Jon Ostrower : April 2008 Archives

It feels like just yesterday she was powered on for the first time. They grow up so quickly.

March 10, 2008 - Power On

Image Credit Jon Ostrower

April 12, 2008 - Roll Out

April 29, 2008 - First Flight

Post 302!

Part One (seven photos)
Part Two (six photos)

Photos are all courtesy of, and a very special thanks to, Charles Conklin

MANY MORE BELOW THE FOLD

I didn't even fully realize it but Part One of this series was the 300th post for FlightBlogger! Rather than let the first part get unnecessarily long, I decided to begin the 301st post with six more photos of the 2nd (3rd if you're getting really technical) roll out.

See Part One (six photos)
See Part Three (six photos)

Photos are all courtesy of, and a very special thanks to, Charles Conklin

MANY MORE BELOW THE FOLD

This afternoon in Everett, two 787 Dreamliners made a special daylight appearance on a very special anniversary. Today, April 25, 2008, marks one year since major structural components began arriving for assembly of Dreamliner One in Everett. One year later, the static airframe, ZY997, moves out for its brief journey to its new home in Building 40-23, three (very large) doors down. The static airframe will undergo rigorous testing to determine the structural strength of the 787, this includes the infamous wing bend test.

Dreamliner One was towed out of Building 40-26 and parked briefly on the southeast corner of the ramp in front of the massive Boeing factory building. Today's rollout marks the first daylight appearance of ZA001 since July 8, 2007.

The first 787, which is expected to take to the skies in late October, was returned to the factory at assembly position four. The fatigue airframe, ZY998, will roll to assembly position three followed by Dreamliner Two, which will move forward for the first time to assembly position two. With the primary assembly station vacant, major structural sections for Dreamliner Three, all of which have arrived as of this morning, will be loaded in the body join tooling to begin final assembly.

Photos are all courtesy of, and a very special thanks to, Charles Conklin

Part Two (six photos)
Part Three (six photos)

Update 8:55 PM ET:

MANY MORE BELOW THE FOLD

For a very brief moment tonight in Everett, the first 777F for Air France saw open air as a 767 for LAN was moved out to the flight line. Notice the nacelle cowlings are two different colors.


Image courtesy Matt Cawby

Addison Schonland and Rob Mark from jetwhine.com did a podcast today to discuss the recent news of Eclipse Aviation filing a subpoena against Google to release the IP addresses of those who commented on a blog critical of the company.

This supoena has far reaching consequences for all bloggers, including this one. The podcast raises interesting issues including the impact to the entire blogosphere if Google obliges the request or is forced to comply. This is a potentially dangerous legal precedent for all media as it transitions into the digital age. Mainstream media law, except in extreme national security cases, protects a journalist's right to not have to disclose their sources. The legal precedent for bloggers is far more amorphous and some guidance from the judiciary will likely be necessary clarify exactly where the line is.

The aviation industry must acknowledge that the flat world not only enables the design, manufacture and broad sale of its products; it also enables line-of-sight coverage by non-traditional media. The industry cannot simultaneously embrace and fight innovation in a globalized world.

Image Credit Fortune Magazine/Gregg Segal

Fortune magazine was given a peek inside the 787 assembly line and the result is amazing. They have a 40 shot slideshow that is just jaw dropping. Best I can tell, these photos were taken early last week.There's also a video and article to go along with the photo essay.

UPDATE 6:44 AM: A little investigative work shows that the photos from the factory floor of Dreamliner 1, 2 and the Static and Fatigue airframes were taken on March 10 and 11. The Spirit and LCF photos from the flight line were taken March 20 and April 1 respectively. The photos from Japan were taken in late February.

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney today sent a message to all Boeing employees that re-affirms support for the 787 global supply chain model, but accepts that modifications may be necessary for future airliners.

Entitled “Time to deliver on the 787,” the memorandum was obtained by FlightBlogger.

“The global-partnership model of the 787 remains a fundamentally sound strategy. It makes sense to utilize technology and technical talent from around the world. It makes sense to be involved with the industrial bases of countries that also support big customers of ours.” McNerney wrote.

“But we may have gone a little too far, too fast in a couple of areas,” he added. “I expect we’ll modify our approach somewhat on future programs—possibly drawing the lines in different places with regard to what we ask our partners to do, but also sharpening our tools for overseeing overall supply chain activities.”

McNerney’s comments echo statements by former 787 Vice President and General Manager Mike Bair made back in October 2007 regarding the need for changes in the supply chain model that would be used on future programs.

Though McNerney did not go as far as Bair in suggesting the possibility of an assembly ‘supersite’ for production of Boeing’s next all new airliner, both acknowledge the need for changing the current model to avoid the supply chain problems faced on the 787 program.

McNerney recounted his visit last week to the assembly line to check on the progress of 787 production.

“I walked away encouraged by the significant strides that the team has made in completing traveled work and unexpected rework on Airplane #1 and the two structural test airplanes. Airplane #2, and the sections of Airplane #3 that recently arrived, demonstrate that the condition of the assemblies built by our structural partners is improving noticeably with each successive unit. And that is vitally important for getting us back to where we are doing only the work we originally planned to do in our own factory.

“During the visit, I could feel the energy and enthusiasm of the Boeing people working on the airplanes--and there were a lot more of them compared to my visit just a few weeks ago. That's a key indicator that the bottlenecks that stalled our progress are beginning to be removed.”

McNerney closes his memo with a challenge to the workforce of 160,000 employees:

“And speaking of delivering, we all need to deliver--to keep executing well and consistently on our own work, and improving our collective productivity...In addressing the 787 program's needs, we cannot let any of our other programs suffer or slip. We all have a job to do, and I'm asking you to keep doing yours to the best of your ability; keep finding ways to improve; and help keep Boeing on the right track.”

READ THE COMPLETE MEMO

UPDATE 3:22 PM: The post was altered to remove the word exclusive from the headline. The Seattle Times authored a story about McNerney's message to Boeing employees which was developed from the memo which they had obtained as well. As to not present Mr. McNerney's statements out of context, the entire text of the memorandum will still be available exclusively at FlightBlogger.

A German magazine reported Sunday that Boeing is set to announce a further three to six month delay to the 787 program due to issues with achieving its "type certification". The report, which appeared in FOCUS, cited sources inside the FAA who also said that the delay would be announced in mid-May.

Boeing 787 program spokesperson Yvonne Leach responded to the report telling FlightBlogger that, "The FAA has been overseeing our effort every step of the way and we've been working closely together."

Leach added, it is "not our understanding" that there are any additional issues with achieving FAA type certification for the 787.

787 Program Manager Pat Shanahan commented on FAA certification during the 787 update on December 11, 2007:

"Boeing and the FAA have reviewed and agreed to all the technical requirements needed to achieve type certification. Also, we have submitted more than 25% of the certification deliverables to show type certification."

"This is the first time on any program where we and the FAA prior to flight test have agreed on all the requirements. Now, the next portion of this is demonstrating compliance to those requirements, but it's a big step forward for us and really is a reflection of the last four years of the close working relationship between Boeing and the FAA. I feel confident that we've identified what is necessary to demonstrate during the flight test program and now we need to go produce the data and work with their technical specialist to show compliance."

Boeing CEO Jim McNerney confirmed in February that about 35% of the 787s airworthiness certification requirements had been completed.

A source familiar with the certification process says that modifications to the center wing box are not impacting the FAA certification schedule. Airplanes 1-6 will have stiffeners installed inside the center wing box to improve structural integrity. Airplane 7, the first production aircraft, will feature a redesigned wing box.

Boeing's 787 flight test program is slated to begin in late October, according to another company source familiar with the upcoming flight test schedule, and is set to be completed early in the third quarter of 2009 with first delivery later in the quarter to ANA. Dreamliners One, Two and Three are all expected to take to the sky within three weeks of one another.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

On January 14, Boeing received an order for 23 787-8 Dreamliners from a single unidentified customer. A source close to the airframer tells FlightBlogger that the unidentified customer was Delta Air Lines. The source explained that the order was contingent on the announcement of a merger.

Coincidentally enough, according to Flight's ACAS database, the oldest members of Delta's widebody fleet happen to be 767-300s. How many 767-300s does Delta operate? You guessed it: 23.

Delta's 767-300s (non-extended range) have the highest number of average cycles in the widebody fleet at nearly 25,000 per aircraft. These aircraft are ripe for replacement, especially with oil well over $100 a barrel. Delta has never made any secret of its desire to replace its 767s with 787 aircraft.

Ed Bastian, President and CFO of Delta, commented during Tuesday's merger press conference that, "Our existing order books on the 777-LR and the 787, along with the new markets this combination will provide us opportunity to exercise options for up to 20 additional widebody jets between 2010 and 2013, creating a world of opportunity for our customers."

Northwest holds rights to 50 options on its 787 order that made it the North American launch customer for the type. Delta does not currently hold any options on its firm order for 8 777-200LRs. This suggests that if the merger goes through, the additional widebody options exercised would be exclusively from Northwest's 787s.

Image Credit Oso Blanco

FlightBlogger Feature Part III of IV. All images are copyright of FlightBlogger unless otherwise specified.

Read Part I - Ground School
Read Part II - To The Sky

A FlightBlogger Exclusive:

Printable PDF - 2 MB

Sir Richard Branson, the founder and Chairman of the Virgin Group, has never made a secret of his desire to spread the Virgin brand.

Four airlines are linked to the Virgin brand: Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue, Virgin Nigeria and Virgin America. Australia's Virgin Blue is actually a collection of three additional airlines: Pacific Blue, Polynesian Blue and the new V Australia.

Because of foreign ownership rules, these airlines are independent entities united by brand only. There is no common frequent flyer program across all the airlines, no ability to book tickets across airlines and no codeshares.

Separate from one another, the airlines of the Virgin brand have significantly penetrated regional markets in Africa and Oceania. Following closely behind, Virgin America, though off to a rocky start, is expanding domestic service in the US. Virgin Atlantic, now almost a quarter century old, has a global network serving 34 cities on six continents.

Maps generated by the
Great Circle Mapper -
copyright © Karl L. Swartz.

The haircut!

Before

During

After

DONATE to this great cause!

Back to aviation tomorrow morning, I promise.

Well, after yesterday's appearance on TV, many have commented that I have what can only be politely described as a 'fro. Others, like myself, describe it as a massive brillo pad that needs to go. Which brings me to my next point.

Buzzing for Change was founded in 2003 by a close friend of mine, Judah Ferst, who lost his mom to cancer when he was 16.

Every April for the last five years Buzzing for Change has raised money for a charity called Special Love. Special Love is a camp that gives kids fighting their battle with cancer a normal summertime experience. The great thing about B4C is that not only do we raise money, but we buzz our heads in solidarity with, and in memory of, those who have battled or are still battling cancer.

Buzzing for Change has raised over $75,000 in the last five years and hundreds of men and women have been sponsored to buzz their heads or donate their hair for Locks of Love.

Every year, like Judah, I buzz in memory of my dad who lost his battle with brain cancer thirteen years ago.

During my years in college I was known to dye my hair bright orange as a shameless publicity stunt in the week before Buzzing.

So this Sunday that mass of hair is going away. It's time to take that weight off my shoulders once again.

If you happen to be in the DC area on Sunday please come and buzz, volunteer, or donate! I'd love to see you there!

The event is on Kogan Plaza (H st. between 21st and 22nd) in Washington, DC at The George Washington University from 12-4pm on Sunday, April 13.

I'd greatly appreciate your sponsorship when I buzz on Sunday. You can donate securely through Pay Pal and the Buzzing for Change website. Any amount is greatly appreciated. When you donate, make sure to select GWU under program and put 'Jon Ostrower' under the Participant First and Last Name.

Thank you all so much! And not to worry, there will be before and after pictures next week.

Hey all, if you've got CNN International, this blogger will be on at 7 PM ET tonight to discuss aviation safety and the American Airlines MD-80 grounding this week.

The evidence:

Nervous? You bet I was.

Boeing Release:
First Boeing 777 Freighter Enters Final Assembly

Boeing commenced the final body join just last Friday in Building 40-25. Boeing built 777s in 2007 at a rate of almost 7 per month. This is Boeing's lean moving assembly line hard at work.

Next stop, Everett flight line...

I'll be covering the day's developments on the 787 program live from this thread. Like I did last time, this page will feature liveblogged coverage of the conference call on the morning of April 9 (11 AM ET, 8 AM PT, 1500 GMT) so please feel free to leave your thoughts on the latest 787 news. I'll be live blogging the call, but it won't be a running synopsis.

For a point of reference, below is an image depicting the rough locations of the four airframes currently being assembled in Everett. The image is accurate as of April 9, 2008.

Original Image Courtesy of Boeing
Created by FlightBlogger to reflect current status

See previous assembly status from December 10, 2007

UPDATE 10:28 AM 4/10: Industry reaction: Spirit Aerosystems, ANA, JAL, QANTAS/Jetstar, Air New Zealand, Northwest, TUI

UPDATE 3:11 PM: Synopsis of the call is now found below the fold. Special thanks to NYC777 for doing an amazing job putting that together. Also, Boeing's stock us up over 4% and was above 5% at points during the trading day.

UPDATE 12:52 PM: Just wrapped up a podcast on the delay.

UPDATE 12:00 PM: Call concluded.

UPDATE 11:41 AM: Shanahan says time between power on and first flight is 4 months. This should put first flight sometime in October. Though first flight could happen anywhere between September 1-December 31.

UPDATE 11:37 AM: Shanahan: All flight test aircraft will be flying by 1Q09. (This is going to be a rapid fire start up for the flight test program)

UPDATE 11:33 AM: Center wing box issue: "finite element modeling error" - 200 clips and brackets and 500 fasteners to strengthen the wingbox.

UPDATE 11:21 AM: Incomplete work reduced by 75% between Airplane 3 and Airplane 1. 787 wing will be, "taken to the point of destruction" by the end of the quarter on fatigue test frame. Production rate 10 per month by 2012 (16 per month was discussed at one point) ZY997 moves out at the end of April and Airplane 3 final assembly begins around the same time.

UPDATE 11:13 AM: Shanahan: Power on moved from April to June. Airplane 3 will have full interior for testing. Systems at, "near full functionality in labs." Systems being installed in Airplane 1. Two months lost due to wiring and wing box fixes.

UPDATE 11:06 AM: Call now underway. Carson: "More conservative approach to milestones the way to go." "Our actions, not our words that will get this airplane in the air."

UPDATE 9:19 AM: Complete Boeing release.

Key Points:
- Before June 30: 787 static and fatigue airframes will move to their testing; Dreamliner 3 and 4 will enter final assembly; hardware airworthiness qualifications will be complete; and power on will be achieved.
- First Flight 4Q08
- Entry into service 3Q09
- 25 deliveries planned in 2009
- 787-9 delayed until early 2012, previously scheduled for end of 2010. 787-3 will be second variant, no timeline specified.

UPDATE 9:05 AM: BREAKING - Boeing has announced 787 first flight will take place in the 4th quarter of 2008 and first delivery in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

UPDATE 3:10 AM: The Times of London is reporting that, "Boeing is expected to announce today that its 787 Dreamliner has been delayed by 18 months." Based on this estimate, entry in to service appears slated for around November 2009.

The Times also anticipates that, "Boeing is also thought to be ready to postpone or even scrap one of the three variants of the aircraft to enable its engineers to focus on solving existing problems. The likely victim will the 787-3, a high passenger density model designed for the Japanese market."

UPDATE 2:07 AM: Scott Hamilton's pre-analysis of the update call is a must read.

FlightBlogger Feature Part II of IV. All images are copyright of FlightBlogger unless otherwise specified. Read Part I - Ground School.

The sun was getting low on the horizon on this notably cold February evening. The wind, which had been quite gusty during the day, was beginning to calm down as dusk arrived. Our aircraft, a Gulfstream G450 registered as N922H was still flying when we arrived at the at the Landmark Aviation terminal at Washington Dulles International Airport. A joint Honeywell and Gulfstream team had spent the afternoon demonstrating the Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display for members of the media. Ours was the final demonstration of the day following a crew from the CBS Evening News.

Boeing Executives to Provide Update About 787 Dreamliner Program Monday April 7, 1:55 pm ET

CHICAGO, April 7, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA - News) will webcast a 787 Dreamliner briefing on Wednesday, April 9, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Carson and Vice President/General Manager, 787 Program, Pat Shanahan will discuss progress to date on the new commercial airplane.

Update 3:19 PM: Seattle PI is reporting that sources tell the newspaper an additional 6 month delay or longer is being announced.

The first Boeing 777F began final body join as the all-new long range freighter moves closer to taking to the skies later this quarter.

Sources familiar with the 777 program tell FlightBlogger that the body join process got underway today.

During the final body join, the forward, center and aft sections of the 777F fuselage will be mated together. The wings are attached to the center fuselage section, which is made up of Section 44 and the center wing box. Wing installation occurs before the 777 fuselage sections are mated to one another after they complete systems installation.

Installation of the cargo doors was completed as a part of the systems installation process.

Following the completion of the final body join, final assembly of the 777F is expected to begin along the moving production line later next week. The moving assembly line, which was launched in November 2006, moves at a speed of 1.6 inches per minute.

According to a source close to the 777 program, the first 777F is expected to make its first appearance on the Everett flight line around the middle of this month.

The second test flight 777F is expected to enter final body join in June.

Air France/KLM, launch customer for the 777F, is expected to receive its first of five freighters by the end of the year.

Image Credit The Boeing Company

FlightBlogger Feature Part I of IV. All images are copyright of FlightBlogger unless otherwise specified.

On the evening of February 11, 2008, three of my colleagues from Flight and I were invited by Gulfstream and Honeywell to participate in an in-flight demonstration of the next generation in aviation situational awareness. The Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD), which is part of the Integrated Primary Flight Display (IPFD) from Honeywell, received FAA certification on Gulfstream jets just two weeks before.

The system, which provides a forward three-dimensional terrain model, is now available on the Gulfstream G350, G450, G500 and G550 business jets. If you happen to already own one of these four types of Gulfstream aircraft, an upgrade will run you about $300,000. The SV-PFD also joins the Enhanced Vision System, certified in 2001, which displays an infrared view ahead of the aircraft.

Image Credit Gulfstream

Before we get underway, it’s important to see the Gulfstream flight deck architecture as a whole.