 787's remains grounded until a remedial fix is applied to the side of body before the aircraft can be cleared for its maiden flight, however Boeing can still proceed with these taxi tests on N787BA. A very special thanks to the person who sent these to me.
on July 7, 2009 2:45 PM | Reply
Looks like they gave the thrust reversers a functional checkout.
on July 7, 2009 3:25 PM | Reply
Lets hope they dont wear out the tires before it flys!
I guess they might want to put an odometer in the panel. That way they can count all the miles before first flight.
JR
on July 7, 2009 3:27 PM | Reply
I wonder if they'll be allowed to do high speed and RTO since there's a chance they'd have to take off if something went wrong. There's no real reason they couldn't fly if they had to. They just wouldn't get structural data worth anything.
on July 7, 2009 4:06 PM | Reply
Jon you’re awesome! How on earth did you get air to ground video of the taxi tests?
on July 7, 2009 4:16 PM | Reply
How tempting must it be to ease the joystick back and let that bird fly! Great capture!
on July 7, 2009 4:30 PM | Reply
A beautiful lady, dressed to fly, restricted to jogging on account of the torn rotator cuffs.
on July 7, 2009 4:52 PM | Reply
WHAT A LOVLEY AIRCRAFT I HAVE BOOKED THE BOEING TOUR IN SEPTEMBER AND HOPE TO SEE THE PRODUCTION LINE CARNT WAIT SHES GREAT.
on July 7, 2009 5:48 PM | Reply
Bounced around a bit after the brakes were released.
If it were a car, I would wonder about the shocks.
They're redoing the wing/body.
What about the wheels/body? I know that they did analytic analysis on this, however until they land hard, how can we know?
on July 7, 2009 5:49 PM | Reply
Beutiful. Soon come to the sky.
on July 7, 2009 5:53 PM | Reply
Go Boeing Go! Way of the future! I am glad something positive is happening in the world of aviation.
on July 7, 2009 5:57 PM | Reply
Looks like the electric braking or the anti-skid is having a problem.
on July 7, 2009 6:03 PM | Reply
It is a beautiful airplane, I will give them that. If the adage; (If it looks right it will fly right) holds up, it should fly nicely.
I did notice that the ground spoiler system appears to be full span; from the fuselage to the wingtip - I have not seen this on anything but aircraft that use spoilers exclusively for roll control.
on July 7, 2009 6:05 PM | Reply
Looking at it again it appears that the ailerons deflect upward to help spoil lift, though the image cuts off both wingtips making it hard to tell for sure.
on July 7, 2009 6:07 PM | Reply
I find it interesting how ignorant people observe a hard braking and then make ignorant comments about shocks and anti skid brakes.
on July 7, 2009 6:55 PM | Reply
8Billion Dollars for 3 sets of wheels, 2 engines and a steering wheel, expensive jet car!!!!
on July 7, 2009 6:57 PM | Reply
Yes, CB, there are ignorant people on the internet. You didn't know? ;]
You can ignore them and just pay attention to people who sound like they know what they're talking about. Or you could be extra nice and enlighten them about what you know regarding the misconceptions they're expressing. But you don't have to be rude. People will have reactions even to things that they don's know a whole lot about. I definitely do.
This reminds me of the comments discussion on this post:
thereifixedit.com/2009/06/23/epic-kludge-photo-and-people-ask-why-im-scared-to-fly
(By the way, I have experience doing structural analysis of commercial aircraft repairs, so I found that thread quite amusing. But other knowledgeable people had already explained things by the time I got there).
And of course, don't forget xkcd.com/386
By the way, CB, I would recommend that you make sure to NOT read YouTube comments. You'd have a stroke ;]
In any case...
Thanks Jon for posting the video! I've been at my desk all day, so I haven't seen the 787 move under its own power yet, but I should set aside some time to do so tomorrow. (And judging by the Hornet passes I've been seeing out the window, some Navy pilots are curious to come over here and check things out too :] ).
on July 7, 2009 7:43 PM | Reply
If i am not wrong but the rudder pedals control 3 things, brakes, rudder movement and steering at low speeds (also there are 2 tillers in the flight deck for steering). Right rudder/brake pedals control the right main wheel brakes and the left rudder/brake pedal controls the left main wheel brakes, hence you see smoke at different times from the main wheels because these brakes can be applied individually. applying brakes individually also steers the plane on ground but brake wear is excessive.
Have to say it sprinted up pretty quick from standstill before brake were applied.
on July 7, 2009 7:48 PM | Reply
Many see a different viewpoint as ignorant, is it not so?
Is not this the first time that we've seen an actual thing (787) move which is what we expected two years ago? Until now, we've seen pretty pictures and a posed model preening for the cameras.
Too, 'shocks' was used metaphorically. When we see a car bounce around, it points to structural weakness (at least, in a functional sense).
Someone please explain why the thing bounces after the brakes are released.
Okay,again being metaphorical, the plane is lighter than we are accustomed to, yet it is fueled (how much?). Too, it might have more play due to material (ah, bouncy ride - is that is the plan?).
But, what I was asking (albeit indirectly) was this in parallel with the recently revealed news: just as the wing/body join was shown to have problems, what was done in the wheel/body join (after all, the landing gear will take the brunt on contact) to guarantee necessary strength, et al (if CB is an engineer, he/she can fill us in on the requirements)?
Now, just as the wing/body problem is due to too much reliance on analytics, so too there may be a problem in the wheel/body (ah yes, the test was running the retracting sequence on video for us all).
Do we have to wait for the first landing to know?
on July 7, 2009 8:00 PM | Reply
Looking at it again it appears that the ailerons deflect upward to help spoil lift, though the image cuts off both wingtips making it hard to tell for sure.
on July 7, 2009 8:09 PM | Reply
Outsider wrote: "Someone please explain why the thing bounces after the brakes are released."
It's called physics, the aircraft when in motion builds up energy and when the breaks are applied the aircraft still wants to go forward,
Because the brakes only stop wheels. The aircraft continues moving forward because of inertia. When the wheels get stopped, the aircraft continues forward until it "catches up." Same reason you go forward when you hit the breaks in your car, and yes even your car's body reacts the same way and bounces around. Just hit a high speed and hit your breaks. it has nothing to do with structural integrity or weakness, just look at car commercials.
on July 7, 2009 8:14 PM | Reply
Forgot my metaphor. Are we seeing legs like the killdeer or plover rather than that of eagle which can knock things out of the sky (or hit the deck hard)?
on July 7, 2009 8:55 PM | Reply
Outsider: The 787 "bounces" when it comes to a standstill much like any other vehicle that brakes hard to a standstill. The inertial and braking forces cause the frame to "lean" forward as its braking. This "lean" is removed once there is no longer any force behind it hence the bounce back.
on July 7, 2009 10:17 PM | Reply
Yes, we expect to see the spring back. How many oscillations are expected?
That's why I said shocks. You expect the car to dampen almost immediately. No?
I see several cycles (look between -1.12 and -1.10).
Okay, we can say that it's more flexible due to material, et al.
But, you have to admit that, just like with the wing, this part of the structure has never been tested (will not be until the first flight is over).
'Will it hold up?' is the query. We can't know at this time would be the response.
But, was all that minimized like we've heard about other areas? Let's see, new material, new design, ..., who is to say what the safety margins are?
on July 7, 2009 10:44 PM | Reply
Outsider-
If your concerned about this new plane bouncing around because of the new materials, keep in mind that there are static frames in place that are being tested for this very reason. If you watch any landing videos on you tube or others, you see this same bounce in hard breaking situations on alluminum build planes as well. One which comes to mind was the aborted take off test with the 340-600.
My suggestion is to relax and let the testing happen and the engineers do their analysis before calling for concern.
on July 7, 2009 11:41 PM | Reply
Outsider, There are complete airframe bodies that are static tested in all vital areas before the plane is allowed to make its first flight. A static testing revealed the wing body join problem. They also test the landing gear and the mounting points of the gear to the body. If the static tests are okay, the plane is allowed to go make first flight and go to flight test. Here more testing is done on the plane. All in all it is a very rigorous testing of the vehicle. By the time the FAA certifies the plane it has been completely wrung out for weaknesses. I believe your fears/doubts are somewhat overblown
on July 8, 2009 2:43 AM | Reply
Jon Dudeck, I can't watch the video here, but I can assure you that the spoilers don't run out to the tips. The outboard spoilers (1 & 14) end at the outboard ends of the outboard flaps.
on July 8, 2009 6:50 AM | Reply
What a beautiful Bird!
on July 8, 2009 9:26 AM | Reply
Nice Truck :-) Now make it an actual airplane!
on July 8, 2009 10:12 AM | Reply
One day before the second anniversary of the ‘faux’ roll out of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the prototype has moved under its own power at Paine field, Everett, near Seattle.No test flight program for the 787 has been given since its ballyhooed first flight on 30 June was cancelled at short notice only days after Boeing management insisted it would fly on that day.Boeing is now considering what to do after the wing join area began to break apart in a static test late in May well short of the stress levels required for certification for operations. The wing had already been partially stress tested in April.Unofficial estimates of a minimum delay of 18 months have been circulated in the US.
With entry into service not expected until sometime in 2011 for the initial 787-8 model, the delivery of the stretch, the 787-9, now promised for mid 2013 for Qantas subsidiary Jetstar looks like being pushed back to 2015.
It is going to take more than pretty pictures to make the Dreamliner a reality. Starting with a new connection between the wing and the wing box under the central section of the ‘plastic fantastic’ high composite, and it seems, high weight, airliner. This is from the Australian website crikey. com.au. Sounds like they're not that impressed either.
on July 8, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply
Pretty soon they could use these instead of the Grey Line busses for the Boeing Tours... hyuk hyuk hyuk.
It is nice to have some positive news on the program, though! It's cool seeing it motor around under its own power.
-Rick
on July 8, 2009 1:25 PM | Reply
Interesting to note that none of the emergency exits are over the wing! Hope they don't land one in the Hudson.
on July 8, 2009 5:41 PM | Reply
Anyone know what was hanging off the Rudder?
on July 9, 2009 2:21 PM | Reply
Kippo;
kpae.blogspot.com/2009/06/preparing-n787ba-for-taxi-test.html
on July 9, 2009 2:25 PM | Reply
More details on the cone:
nyc787.blogspot.com/2009/06/matt-cawby-za001-being-prepared-for.html
www.spaceagecontrol.com/news100100.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trailing_Cone
on July 15, 2009 5:23 AM | Reply
For a long waited at last starts taxiing to runway for takeoff, wishing
787 will successful testing the quality airplane consists of lowest
comsumption fuel, pollution to the global.
Keeps the finger cross
Manas Thailand
on July 23, 2009 5:23 PM | Reply
Awesome SITE to see " FLY BABY FLY "Finally light at end of the tunnel.(Assembly Line) Keep Up the GOOD Work Boeing.
Aviation AHHHH!
20yrs later and still loving it.
VIP Interior Tech. LOUE