Boeing Dreamliner performs as expected in initial airworthiness testing

Boeing Dreamliner performs as expected in initial airworthiness testing, crosses another milestone: Boeing Company

The Boeing Company has announced that it has completed the ‘initial airworthiness testing” on its ambitious Boeing 787 aircraft, nicknamed the Dreamliner, and described the latest testing as “a milestone” which will enable more crew members to participate in further test-flights and also let more Boeing 787 jets to join the flight test programme.

A statement from the Boeing Company said that, since the first flight of the Dreamliner on December 15, 2009, 15 flights have taken place – that is, a total of about 60 hours in the air.

During the first flight, the Boeing 787 airliner was flown at an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 metres) and at a speed of Mach 0.65.

The jet has already undergone initial stall tests and other dynamic manoeuvres.

The company said it will continue to expand the ‘flight envelope’ to reach an altitude of over 40,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.85. Subsequent testing, according to Boeing, will push the Dreamliner beyond the “expected operational conditions.”

Scott Fancher, vice-president and general manager of the Boeing 87 Programme, said in the statement that the test-pilots have averred that the results seen in the test-flights have matched their expectations and the simulations.

The exacting testing process, Scott Fancher added, is meant to obtain certification from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Only after receiving the FAA’s certification can the company start delivering the 865 Dreamliner jets on order.

Dennis O’Donoghue, chief of the Boeing’s company-wide aircraft testing unit, said the Dreamliner test-aircraft has flown almost every day since its first flight on December 15, 2009, with only “minor issues” cropping up like, for example, a bad instrumentation panel.

The first delivery of the Boeing 787 to a commercial customer has been planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.

The mid-sized, wide-body, twin-engine jet Boeing 787 airliner can seat 210 to 330 passengers, depending on the variant. According to the Boeing Company, the Dreamliner will be the company’s most fuel-efficient airliner and also the first major airliner in the world to use composite materials for most of its making.

The development of the Boeing 787 involved extensive collaboration with a number of suppliers worldwide.

The Dreamliner was initially scheduled to enter service in May 2008. The production had been delayed several times. In August 2009, the scheduled date of entry of the airliner into service was set for the fourth quarter of 2010.

The plane’s first flight, at first planned for September 2007, was carried out on December 15, 2009, when the Dreamliner landed at Boeing Field in Seattle after flying for 3 hours.

The multiple delays of Dreamliner did cost the Boeing Company billions of dollars.