EVERETT — The Boeing Co.’s second 787 jet has landed after brief flight Tuesday.
The 787 took off this morning from Everett’s Paine Field a week after the maiden flight of the first Dreamliner. The aircraft landed just two hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle.
Test pilots are reporting the main landing gear door had problems retracting.
Captain Randy Neville was at the controls for the flight, with Chief Pilot Mike Carriker operating as co-pilot. Neville and Carriker took the airplane to an altitude of 13,000 feet and an airspeed of about 230 miles per hour.
This is the second of six 787s being used in the airplane’s flight-test program. Each of the airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on systems performance. Like its predecessor, the second 787 airplane is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
The second Dreamliner is painted in the livery of 787 launch customer All Nippon Airways of Japan but is one of three flight test 787 jets that will not be delivered to customers. ANA has 55 Dreamliner jets on order with Boeing.
“We are delighted that the second Dreamliner is in the livery of our launch customer, ANA,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “We are honored by the airline’s support and look forward to delivering ANA the first production airplane next year.”
Boeing kicked off the flight test program for its new 787 jet last Tuesday when it put the first Dreamliner in the air. That 787 took off from Paine Field and landed roughly three hours later at Seattle’s Boeing Field, where the company will base its 787 flight test program.
Boeing has requests for 840 Dreamliner aircraft. Despite a two-year delay, Boeing hopes to deliver the first 787 late next year to ANA.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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