First test-flight of Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Dec 18, 2009

The long-delayed test-flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jet has now been scheduled for December 18, 2009. A second test-flight is planned for 10 days later.

As usual, we will be bringing you photos and if possible videos, of the test flight of the 787 Dreamliner.

The Boeing Company, based in Chicago, the United States, says it will test-fly another Dreamliner jet 10 days later.

The delivery dates of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes have been put off for over 2 years, resulting in loss of money for the company as well adversely affecting the potential customers’ confidence in it.

In a statement, the Boeing Company said that it decided on the schedule for the test-flight after having successfully tested the Dreamliner’s wings one week ago.

The Boeing 787, the first composite airliner in the world, is fitted with Rolls-Royce engines.

The Boeing Company had earlier announced many dates for a test-flight of the Dreamliner – the latest of them being in June 2009, which was cancelled, at the last moment, after static-testing of the plane revealed structural problems.

According to an official of the company, the Boeing 787 plane (which is used for static-testing and will never fly) was again subjected to a series of structural tests after the glitches found in the area where the wing joins the fuselage were fixed. Even after all the required tests are completed, it will take many days to examine all the data derived for the tests, the official added.

Before the first flight, test-pilots will continue testing engines for the next many days, the Boeing Company explained in the statement.

The other tests include taxi-tests at the Paine Field, located north of Seattle, where the Boeing 787 has been assembled. It will be after conducting successful low-speed and high-speed taxi tests that the first test-flight will be performed.

The Seattle Times newspaper has reported that, for the first flight-test to be conducted on December 18, 2009, the aircraft maker will use the first Boeing 787 from the assembly line, that is, airframe number ZA001.

The news that another Boeing 787, with airframe number ZA002, is expected to fly 10 days after the first flight has come as a surprise to those who have been keenly watching the ambitious Dreamliner programme, according to The Seattle Times. And, the possibility of two test-flights has give rise to “excitement” in the aviation industry, the report in the newspaper said.

Both airframe numbers ZA001 and ZA002 have the same fix on the wing-join area as the static-test airframe, say reports.

The mid-sized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner Boeing 787 Dreamliner is being made by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The plane’s maximum seating capacity ranges from 290 to 330, depending on the variant.

The company claims that the Boeing 787 will be more fuel-efficient than the earlier Boeing planes and that it will be the first major passenger airliner to use composite materials for most of its making.