EVERETT — The Boeing Co. recently started the next phase of tests leading up to the first flight of its delayed 787 Dreamliner later this month.
On Saturday, Boeing began “intermediate gauntlet” tests on its 787, a spokeswoman confirmed Monday. The gauntlet tests allow Boeing to simulate in-flight conditions while the Dreamliner remains parked on the flight line at Paine Field. The intermediate gauntlet is expected to last a week.
“Clearly we have had our challenges and disappointments in developing this airplane,” said Jim McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive, during a strategic decisions conference Web cast last week.
Despite nearly two years of setbacks, McNerney anticipates that the company’s new airplane will make its first flight this month.
Boeing diverged from its existing airplanes both in materials and in assembly with the Dreamliner. Huge sections of mostly carbon-fiber composite material are being made by the company’s partners at sites around the world and are pieced together here in Everett. Boeing ran into snags with partners and with its production line, leading to several embarrassing and costly delays.
But the ground tests are progressing quickly, Boeing’s Scott Fancher, who leads the 787 program, told investors at a conference May 21, the same day that Boeing started engines on a test 787. Fancher estimated that Boeing would begin the intermediate gauntlet tests in two weeks, around June 4. But Boeing got a few days head start on the seven-day tests.
Boeing still has additional tests, including high-speed taxiing to finish before the Dreamliner takes flight. The company plans a flight test program of eight to nine months. The company intends to deliver the first of more than 800 Dreamliners on order early next year.
Boeing’s stock rose 6.2 percent Monday to close at $47.65.
Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454, mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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