Boeing 787 Dreamliner test flight on 15 Dec, Gulfstream G250 test flight successful

Finally, after delays of over two years, Boeing Company has announced that the much-awaited first flight of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet will take place on December 15, 2009, as scheduled.

Gulfstream G250 test flight photo

The company said that its “window” for a first flight of the new jetliner will open on December 15, 2009, with the actual time of the flight depending upon factors such as final internal reviews, taxi-testing, weather, as well as the United States Federal Aviation Administration’s documentation. recently, we had reported that the Dreamliner’s first test flight would take place on 18 December; now it looks like Boeing would be able to do it earlier.

Meanwhile, Gulfstream Aerospace has conducted the first flight of its new G250 business jet. Related story: Bombardier G650 business jet photo

Gulfstream Aerospace designed and built the G250 mid-size, 8-seat-to-10-seat passenger jet in collaboration with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

In the maiden flight, the G250 was flown for 3 hours and 21 minutes – taking off from and returning to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In a press release, Gulfstream Aerospace said the G250 performed “extremely well, just as we expected.” The G250 is expected to be delivered to customers in 2011.

An official of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner programme said that, for the new jetliner to be cleared for takeoff, there must be good visibility, little to no wind, and no standing water on the runway.

Boeing Dreamliner photo

In statement, the Boeing Company, based in Chicago, the United States, said it has completed the “final gauntlet” testing on the 787 Dreamliner and had verified that fixes that were made to solve a structural problem worked.

According to Scott Fancher, vice-president and general manager of the Boeing 787 programme, company checked out, in 2 days of testing, all the airplane systems like avionics, electrical, and hydraulics.

Scott Fancher said the company had earlier reinforced “weak points” near the area where the wings attach to the fuselage. After that, it conducted the ‘static test’ – which is basically bending the wings – on the repairs. The static test was successfully completed.

The mid-sized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft’s maximum seating capacity is 290-330 passengers, depending on the variant.

The Boeing 787 has wider seats and aisles, as well as and larger windows, compared to other mid-size airliners.

Boeing Company claims that the Dreamliner is the first major airliner to use composite materials for most of its construction. The plane’s development involved significant collaboration with a number of suppliers.

Thanks to being made mostly of light-weight composite materials, the Boeing 787 will be more fuel-efficient, quieter and have lower emissions than other aircraft, according to the Boeing Company.

It has been estimated that deliveries of the Dreamliner will start in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The Boeing Company has admitted that its new approach to making the Dreamliner, by depending on suppliers from around the world to build huge sections of the plane, has led to problems – with ill-fitting parts and such other glitches hindering production.

The company put off the test-fight of Boeing 787 and deliveries for a 5th time in June 2009, after it identified the latest of the problems.

The Boeing 787, which suffered repeated delays and is over 2 years behind schedule, has cost the company in terms of money, sales, and credibility.

A few airlines cancelled or put off plans to buy the Dreamliner, partly because of the decline in demand for air travel amid the worldwide economic recession.