Second Boeing 787 Reaches Flight Line
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By Michael Mechma
The second boeing 787 flight test article, the airplane on which Boeing will focus systems testing, has reached the flight line outside the factory in Everett, Wash., to begin fuel testing.
Like the first airplane, ZA001, which is expected to begin flight testing the week of June 22, ZA002 is powered by twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
But the first test jet is wearing Boeing’s colors. ZA002 honors launch customer All Nippon Airways by sporting its blue and white livery. Boeing’s schedule calls for ANA to take delivery of the first production aircraft, the seventh produced, in the first quarter 2010, probably in February.
ZA002’s test regime involves extensive runway safety tests and will focus on verifying the stability and control laws for the 787-8, the standard-sized aircraft, which has a fuselage length of 186 ft. and wingspan of 197 ft., has a fly-by-wire flight control system and uses a distributed architecture for its avionics/electronics systems.
While the first airplane will be used to establish the 787’s basic flight envelope, the second airplane is the first of five additional test aircraft to delve into specific characteristics, such as the autopilot and Trent propulsion system.
ZA001 is in its seventh week of pre-flight tests since leaving the factory with at least a week to go before it flies. ZA002 is expected to follow a “noticeably shorter” time into the air since many of the “gauntlet” pre-flight systems tests undertaken on ZA001 will not have to be repeated, according to a Boeing official. Boeing’s 787 flight-test team expects ZA002 could be flying within about three weeks after ZA001 begins flying.
Meanwhile, Boeing Commercial President and CEO Scott Carson advises that the new airplane will not fly this week as the industry gathers at the Paris Air Show.
“If you were expecting to see the 787 flying during the show you’ll be disappointed,” he said. “But we expect it to fly within the next two weeks.”
Carson says firm configuration for the stretched 787-9 — 206 ft. length and 208 ft. wing — is expected to be completed later this year. “We also continue to work on the -3 variant, and we continue to study the 787-10 or an alternative product to address the -10 mission.”
The 787-3 is the short-range version, for which only ANA holds orders. It has the same length as the 787-8 but a 170-ft. wingspan. The 787-10 is a proposed stretch of the stretched 787-10 to meet competition at the higher end of the market from the Airbus A350 XWB.
Carson also surprisingly mentioned new details of product development studies for future 777 variants to counter the coming threat from the Airbus A350XWB. One of these concerned a re-winged 777, which Carson says would be studied in parallel with the -10.
“They’re not really linked today, but with both a -10 or a re-winged or upgraded 777 the trick is to find the product that addresses the needs the most,” he says.
Carson adds that neither the double stretch 787 or improved 777 “rules out an all-new design. Each competes on its own merits.”
Photo: Boeing
