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December 2009 Archives

Better Know a Dreamliner - Part Two - ZA002

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 29, 2009 1:00 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA002-firstflight_560.jpg
ZA002 - Registration: N787EX - Serial No: 40691 - Final Assembly: 2/12/08
ZA002, the second 787 flight test aircraft, recognizable by its All Nippon Airways paint job, took its first flight on December 22nd from Paine Field.

Though it wears the colors of the 787 launch customer, ZA002 will remain in the Boeing inventory as a research and development vehicle, along with ZA001 and ZA003 after the aircraft were determined to have no market value following extensive rework and modification made during assembly.

The aircraft, which is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, will be fully instrumented for the flight test program and feature banks of computers and water ballast in the unfinished cabin.

Airplane Two will have the second most hours of the six flight test aircraft and will first participate in the initial airworthiness and flutter clearance, as well as stability and control testing ahead of the Type Inspection Authorization two months after ZA001's first flight.

High speed air testing is also expected to be a significant part of ZA002's aerodynamic check-out along with wing twist that will be measured by inertial measurement units.

Once initial airworthiness is cleared, ZA002 will focus on systems functionality and reliability (F&R) for ETOPS and standard operations. The 787 will have a 330-minute ETOPS certification or 207-minute certification as a backup.

By contrast, the 777 was granted the first ETOPS clearance in 1995 with 180 minutes, a good indication of how far twin-engine long-range operations have come. About 10% of the 3,000 hours flown during the flight test program will be used for ETOPS certification spread across Airplanes 2-6, though ZA002 will account for the bulk of the hours.

Rolls-Royce completed 3,000 cycles worth of ETOPS testing on the Trent 1000 engines on August 19, 2009.

As part of the ETOPS testing that requires long legs, ZA002 - accompanied by ZA003 - will undertake route proving for customers. Boeing has not yet specified which city pairs will be flown, but Frank Rasor, director of flight test operations for Boeing says that visits to Japan will provide an opportunity for ground crews to work with the aircraft first hand.

ZA002's stability and control testing will focus on the functionality of the autopilot and will conduct a lot of runway work - many takeoffs and landings - during flight test with trips to Edwards Air Force base in California planned to take advantage of the long runways dry lake bed that provide safe margin for the tests.

With its focus on systems F&R, ZA002 will be instrumented with an oxygen analyzer and fiber optic temperature sensor to monitor the 33,528 U.S. gal fuel system.

The 787 is the first new commercial aircraft to comply with the fuel interting requirement by the FAA. Boeing will measure the oxygen content and temperatures across the system. Rasor says the company will take special care in this particular area due differences in how the fuel interacts with the systems, as well as how it is circulated and cooled.

Another major F&R test will look at the aircraft's electrical systems and will determine its maximum load by connecting resistors which act as heaters. These heaters will pull electrical power from the engines and generations systems like the Hamilton Sundstrand APS 5000 APU, which will be fitted with special instrumentation.

For the load banks test, the heaters will be attached to barrels of water and are run up, steadily increasing the power load on the aircraft's electrical system. Rasor says the test will need to be monitored closely, as the eventually the water in the barrels will come to a boil.

Photo Credit Boeing

Explanation and clarification on ZA002's landing gear

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 22, 2009 9:15 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

As you may have noticed, ZA002 touched down at Boeing Field with its landing gears doors open instead of stowed as we saw on ZA001 last Tuesday. The reason for the open position at the time of landing had to do with the resolution Neville and Carriker used to fully straighten a component of the nose landing gear.

The Seattle Times has reported that "Part of the gear assembly "was tilted to the aft by 15 degrees."

Specifically the part in question was the nose landing gear drag brace that, according to an airline pilot who holds type ratings on both the 757 and 767 and flies for a major US carrier, a drag brace "braces the airplane [landing gear] gear when a rearward load placed on the gear. This will help prevent gear collapse under higher than normal load situations."

Boeing says the telemetry room, or TM, noticed a conflict in the readings on the nose landing gear and asked for a visual inspection by the T-33 chase plane. 

The chase plane reported that the nose landing gear drag brace was "not completely straight," adding "there's about a 15 degree angle to it."

Neville cycled the landing gear doors and later the landing gear a few times to try and properly align the drag brace.

The crew ultimately selected the Alternate Gear extension option which unlocked the nose and main landing gear doors, dropping the landing gear into position, resolving the issue, and explains why we saw the doors open on arrival. Additionally, the use of the ALTN GEAR option ensured that any potentially unresolved issue with the nose gear would not be an issue on touchdown.

It's quite common to see a 777 making an approach to KPAE after a production test flight with the landing gear doors open, such a condition is a common occurrence during a test flight and even more common during the first flight of a new aircraft. Ultimately, while this minor issue was encountered, the redundancy in the landing gear system was tested successfully in flight.

Naturally, the gear was inspected after landing and the system will obviously be tested once again when ZA002 flies again. One anomaly on a first flight is hardly indicative of a larger issue. If this same problem is found in the other test aircraft, then that would be something requiring a larger change, but there's absolutely no evidence to support that after just five hours and six minutes of flying the 787.

Video: ZA002 is airborne!

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 22, 2009 12:35 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Picture 23.png
ZA002 took to the skies at approximately 9:10 PT from Paine Field in Everett, Washington after completing three taxi runs. At the controls is Capt. Randy Neville, accompanied by Capt. Mike Carriker in the right seat. Follow the latest developments on the first flight of Boeing 002 Experimental on twitter by following me and the #787FT hashtag.

Video Courtesy Future of Flight
Video Capture from KIRO7

How the Global Aeronautica deal went down

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 22, 2009 11:28 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Boeing announced at 7:00 AM today (December 22) that it has acquired Alenia's 50% share in Global Aeronautica, a deal that has been widely rumored to be in the works for months now. Global Aeronautica, which began its life as a 50-50 joint venture between Vought and Alenia, will now be incorporated into Boeing Charleston.

According to several program sources, the deal between Boeing and Alenia was finalized and signed Monday. Later that same day, Boeing set up a stage on the northeastern side of Global Aeronautica that program sources said was larger and more elaborate than that available for watching 787 first flight the week before. 

A notification went out later in the afternoon for an all hands meeting early this morning that included third and first shift staff. Second shift is to have a similar meeting starting at 4 PM today. Flightglobal.com broke the story at 6:54 this morning, followed minutes later by the official announcement.

Today's deal is the fourth phase in Boeing's gradual takeover of the North Charleston site. Boeing first acquired Vought's share of GA in March 2008, followed by Vought's aft fuselage fabrication and integration operations in July 2009 and announced in October that North Charleston would be the home of the second 787 final assembly line.

Is Boeing getting ready to buy the last 50% of Global Aeronautica?

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 21, 2009 8:42 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Charleston is abuzz once again that Boeing might be getting ready to buy the last 50% of Global Aeronautica from Alenia. 

Multiple program sources report that a 6:15 AM ET all-hands meeting is planned for an undisclosed purpose tomorrow morning for the 3rd and 1st shifts working at Boeing Charleston and Global Aeronautica.

While no agenda has been disclosed for the meeting, all signs point to a potential announcement of an acquisition by Boeing of the final 50% of the North Charleston facility.

Could we see simultaneous releases tomorrow morning on a Global Aeronautica deal, as well as the first flight of ZA002?

I asked Pat Shanahan, vice president of airplane programs, last Tuesday if he was content with the 50-50 model for sharing ownership with Alenia. His reply:
"Operationally there's no division, it's pretty seamless so we work very collaboratively, and with our experience people really line up as a team...people don't look at who owns what make sure they have a vote," he replied.
Global Aeronautica is responsible for the integration of the 787's center fuselage sections. Alenia fabricates Sections 44 and 46 in Grottalie, Italy, while Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries are responsible for Sections 43 an 45/11, respectively, with both built in Nagoya Japan.

Once integrated, the structures are shipped via the Dreamlifter to Everett for final assembly.

Boeing first purchased Vought's 50% share in Global Aeronautica back in March of 2008 after the airframer moved to increase oversight at the North Charleston facility. 

The company has slowly expanded its ownership of the site, later purchasing Vought's aft fuselage facility in July raising the total share of ownership of the site to 75%. 

Finally, in October, Boeing selected North Charleston as the site of the second 787 final assembly line. 

Guess we'll just have to wait and see what materializes. 

ZA002 to fly December 22nd, weather permitting

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 21, 2009 7:40 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA002-flightline_560.jpgBoeing has confirmed that ZA002 (N787EX) will fly around 845 AM PT from Everett on Tuesday, December 22nd.

At the controls will be Captain Randy Neville and chief project pilot Captain Mike Carriker.

Neville will fly left-seat for this second 787 flight that will see the aircraft flown from Paine Field to Boeing Field as part of a quick ferry flight from the factory site to the flight test center.

The weather at the time of takeoff is slated to be partly cloudy and 37 F, 3 kt winds from the SSW with a 20% chance of rain, significantly better than the window that allowed ZA001 to take off on December 15.

ZA002, powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, is the second of six flight test aircraft participating in the flight test campaign.

The Future of Flight will open the Stratodeck viewing area overlooking the airport beginning at 8 AM to view the flight. GET DIRECTIONS

A Closer Look: First Flight of the Boeing 787

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 21, 2009 11:34 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Mike Carriker and Randy Neville were alone on the flight deck of ZA001 when the air stairs were retracted at 10 minutes past 10 on Tuesday, December 15.

The two men read through their final pre-taxi items on the electronic checklist. 

"Anti-Ice?" asked Neville.
"On," replied Carriker. 
"Recall?" 
"Checked" 
"Autobrake?"
"RTO."
"Flight Controls?"
"Checked."
"Ground equipment?"
"Clear."

ZA001 was ready to taxi. 

"Boeing 001 Heavy Experimental, ground, taxi runway 16R," called Paine Ground.

Carriker eased the throttles forward and the twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines responded with a slow roll forward out of stall 105, where ZA001 had been parked since Saturday morning's high speed taxi tests. ZA001 turned left and headed toward the north gate of the Boeing flight line. Carriker and Neville ran through the Before Takeoff checklist, setting the aircraft's flaps to 20.

ZA001 taxied down runway 16R past the crowd of thousands watching along either side of the 9010-foot runway. The slowly taxiing 787 turned off of the runway at taxiway A6 before proceeding further on alpha southbound past the Paine Field Fire Station.

ZA001 was cleared for takeoff before it took to runway 34L as it waited for the chase planes to position for the aircraft's takeoff roll. 

The twin Lockheed T-33 overflew 34L as ZA001 positioned short of 34L.

The twin-engine airliner moved into position on 34L and waited as the engines idled over the numbers of runway. The aircraft had spent 944 days in final assembly in Everett; worked, reworked, rebuilt, redesigned and reinforced. All that was passed now, it was finally time to fly.
Continue reading A Closer Look: First Flight of the Boeing 787.

Travel Day: SEA-DCA

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 18, 2009 2:01 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Travel Day: SEA-DCA, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

Well, the week's a wrap for me. I'm heading back to DC just in time for 5-14 inches of snow. So my weekend plans will consist of some serious indoor R&R. Heading back home on this Alaska Airlines 737-800 (N524AS) and the mountain even managed to make an apperance before I
departed. Still a lot of information to digest after Tuesday's first flight, so stay tuned for that. Catch you on the East Coast.

More 787 First Flight photos than you can shake a stick at

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 16, 2009 5:38 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
I think the title of this post captures it nicely. I'll have some words to go with these visuals soon enough. In the meantime...enjoy.

Why didn't Mike Carriker raise the 787's landing gear?

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 16, 2009 3:34 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
This question seems to be popping up all over and I thought it was best to try and explain why the 787's landing gear wasn't retracted immediately after takeoff.

During first flights, landing gear is rarely retracted until well into the flight when it is established that everything is safe and stable on the aircraft. In case of an emergency it's one less item to worry about and and second, it creates an entirely new problem if the gear does not come back down again. The landing gear can be dropped with the help of gravity as a backup of need be, but ultimately leaving the gear down provides an additional margin of safety for the crew.

That being said, the 787's landing gear was cycled once during the flight by Carriker and Neville, which they reported was successful.

Photo of Note: ZA001 as seen from T-33 chase planes

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 16, 2009 11:22 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA001-inflight.jpg
ZA001-inflight-nose.jpg
ZA001-inflight-tail.jpg
Photo Credit Boeing

Video: 787 takes to the sky!

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 15, 2009 11:07 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

FlightBlogger Live: First Flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 15, 2009 9:30 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)


Well, today's the day. At least we hope mother nature will allow it to be. I'll be streaming live here periodically throughout the day, but look for my up-to-the-second updates on twitter. First flight is set for 10 AM PT (1 PM ET, 1800 GMT) from Paine Field. It's going to be an exciting day here in Everett. Also make sure to watch the live feed from Boeing at newairplane.com.

Come along for the ride.

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787 Pre-Flight Weather Briefing

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 15, 2009 7:59 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Good Morning from Everett! A brief word about the weather here this morning north of Seattle.

Minimums for 787 to takeoff include 5000 foot ceilings and 5 SM visibility. Right now (8 AM) the Terminal Area Forecast shows broken clouds at 2200 feet and overcast at 3500 from 7 AM PT through to 11 AM. Beginning at 12 PM winds will be 6 kts at 150 with six miles visibility, scattered clouds at 1500 and overcast at 2500.

Boeing says that Mike Carriker and Randy Neville still plan to taxi out of Stall 105 around 9:45 AM for a 10 AM departure and will hold at the end of runway 34L until the weather clears. The company has until 2 PM before scrubbing first flight because the three-hour mark would bump up against darkness here in Washington state.

Better Know a Dreamliner - Part One - ZA001

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 14, 2009 4:54 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

ZA001 - Registration: N787BA - Serial No: 40690 - Final Assembly: 5/16/07
At 10 AM on December 15, 2009, chief pilot Mike Carriker, joined by engineering pilot Randy Neville, will push the throttle levels on the first 787 full forward and rocket down Runway 32L at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, marking the commencement of Boeing's flight test program that sets the new composite aircraft on the path toward first delivery late next year.

That first flight is expected to last between three to five hours and land at Boeing Field just south of Seattle, home of the company's flight test center. Throughout the flight test program, Dreamliner One or ZA001 will primarily be used for aerodynamic validation of the aircraft's structure to ensure proper functionality of the flight controls and landing gear, brakes and hydraulic systems.

Early on in the flight test test program that is expected to last a total of 3100 flight and 3160 ground test hours, a small group of pilots will support the most rigorous initial airworthiness testing spread across Boeing Field, Moses Lake, Washington and Glasgow, Montana.

Early in the flight test program, ZA001 - a fully instrumented aircraft - will work to safely expand its flight envelope to work out any unknowns in the handling of the aircraft. Flying the aircraft at different air loads, speeds, altitudes and weights will open the operating range of the aircraft to eliminate the risk of flutter by seeking out vibrations that could damage the aircraft under the wrong conditions.

Early tests will also establish the basic airworthiness of the aircraft by validating the control harmony of the airplane, ensuring the control repsonses are correct, and ultimately seeing that the aircraft is behaving as expected. The aircraft will also conduct in-flight shutdowns and start ups of the Trent 1000 engines.

Following flutter testing, Boeing will begin phase one of low-speed stability and control (S&C) testing and validation of the primary flight control system. Early in phase one, ZA001 will work to expand the lower part of the flight envelope by conducting stall tests at various gross weights. The goal of phase one is to establish the firm configuration of the aircraft before entering into the certification campaign.

After the firm configuration is established about two months into the test program, ZA001 will undergo an FAA Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) officially commencing the flight test certification campaign. All the testing done in the first two months builds to this point when the FAA will begin flying along with Boeing test pilots to certify the aircraft. At that point, the FAA will be invited on board to begin formal certification of the aircraft. 

After the TIA, the aircraft will conduct high speed S&C testing, further proving the handing of the aircraft and the primary flight control system, followed by exploration of the VMC (velocity for minimum control) speeds that test the handling of the aircraft in takeoff configuration in the event of a engine failure on the ground or in the air.

ZA001 will then go into a planned layup to have its Trent 1000 engines swapped before moving into low speed aerodynamic validation and certification trials to demonstrate the low-speed handling characteristics to the FAA. 

The aircraft will then fly to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California to conduct take off and landing validation and certification. Edwards Air Force Base allows ZA001 to have a lot of margin along the massive dry lake bed runways at the airport.

Midway through ZA001's flight test campaign, the aircraft will be taken out of flight test for a planned layup to be fitted with ice shapes to simulate icing accumulation on the aircraft. In the past, Boeing would have had to seek out natural icing conditions. The shapes, made of foam epoxy, are attached with glue and speed tape to simulate the worst case icing conditions. 

After ice shapes certification testing, ZA001 will return to Edwards Air Force Base, followed by Roswell, New Mexico for aerodynamic braking certification, followed by a return to Puget Sound and miscellaneous validation testing, additional S&C tests, as well as customer airline pilot demos.

The final phases of ZA001's certification campaign will certify the stability & control of the aircraft, hydraulic system, as well as the actuation of the main landing gear. The last phase will focus on feeding the collected data back into the simulator to replicate the primary flight control system of the aircraft as accurately as possible.

It has not been disclosed which 787 will conduct cold weather testing that will take the aircraft to Norway or Iceland, but the aircraft will be initially certified to -35 F and as low as -55 F for Air Transport Canada, a requirement for 787 customer Air Canada.

Boeing will flight test ZA001 about five hours each day, with the remaining hours in a day being used for data analysis, maintenance and preparations for the following day's testing.

...and no, a barrel roll over Lake Washington is not planned.

Video: ZA002 landing gear swings

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 14, 2009 2:22 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)


On the evening of December 14, ZA002 was towed from the fuel dock to the flight line where it was jacked up off of its landing gear for swing tests. Liz Matzelle captured the tests as they were happening last night. ZA002 is currently slated to take flight around December 22nd following a battery of tests including a mini-gauntlet and taxi tests.

Video Credit Liz Matzelle

ZA001 stretches its legs

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 12, 2009 11:10 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA001-Rotation_560.jpg
  • Boeing officially sets December 15 at 10 AM PT (1800 GMT) for first flight.
  • 787 granted experimental airworthiness certificate by the FAA
  • High-Speed taxi tests are complete
Boeing's busy day on the ground kicked off at 6:30 AM with a flight readiness review that finalized receipt of the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA. This regulatory clearance now puts the 787, with clearance to operate Part 91 operations, the same regulatory category as aircraft like the Cessna 172. Once the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate had been obtained, the aircraft was cleared for final taxi tests.

By ten minutes past eight in the morning, chief pilot Mike Carriker and engineering pilot Randy Neville had boarded ZA001 along with a handful of flight engineers closely monitoring telemetry stations inside the aircraft's cabin. The air stairs were pulled back and the chocks removed, Carriker and Neville were ready to power on ZA001 for its first taxi tests in six months. 

From an observers point of view from the Stratodeck of the Future of Flight across the runway, 2,200 feet away from Stall 105, the aircraft did a simultaneous smoky start on both Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, with the temperature hovering around 26F.

By quarter past eight, ZA001, operating as Boeing 001 Experimental, had taxiied out of Stall 105 for the threshold of runway 16R, about 850 feet from where we were standing. ZA001 began slowly reaching a speed of about 30 knots on its first run from north to south. The aircraft then traveled north again on taxiway A before stopping in front of an assembled crowd of fluorescent yellow and orange jacketed test staff.

The twin engines were shut down and the aircraft was towed a short way along A where fans had been pre-positioned to cool the brakes of the 787. ZA001 actually has electric brakes from two different suppliers. Messier-Bugatti on one side of the main landing gear and Goodrich on the other. All the other test aircraft, as well as all the production aircraft, will feature one supplier or the other. While resting on the taxiway, the Dreamlifter departed for Japan, accelerating past ZA001 which once resided inside its massive cargo hold.

After about an hour of holding on the taxiway, ZA001 rolled north again to runway 16R for a second run to the south at 9:22 AM. The aircraft immediately turned around at the south end of the field and began its third run on runway 34L at 9:33 AM. Each of the first three runs were done without thrust reversers. After virtually each run, runway sweepers were deployed to remove any possible debris from the runway that could damage the 787.

Taxi test number four began around 10:35 AM after another hour break on A for brake cooling. After taxiing south again, this test on runway 32L used both brakes and thrust reversers to slow the aircraft. Another hour passed for brake cooling, and at 11:41 AM, started run five to the north was immediately followed by a turn on the active runway followed by run six, five minutes later.

ZA001 cooled its brakes again and prepared for run seven, the aircraft's first rotation. The aircraft traveling north to south spooled its Trent 1000 engines and headed south at 12:45 PM on the 9010-foot grooved asphalt runway. After little more than 2,000 feet of acceleration, Carriker activated the spoilers, dumping the lift off the quickly rising composite wings. Less than 1000 feet and three second later, the nose landing gear departed runway 16R, the first time any part of the 787 has left the ground. After a six second trip airborne, the nose landing gear returned to the pavement.

The aircraft continued to slow and turned north on taxiway A for a 50-minute cooling of the brakes. Carriker held short of runway 16R, allowing a GOL 737-800 to perform a touch-and-go. After the 737 was clear, ZA001 began a slow taxi on runway 16R before making the trip south again to repeat the rotation test facing in the other direction. 

On the eighth and final run at 1:45 PM, about five-and-a-half hours after the taxi tests began, Carriker lifted the nose wheel again. The 787's nose landing gear to hung off the ground for another 2,000 feet before gently returning it to runway 16, marking the completion of the ground-based milestones before first flight.

Photo Credit Boeing

138 Photos and 2 Videos of Note: 787's busy day on the ground

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 12, 2009 6:14 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)


Videos Courtesy of Liz Matzelle

FlightBlogger Live: 787 Taxi Testing

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 12, 2009 3:00 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Greetings from Everett! Taxi tests for the 787 are on the agenda for this morning and I'm gong to be trying things a bit differently. UStream recently became available for the iPhone and this seems like a perfect opportunity to test it out. The broadcast above won't be streaming the entire time, but it will be on periodically throughout the day. Follow me on twitter for notifications when I'm broadcasting live and use the hashtag #787TT for today's tests.
 
I've also timed this post to remain at the top of the page throughout the day, so look for incremental updates below this post and on Twitter. You can also log-in to twitter using the social stream below to follow developments.

The aircraft is currently being prepared for its testing today and crews have been in pre-test briefings starting at 6:30 this morning. The runway is being swept for any FOD (foreign object debris) that could damage ZA001 during its taxi runs. Stay tuned, it's going to be a busy day!
 

Photo of Note: Everett Pre-Dawn - December 12, 2009

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 12, 2009 6:47 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

A quiet night before a busy Saturday in Everett

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 11, 2009 11:35 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA001-Dec11_560.jpg
From this angle, ZA001 sits quietly tonight in Everett (December 11), though beyond the view from the "grassy knoll" it's clear that work on all the visible - and less visible - 787s carries on in earnest.

Tonight, ZA002 left Paint Hangar 45-04 and is now parked at the fuel dock. All told, there are six 787s outside on the Everett flight line. ZA001 (N787BA) in Stall 105, ZA002 (N787EX) at the fuel dock, ZA100 (JA801A), ZA101 (JA804A), ZA006 (N787ZA) and ZA102 which is curiously wrapped in black plastic, presumably awaiting paint, and not visible is ZY998, which is being modified inside the flight line tent. 

Saturday morning will bring taxi tests of various speeds for ZA001 as well as the flight readiness review. Both will begin first thing in the morning and are likely to clear the 787 through final tests before the first flight window opens at 10 AM on December 15.

The Future of Flight is hosting a tweet-up starting at 7:15 AM (December 12) to watch the 787 taxi tests (#787TT) from the Stratodeck overlooking Paine Field. Here are directions to Future of Flight. Bring your hats, bring your gloves, bring your cameras. See you there.

Travel Day: Seattle Bound!

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 11, 2009 8:20 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Travel Day: Seattle Bound!, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

Back on a plane once again for my final swing of 2009. Flying through LAX on my way to SEA on this United Airlines 757-200 (N522UA). Should be on the ground in the Pacific Northwest in the afternoon.

UPDATE: Made it safely to Seattle after a rather unpleasant day of travel. Crazy headwinds put us into Los Angeles from Dulles (photo above) almost an hour later than scheduled with no holding and no delayed departure. I ended up hopping an Alaska Airlines 737-400 flight from LAX to SEA.

Airbus A400M takes to the sky!

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 11, 2009 5:13 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
PICTURES: Airbus celebrates as A400M gets airborne
By Craig Hoyle
Airbus Military's first A400M transport took off from San Pablo airport near Seville, Spain at 10:15 local time on its historic first flight, with the aircraft expected to remain airborne for up to 3h.

Perhaps in keeping with the programme's delayed nature, the A400M got airborne 15min later than scheduled. Some 15min into its sortie the aircraft was at 8,000ft (m) performing low speed testing, and Airbus says all is performing as expected.

IT'S OFFICIAL: BOEING OPENS 787 FIRST FLIGHT WINDOW ON DECEMBER 15, 10 AM

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 10, 2009 9:29 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Breaking: Boeing completes 787 side-of-body analysis, final gauntlet

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 10, 2009 8:10 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
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OVERVIEW
  • Analysis on side-of-body reinforcement is now complete and validated.
"I am happy to report that the program has validated the airplane structure for the 787 Dreamliner," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.
"We are very pleased with the results of this final functional testing. With the successful completion of static testing and this functional testing, our focus now moves to first flight," adds Fancher.
  • Limit load testing completed, ultimate load testing will be in 2010.
  • ZA001, ZA002 and ZA003 side of body modification is now complete.
  • First flight is "expected to occur after final flight readiness reviews, receipt of documentation from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and taxi testing."
Sources say that taxi testing and first flight readiness reviews are are set to begin as early as Saturday. First flight still targeted for Tuesday, December 15 at 10am.
***Editor's Note: I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow morning. Looking forward to being in Everett by the end of the day.
Photo Credit Boeing

On the flight deck of ZA001 for the 787 final gauntlet

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 10, 2009 2:34 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

In the nearly three years of closely watching the developments on the 787 program, this page has sought to provide a nearly realtime look the arduous, often painful, ultimately extraordinary process of bring a commercial aircraft to the world.

Yesterday afternoon in Everett, photographer Matt Cawby captured a look inside the flight deck of the 787 right in the middle of a rehearsal for first flight as part of gauntlet testing.

The 6:30 second clip of "air"-to-ground communications, cut down for length, joins up with Mike Carriker and Randy Neville (who will be handling ATC communications) on the flight deck of ZA001 just before beginning a simulated flight from Paine Field to Boeing Field in Seattle. This dress rehearsal leaves no detail out. Once the twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000  engines are started and the flaps are set to 20, Carriker calls for "The T-Birds," Boeing's famous T-33 chase planes, "to get airborne."

This particular flight had ZA001 departing to the south on runway 16R. On the day of first flight, ZA001 will depart to the north on runway 34L. 

"Okay Team, we're at the end of the runway, ready to call for takeoff. Alright, I see the chase airborne, he's overhead. And when you guys are ready to go we'll call to get on the runway for the chase and brake release," says Carriker.

The test leader then calls to Carriker instructing him to hold while updated speed calculations are prepared and then fed into the aircraft's Flight Management Computer.  While holding for the update speeds, Carriker jokes that newly added flight deck functionality, the taxi map, has been installed in time for first flight: "I would've bet that we didn't have a taxi map on first flight and I lost that bet."

"Okay 001, here's some tweaked speeds based on the current temperature and wind. Speeds: 136, 140, 147, this is with de-rate one and no assumed temperature," says the test leader.

The V1 speed in this case is 136 kts, VR is 140 kts and V2 is 147 kts.

"Okay we've got that loaded, we think we're good to go, and we're ready to call for takeoff," replies Carriker.

"Okay, I'm ready," says the test leader.

"Okay, chase, we're coming on the runway, the call comes over Paine Tower...okay team, we're on the end of the runway although we're going southbound for practice here and I see chase, chase is on downwind and about 20 seconds from brake release," says Carriker.

Carriker pauses for a moment.

"This is going to be so cool."
Continue reading On the flight deck of ZA001 for the 787 final gauntlet.

Rolls-Royce: "Boringly predictable" thrust planned for 787 first flight

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 9, 2009 4:15 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
I had an opportunity to sit down with Trent 1000 chief engineer, Andy Geer and Richard Jenkins, Rolls-Royce head of marketing for Boeing programs. They took me through an overview of the engine program and discussed the early flights planned for the 787, which from Geer's perspective, are "relatively uninteresting."


"My one job," he emphasizes, "Is to deliver boringly predictable thrust for the airplane."
Flight Test Engines:
ZA001 - 10015 & 10016 // ZA002 - 10012 & 10020
ZA003 - 10018 & 10019 // ZA004 - 10023 & 10021

747-8F spools up its four GEnx-2B engines

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 9, 2009 2:48 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
RC501enginestart.jpgBoeing has completed first engine runs on its 747-8 Freighter as the aircraft moves closer to its first flight early next year.

Boeing's first 747-8F - designated RC501 - started its General Electric GEnx-2B engines just before 1000 PT on December 8 at the company's Everett, Washington facility.

However, this is not the first time a 747 has started a GEnx-2B engine on its airframe. In March, the engine flew for the first time under the wing of GE's flying 747-100 test bed for flight testing.

When RC501 started its engined Tuesday morning, the aircraft was operating on its auxiliary power unit before starting its the first of four engines. Once started, the remaining three engines were started using the cross-bleed function, says Boeing.

Sources close to the aircraft say gauntlet testing for RC501 should begin late this month or early in January.

The GEnx-2B is part of the same family of engines that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The two engines have about 80% commonality, the main difference being that the -2B engine is a bleed-air system, where as the -1B found on the 787 is a bleedless, electric architecture that draws electricity to directly power aircraft systems.

Photo Credit Boeing

Breaking: Boeing confirms start of 787 final gauntlet (Update1)

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 9, 2009 10:56 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Boeing has confirmed that the final gauntlet for the 787 got underway Tuesday night in Everett.

Final Gauntlet testing operates the aircraft in a closed-loop simulation mode that will evaluate ZA001's systems while fooling the aircraft in believing it is flying.

Programme sources say the Final Gauntlet will be split into two primary blocks. The first includes a B1 first flight profile, the standard checkout of all aircraft systems as part of standard production testing, then building in potential failure conditions for aircraft's systems.

That first block then transitions into the second block of more rigorous "first flight" Final Gauntlet with an expanded profile of tests planned for the aircraft's maiden sortie.

Initially, Boeing found it surprising how difficult it was to fool the 787 into believing that it was flying, due to the greater level of integration of the aircraft's systems. Frank Rasor, director of flight test operations for Boeing Commercial Airplanes said in April:

Depending on which airplane you talk about, it can be as simple as you trick an airplane by setting a bit in a computer or by connecting a specific wire or jumper, and that change the configuration of the airplane.  With this airplane being a part of an interactive network, you basically need all of the boxes or components that might be talking, specifically about being able to make it believe it's in air mode or ground mode, when you're doing things like gear swing testing, the airplane must think it's in the air otherwise you will not be able to retract the gear and do the gear test.  So you have to simulate air mode. 

You don't just put in a flight controls bit, you have to make sure the radio altimeters are talking and saying something about air ground or engines are running and tack signals are available.  You simply have to look more places to make sure that coordination has been done, and the airplane thinks it's in the air.  It's additional work, and I think our test team is up to that, they've already shown that, learning from some of the earlier tests have been applied to the last few tests we've done.  We haven't had any issues with that so the team is learning.  It's just a little different aircraft to work with than what we've had in the past.
The Final Gauntlet tests are expected to last two to three days.

Photo Credit Boeing

Reports: Boeing and Airbus to split United Airlines order

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 8, 2009 1:00 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
Both the Wall Street Journal and TheStreet.com are reporting that United Airlines is set to announce a 50-aircraft order split between both Boeing and Airbus. The reports suggest that United has purchased 25 787 Dreamliners and 25 A350 XWBs with options for more to follow.

Neither report specifies the variant or delivery dates for each type selected, but could have significant implications for each airframer. Early indications exist that United has selected the 787-8 and A350-900, but this remains unconfirmed.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney visited Charleston late last week and "let slip" that the company held 840 orders for the 787 "with more to come by the end of the year," says a person who was present for his comments and belived the remark was a potentially subtle allusion to the United order.

First, it's important to establish that in a easing global recession, an order for 50 firm wide-body aircraft, even one that is split, is an impressive sign of the potentially changing fortunes of the commercial aircraft market for both Airbus and Boeing and represent major victories in a time when orders of this size are few and far between.

Though for Boeing, a split buy is a troublesome sign for the 777. In the most direct sense, the airline that launched the 777 had an opportunity to reinvest in the aircraft and declined. This could hasten the ascent of a next generation 777 or an equivalent option in the 305-365 seat segment.

For Airbus, while it has made significant inroads into the 777 market, its flank remains exposed where the 787 excels. The A330-200 remains an option for interim lift aircraft as airlines wait for their 787s or smaller A350s, but the reality is that the 220-270 seat market is extremely vulnerable for Airbus in the long run.

Now let's see if these reports become reality, but I'm left wondering: How does this help United control its costs? Why order one type when you can order two for twice the price?
ALSO SEE: Down to Two: United weighs its wide-body options & Travel Options by United: A guide to fleet renewal.

ZA001 proceeds toward final gauntlet ahead of 787 taxi testing

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 7, 2009 7:28 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA001-May29-09.jpg
First flight remains targeted for December 15, depending on the weather.
Before ZA001 can complete its final round of taxi tests, Boeing will take the first 787 though
two to three days of final gauntlet tests for final check outs of the aircraft's 92 systems.

Currently, the Final Gauntlet is scheduled to begin as early as Tuesday, December 8 and stretch through Wednesday or Thursday. The Final Gauntlet is a series of closed loop ground tests that will evaluate ZA001's systems while fooling the aircraft in believing it is flying.

Sources say the Final Gauntlet will be split into two primary blocks. The first includes a B1 first flight profile, the standard checkout of all aircraft systems as part of standard production testing. The second block will be a more rigorous "first flight" final gauntlet with an expanded profile of tests and failure scenarios.

Today (December 7) is being spent undergoing a flight test safety review, while tomorrow will include the setup of the aircraft Flight Emulation Test System (FETS), that interfaces directly with ZA001 and governs the gauntlet tests.

The FETS system is part of a Boeing-patented method (PDF) of activating and monitoring the aircraft during gauntlet testing. The 1993 patent abstract reads:
The system thus generates an initial set of stimuli similar to what an aircraft would be exposed to when in flight; monitors the response of the aircraft to the stimuli to which it is exposed; and, in response generates an updated set of stimuli to the aircraft. The system also records the response of the output responses of aircraft components so that they could be monitored by personnel charged with insuring that the aircraft is functioning properly. The system can also be used to train flight crews since it can be used to place the aircraft "in the loop" during a flight emulation.
We see the FETS system manifested today in the flight line bread truck that attaches directly to the aircraft systems to fool the inertial and air data systems, while applying simulated flight dynamics and aerodynamics that govern aircraft performance. This "stumuli" causes the aircraft systems to respond, allowing Boeing to see their in-flight performance while remaining on the ground.

Last Friday, ZA001 was spotted rolling near flight line stall 105 as the aircraft tested its brakes while operating solely on main battery power, say program sources. According to Aviation Week's Guy Norris, Boeing also tested the latest flight control software as part of regression testing. The software is believed to be version 8.0.2, say sources familiar with the testing.

Once the Final Gauntlet tests wrap up by the end of this week, Boeing will head into taxi tests this weekend for the final round of low and high speed tests for final checkouts of the aircraft ability to slow down and stop safely.

Photo Credit Jim Larsen - Taken May 29, 2009

December 7 - The Week Ahead Open Thread

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 7, 2009 12:04 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)


787 Pre-Flight
While ZA001 and ZA002 are being readied for first flight, Boeing is expected to deliver its verdict on the data collected from the static tests conducted last weekend on ZY997. The results will serve as a go/no-go for Boeing to fly the 787 with the side-of-body reinforcement the week after next.

More on 787 as the day/week progresses.

A400M First Flight
On Friday, if the weather cooperates, a long delayed aircraft program will take to the sky. No, not the 787, but the Airbus A400M transport. MSN001 has completed taxi trials up to 80 knots at the company's Seville, Spain facility. Flightglobal's Defense Editor Craig Hoyle reports:
MSN001 will fly with two pilots, two flight test engineers, one handling qualities specialist and one engine specialist on board, and will relay real-time information to telemetry rooms in Seville and Toulouse, enabling about 100 more personnel to monitor its performance. The aircraft is expected to lift off at a take-off weight of about 125t, says Isorce - 16t below its maximum limit.
G650 Second Flight
After an interim fix for a landing gear door vibration was found after the G650's abbreviated first flight, N650GA took to the skies again on Friday for a 1-hour and 45-minute flight over the Atlantic coast of Georgia. The second flight of N650GA was spent evaluating the aircraft's pitot-static systems, avionics, hydraulic systems, electrical power generation and distribution, flight controls, and cabin environmental and pressurization controls. The aircraft reached an altitude of 9,500 feet and a speed of 240 knots.

Movie Monday - December 7 - Hellcat v. Zero

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 7, 2009 11:34 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
In recognition of the 68th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, today's Movie Monday is another installment of the show Dogfights. This episode explores the development and deployment of the US Navy Grumman F6F Hellcat as a response to the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the battles that ensued in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The A6M was one of three aircraft that made up the assault on Pearl Harbor along with the Nakajima B5N and Aichi D3A.



Parts two through five after the jump.
Continue reading Movie Monday - December 7 - Hellcat v. Zero.

22nd...14th...18th...15th...787 first flight is a moving target

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 4, 2009 8:25 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
4Dec09FIcover.jpgLike a slowing pendulum, the amplitude of the swings identifying 787's first flight date are narrowing...and changing daily.

The Seattle Times reports today that ZA001 will take to the skies on December 18th, up four days from previous forecast of December 22nd. This page reported Tuesday that the 14th was the opening of the first flight window, and at the time, was what several people close to the program were telling me.

That date, say those same sources today, has shifted to December 15th.

While it remains impossible to predict the future (for now), all these different reports should serve as a good guide for Boeing's timing. Reports have now established the clear intent by Boeing to fly sometime during the week of December 14-22. Call that a no-brainer assessment on my part, but now Boeing has mother nature to compete with. Seattle winters are anything but predictable.

Boeing, meanwhile, has continued preparations for ZA001 and ZA002 first flight this week. ZA001, which remains on the Everett flight line, underwent thrust reverser actuation checkouts and heading into the weekend will conduct software regression testing to sweep the software for any remaining bugs that may be festering. Spirit AeroSystems said in September that a software upgrade is planned for after first flight, once Boeing sees how the 787 behaves in flight. Final gauntlet testing, which will include both B1 and first flight profiles, is still planned for the early to middle of next week. Additionally, ZA002 has been moved indoors for its aqueous wash and close out for final restoration.

Picture: Cover of Flight International - 8-14 December

Korean gives 747-8I a new lease on life

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 4, 2009 6:51 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
korean7478_560.jpgAlmost exactly three years to the day, Boeing has earned its second firm order for the airline configured 747-8I. Korean Airlines placed a firm order for five of the jumbo jets for delivery between 2013 and 2015.

Lufthansa launched the 747-8I program on December 6, 2006 with an order for 20 aircraft. Since then the company has seen a dry spell of orders for the passenger version, while earning seven orders for the VIP variant.

Korean Airlines, which also holds orders for ten A380 aircraft, said that the 747-8I fills a gap between the carrier's 300 and 550 seat aircraft.

The order breathes new life into the -8I program, which over the last three years has had sparked speculation as to whether or not Boeing would go through with its development of the new jumbo jet.

Boeing always firmly maintained that the 747-8I would become a reality, and the surpassing of 90% design release combined with this latest order should put those questions to bed for good. The replacement for Air Force One alone was almost certainly enough to keep the -8I alive.

I went back and looked at my notes today from a conversation I had with Boeing's Randy Tinseth at the Dubai Air Show about the 747-8. His comments, which came before the Korean order was announced, were quite interesting: 
It's a really tough market to be selling big airplanes and people forget that since we launched that airplane in November 2005 we've only been in two passenger campaigns where airlines made decisions: Lufthansa and the other was British Airways. We're pleased we won one and disappointed we lost the other. 

Frankly the airplane has been selling in total about where we expected, we've been very pleased with the strength of the freighter, we're disappointed that we haven't sold more passenger airplanes. Ultimately we believe that market is going to pick up...when we start going on the upside of the cycle - this coming cycle - and airlines start replace their older 747s.

At the end of the day the 747-8 and the A380, it's our belief that these are a replacements for the 747, so when that happens that when we'll see airlines making those decision.

You saw it [in the presentation], 740 airplanes, 200 of them are freighters, so that means you're down to 540 aircraft. That means a handful of campaigns moving forward, all those campaigns are going to be tough. I like to say, lots of hand to hand combat.
Boeing's own market forecast, which Tinseth references, expects 740 large aircraft to be sold between 2009 and 2028. That 740 number was a 25% cut over the previous year. Though with 1 in 10 747-400s now parked, the potential for the -8I and A380 may just take hold.

However, that shrinking market, says Richard Aboulafia, vice-president of analysis for the Teal Group, may be dominated by big-twins, not jumbos and superjumbos:
The big plane market has been all but obliterated by the huge popularity of the long-range mini-jumbos, especially the 777-300ER and A350XWB. Operating large aircraft can be very dangerous when the market tanks. But the Korean order shows that the 747-8I still will have part of this niche, despite some very aggressive A380 pricing.

As the saying goes, nobody ever went bankrupt flying planes that were too small. Very few carriers will replace 747-400s with equally large or larger planes. There's just too much to be said for getting rid of 20% of your lowest yield passengers and focusing on improving profits. You also get greater schedule and route flexibility with smaller long-range planes.

Getting rid of jet engines works great, too.
Though, word on the street is another -8I order from an airline customer may be coming soon.

Photo Credit Boeing

A350-900 fabrication gets underway, say hello to MSN001

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 4, 2009 3:03 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
The A350 XWB doesn't quite resemble an aircraft yet, but today in Nantes, France, Airbus announced it has fabricated the first composite piece for the upper panel of the first A350-900's center wing box. MSN001 is now a 387 sq. ft composite panel.

This panel will eventually be incorporated with others manufactured in Nantes to become the aircraft's center wing box. After completion, the center wing box will be shipped to Saint Nazaire.

The center wing box will be joined in with composite panels fabricated in Kinston, North Carolina by Spirit AeroSystems. Saint-Nazaire will host the assembly and equipping of A350 center fuselages, also referred to as Section 15, then shipped to Toulouse for final assembly.

If you're looking for a not-quite-perfect 787 comparison here, Saint-Nazaire will be the "Global Aeronautica" of the A350 program.
***Editors note: I've created a tag for the first A350 called MSN001. Looking forward to using it a lot more in the coming months (and years).

Embraer Phenom 300 earns ANAC type certificate (Update1)

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 3, 2009 3:06 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Embraer's Phenom 300 light jet earned its Brazilian type certificate this morning, the Brazilian airframer confirms.

First delivery, says an Embraer spokeswoman, is expected "soon" and an official announcement from the company is due out shortly.

UPDATE: Here's my extended story on the Phenom 300 Brazilian certification.

BREAKING: Bombardier delays CRJ1000 certification and deliveries (Update1)

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 3, 2009 10:34 AM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)

Bombardier announced this morning that it has suspended flight test and delayed first delivery of its CRJ1000 aircraft "pending software updates to the rudder control-by-wire system".

The delay now places delivery to Air Nostrum between August 2010 and January 2011, representing the second half of Bombardier's 2011 fiscal year which begins on February 1, 2010.

The Canadian airframer said it has not flown the triple-stretched CRJ for flight test purposes (C-FRJX)  since the second quarter of FY10 (May-July 09), but say it flew the first production model in July.

Bombardier Aerospace president and chief operating officer Guy Hachey said today that flight testing was expected to resume "after Christmas" and adds that CRJ1000 has about 30% of its flight testing regime remaining.

Bombardier announced in September that it had pushed delivery to the end of the first quarter of FY11 (by April 30, 2010) because of the initial software glitch which was first seen in July.

Air Nostrum, an arm of Spanish flag carrier Iberia, is launch customer for the type. The airline, which also operates under the name Iberia Regional and has hubs in Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. Air Nostrum holds orders for 35 100-seat CRJ1000.

What remains unclear at this moment is the impact of the slowing CRJ production rate on this delay. Bombardier does not attribute the delay to the slowing rate, but the recent decision to slow production could slow the flow of CRJ1000 deliveries. 

Bombardier commercial aircraft president, Gary Scott, says the CRJ line is currently operating on a 3-day rate, based on 20 manufacturing days per month.

Bombardier's CRJ1000 backlog consists of 49 orders.

Video: 787 makes chilly engine restart

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 2, 2009 4:09 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)


Around 9:30 PT last night, ZA001, parked in Stall 105 on Boeing's Everett flight line, restarted its twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The engines were started left to right and each produced clouds of white smoke as a result of an inhibitor that was stored inside each engine while the aircraft's side-of-body was being modified, says engine-maker Rolls-Royce. The twin-power plants were run for roughly 45 minutes at idle as part of last night's tests. The 787's engines were first started back on May 21, 2009.

Last night was almost certainly the coldest airframe start of a 787 in program's short history of airframe engine runs. The temperature at the time of the start was a chilly 33 degrees F (.5 C) last night, so Boeing now has demonstrated it can start its engines on an average February day at MSP. However, last night's chill in the air is going to look like the Caribbean compared to the -40 degrees F (-40 C) that the 787 is going have endure during cold soak testing!

Video Courtesy of Liz Matzelle.

After two long years, first flight countdown begins again for 787

By
Jon Ostrower
 on December 1, 2009 6:10 PM | | Comments () | TrackBacks (0)
ZA001-flightline-11.30.jpgWhile Boeing crunches the data from the latest volley of static tests to validate the side-of-body reinforcement, sources within the company are increasingly confident that the long-delayed program could fly not one, but potentially two 787s later this month.

A static test yesterday, internally dubbed "2C", was a key hurdle on the now restarted path to 787 first flight. Boeing will review the data between now and December 9th to formally validate the side-of-body reinforcement and provide a green-light for first flight.

However, Boeing is actively preparing ZA001 for its first flight, which could come as early as December 14, according to several program sources. The new date accelerates the internal schedule for first flight by about eight days, reflecting the program's rising confidence.

Boeing has publicly said that it given itself until the close of December to fly the 787 for the first time.

Boeing moved ZA001, the first flight test aircraft, back to the fuel dock early yesterday morning after completing restoration operations inside the factory. Early tasks for ZA001 included refuelling the aircraft for fuel systems cleanliness tests that culminated in auxiliary power unit runs and a move to Stall 105 on the flight line at Boeing's Everett facility.

Tentatively planned for today or tomorrow, ZA001 will conduct engine build verification testing with a variety of power runs of its twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, according to sources. Also planned for the near future is the calibration of ZA001's navigational equipment that will see the aircraft towed to the Everett "compass rose".

As the week progresses, ZA001 will go though additional hydraulic leak checks and other testing before heading into a flight test safety review, followed by the repeat of the closed-loop final gauntlet tests penciled in for early next week.

After the final gauntlet tests are completed, ZA001 will go through a pre-taxi test preparation. Heading into late next week, the aircraft will begin taxi tests at various speeds to recheck the braking and handing characteristic. During the weekend, the aircraft is expected to go through pre-flight preparations, followed by an all crew pre-flight briefing late in the weekend.

If all goes to plan, several sources indicated that Boeing's first flight window opens at 10 AM on December 14, depending on weather.

Boeing says its second 787 test aircraft, ZA002, has completed installation of the wing fix, while sources add the systems restoration is now complete. The aircraft will now undergo aqueous wash and final door close-out later in the week to complete the restoration. ZA002 will progress through mini-gauntlet as it is prepared for first flight which is tentatively planned for late in December.

Photo Credit Liz Matzelle
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