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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Contest: Can you guess the 787's first flight? 7/24/07   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 When will 787 fly? Boeing won't say By Michelle Dunlop, Herald Writer EVERETT -More than two weeks after unveiling its new 787, the Boeing Co. still is shying away from announcing the exact date of the Dreamliner's first flight. "It will fly when it's ready to fly," Boeing officials say of the Dreamliner. However, to keep up with its aggressive schedule, which includes first delivery in May 2008, Boeing aims to have the 787 in the air sometime in August or September. But Boeing's expectations for what it hopes to accomplish during the first flight also are being kept under wraps. Earlier this month, Mike Bair, who leads the 787 program for Boeing, said he anticipates the 787's maiden flight will last at least two hours. First flights can last between one and five hours, said Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman. Boeing's last entirely new jet, the 777, took its first flight on June 12, 1994, reaching a maximum altitude of 19,000 feet. The flight lasted three hours and 48 minutes. That's almost twice as long as the two-hour, four-minute first flight of the 767 on Sept. 26, 1981. From the first flight until gaining flight certification with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing will continue to gather data on how its new jet performs. Prior to the initial flight, Boeing will determine which tests it needs to conduct. That will determine how long the flight will last, Gunter said. The FAA, however, doesn't set any specific expectations for first flights. Compared with the 777 program, Boeing has condensed the timeframe for many milestones on the 787 project. For instance, Boeing has shaved a couple months off its flight test program. The company gave itself 11 months to prove to the FAA that its 777 met the agency's requirements. Boeing will have roughly eight months between first flight and first delivery to meet the same standards with the federal agency. The shortened flight test program means less time between rollout and delivery as well. Boeing unveiled its 787 Dreamliner on July 8 in Everett. The company intends to deliver the first 787 approximately 10 months later in May to Japan's All Nippon Airways. Boeing revealed its first 777 on April 9, 1994, but didn't make its first delivery for 13 months, on May 15, 1995, to United Airlines. It's typical for plane manufacturers to shorten the certification period with each new plane. Boeing has stepped up its pre-flight testing. It already tried out the 787's flight controls, which were installed on a 777. And it has simulated many test scenarios in its laboratory across from Boeing Field. After the first Dreamliner rolled out of the Everett factory July 8, the plane required some additional work before it could fly. Workers still needed to install wiring and some systems. Eventually, Boeing expects its global partners, who provide large, preassembled chunks of the plane, to supply the major components complete with wiring and systems intact. For its first flight, the 787 will not be equipped with a full interior - passenger seats, galleys - because the plane will be loaded with test equipment that allows engineers on the ground to monitor the flight, Gunter said.

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