Boeing has a lot riding on its 787
Dreamliner program, and after a two-year delay, things appear to be
panning out nicely for the Seattle-based company. The first 787
Dreamliner made
its maiden flight on December 15, 2009 and stayed aloft for
roughly three hours.
The second 787 Dreamliner took
to the air a week later featuring the markings of the first
customer which will receive the new planes: All Nippon Airways (ANA).
In total, 15 flights (totaling nearly 60 hours) have been made so far
using the first two aircraft.
Another milestone was reached
late last week; the 787 Dreamliner achieved "initial
airworthiness" status. This milestone allows Boeing to open
up the testing phase to more aircraft. Boeing flight engineers will
also be allowed on the flight deck now according
to the Associated Press.
"This is an important step
forward," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP Scott Fancher. "We
are very pleased with the results we have achieved so far. The
airplane has been performing as we expected."
The previous test flights have seen the
787 Dreamliners reach a top speed of Mach 0.65 and an altitude of
30,000 feet. In the coming weeks, Boeing test pilots will take the
aircraft to Mach 0.85+ and in excess of 40,000 feet.
"The pilots have told me the
results we are seeing in flight match their expectations and the
simulations we've run. That's a real tribute to Boeing's expertise
and the international team that helped develop and build the
airplane," Fancher added.
ANA is expected to receive its first
787 Dreamliners during the fourth quarter of 2010. The Japanese
airliner has ordered 55 of the aircraft.
