Boeing sticks to 787 flight test timeline

By Mary Kirby

Boeing remains focused on beginning flight testing of its 787 in June.

"We are working toward first flight at the end of the second quarter," said Boeing commercial director of marketing Drew McGill today at the ISTAT conference in Phoenix.

Boeing currently holds 878 orders for the twinjet with 56 customers.

First delivery is targeted for early first quarter next year, says McGill.

Some attendees at the ISTAT conference believe Boeing is likely to meet its latest target for beginning flight tests of the 787. But there is also a lot of skepticism that the airframer will be not able to skirt further programme delays.

Noting that there is a 787 Lego set now on the market, noted industry analyst Adam Pilarski yesterday quipped: "Even a ten year old can do it (put the Lego set together) so please get your stuff together."