Flightblogger 787 Update for March 2009

Jon Ostrower just put out the first of two parts of a 787 Update.

He confirms an upcoming line move for the 787 that was reported here earlier. The main difference is that LN 3 (ZA003) will be moved out of the assembly hall in 40-26 and being sent to the 747 assembly line in building 40-23. ZA 001 (LN 1) should be making its way to the paint hanger within the next one week to 10 days after it undergoes the medium blow pressure test. The fact that Dreamliner 1 will soon be going over to the paint shop strongly suggests that this aircraft is factory complete. I believe that after painting, Dreamliner 1 will have it's fuel tanks undergo the aqueous wash before moving on to gauntlet testing.

Dreamliner 2 will be staying inside 40-26 undergoing completion and goes through power on after the line move. Jon says that Boeing is shifting it's emphasis to getting Dreamliner 1, Dreamliner 2, and Dreamliner 5 out the door and flying.

Jon is also reporting that first flight is still to be determined but feels that it occur by the end of June, 2009 though time margins are shrinking. The required gauntlet testing has been pushed out to early April.

Read Jon's article here.