Details on Boeing 787’s first flight

Published 2:06 pm Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Although we don’t know yet which day the first 787 will fly, we do know it is expected to be in the air three hours.

But it could be up to five hours, said Mike Delaney, chief engineer for the 787.

Boeing’s Frank Rasor, director of flight test operations, said the 787 will take off from Paine Field here in Everett and land at Boeing Field in Seattle.

The aircraft won’t fly over downtown Seattle.

A few other interesting points about the flight test program:

No barrel roll over Lake Washington is planned like the stunt in one of Bill Boeing’s first airplanes.

Boeing has no plans to take a 787 to a major air show.

The company has built in a 15 to 20 percent time for “contingent testing.”

“We have to expect that something isn’t going to go the way we expected it to go,” Rasor said.

There will be an escape system on the first flight.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes has 43 test pilots who will support both 787 flight test as well as normal flight requirements on all planes.