Published: Thursday, April 30, 2009
Boeing makes progress on 787
The company has received FAA approval for many of the steps needed for the first flight, set for July 1 or earlier.
EVERETT -- The Boeing Co. has cleared about two-thirds of the federal certification hurdles needed to put its new 787 into service, the company said Wednesday.
Boeing has submitted about 60 percent of the documentation needed to obtain Federal Aviation Administration approval for its delayed Dreamliner, said Mike Delaney, Boeing's 787 chief engineer, during a media briefing. And the FAA has approved the majority of what has been submitted.
"We still have some big tests to go through" to get the 787 certified, Delaney said.
Boeing is making progress toward starting one of those big tests -- flight testing on the Dreamliner. However, Delaney pointed out, flight testing accounts for only about 10 percent of the remaining work.
On Wednesday, the company provided an overview on the federal certification process and first flight to media from around the world in Everett. Boeing's fast- selling, mostly composite 787 has won nearly 900 orders since its launch.
The company plans to have its 787 in the air by July 1, but Boeing hasn't given a specific date of the first flight.
Once the Dreamliner takes to the skies, Boeing will put it and another five tests planes on a round-the-clock test schedule, managing the flight test program like an airline would manage a fleet of commercial aircraft.
The company would like to have the Dreamliner in the air for at least three hours for its first flight, said Frank Rasor, 787 test program manager.
The test flight could last more than five hours, Delaney said. However, if Boeing encounters any minor glitches, the flight will be shorter.
The Dreamliner will take off from Paine Field in Everett and will land at Seattle's Boeing Field, where flight test operations will be based, Rasor said.
Boeing employs about 1,000 people -- 600 engineers, 400 mechanics -- in its flight test operations group, said Barbara Cosgrove, vice president of flight test operations. And Boeing will use as many of its 43 test pilots in its commercial airplanes division as needed to keep the program going.
Even though Boeing has a shorter flight-test program than it has used for past plane programs, company officials believe they can have the flight test program wrapped up in time to deliver the first 787 in early 2010.
"Flight testing in the past has been really a process of trial and error," Cosgrove said. "The good news is that we don't do that anymore."
Boeing engineers already have been "testing" the 787's responses to various flight scenarios through simulation and analysis. The flight test program will allow Boeing to verify whether much of that initial effort is valid, shortening the overall process.
"We have lots and lots of experience in predicting how the aircraft will respond," Cosgrove said.
Boeing will need to put its flight-test jets through extremes -- from high and low temperatures to heavy crosswinds and engine failures. The rigorous testing will help demonstrate that the 787 responds the way Boeing has said it would and is safe for operation.
The company has been working with the FAA on ways to show that its new Dreamliner meets federal requirements since 2003, Boeing's Delaney said. At this point, Boeing is further ahead in the certification process than compared to previous plane programs at the same point, he said.
There are three aspects of FAA certification, said Steve Boyd, with the FAA. The federal agency is checking to make sure the 787 design meets safety standards. It verifies that Boeing's production process can reliably produce airplanes that match that design. And the FAA issues an airworthiness certification to each Dreamliner, saying that 787 is safe to fly.
"We're all looking forward to when the 787 will begin flight testing," Boyd said.
Boeing has submitted about 60 percent of the documentation needed to obtain Federal Aviation Administration approval for its delayed Dreamliner, said Mike Delaney, Boeing's 787 chief engineer, during a media briefing. And the FAA has approved the majority of what has been submitted.
"We still have some big tests to go through" to get the 787 certified, Delaney said.
Boeing is making progress toward starting one of those big tests -- flight testing on the Dreamliner. However, Delaney pointed out, flight testing accounts for only about 10 percent of the remaining work.
On Wednesday, the company provided an overview on the federal certification process and first flight to media from around the world in Everett. Boeing's fast- selling, mostly composite 787 has won nearly 900 orders since its launch.
The company plans to have its 787 in the air by July 1, but Boeing hasn't given a specific date of the first flight.
Once the Dreamliner takes to the skies, Boeing will put it and another five tests planes on a round-the-clock test schedule, managing the flight test program like an airline would manage a fleet of commercial aircraft.
The company would like to have the Dreamliner in the air for at least three hours for its first flight, said Frank Rasor, 787 test program manager.
The test flight could last more than five hours, Delaney said. However, if Boeing encounters any minor glitches, the flight will be shorter.
The Dreamliner will take off from Paine Field in Everett and will land at Seattle's Boeing Field, where flight test operations will be based, Rasor said.
Boeing employs about 1,000 people -- 600 engineers, 400 mechanics -- in its flight test operations group, said Barbara Cosgrove, vice president of flight test operations. And Boeing will use as many of its 43 test pilots in its commercial airplanes division as needed to keep the program going.
Even though Boeing has a shorter flight-test program than it has used for past plane programs, company officials believe they can have the flight test program wrapped up in time to deliver the first 787 in early 2010.
"Flight testing in the past has been really a process of trial and error," Cosgrove said. "The good news is that we don't do that anymore."
Boeing engineers already have been "testing" the 787's responses to various flight scenarios through simulation and analysis. The flight test program will allow Boeing to verify whether much of that initial effort is valid, shortening the overall process.
"We have lots and lots of experience in predicting how the aircraft will respond," Cosgrove said.
Boeing will need to put its flight-test jets through extremes -- from high and low temperatures to heavy crosswinds and engine failures. The rigorous testing will help demonstrate that the 787 responds the way Boeing has said it would and is safe for operation.
The company has been working with the FAA on ways to show that its new Dreamliner meets federal requirements since 2003, Boeing's Delaney said. At this point, Boeing is further ahead in the certification process than compared to previous plane programs at the same point, he said.
There are three aspects of FAA certification, said Steve Boyd, with the FAA. The federal agency is checking to make sure the 787 design meets safety standards. It verifies that Boeing's production process can reliably produce airplanes that match that design. And the FAA issues an airworthiness certification to each Dreamliner, saying that 787 is safe to fly.
"We're all looking forward to when the 787 will begin flight testing," Boyd said.
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