Guy Norris: Factory Gauntlet completed ahead of schedule

Guy Norris over at Aviation week just reported that the factory gauntlet was completed ahead of schedule. Boeing is now moving on to the pre-intermediate gauntlet test activities which include landing gear retraction tests.

The flight test team will test the retraction of the landing gear inside building 40-24 to make sure there are no surprises when Dreamliner 1 finally takes to the air. To do this the aircraft will be jacked up off its landing gear so the test can take place. Once outside the landing gear can't be tested until the plane flies so the flight test team will test it and make sure that there are no issues.

I think Dreamliner 1 should be outside by the end of the week.

You can read Guy's posting here.

Lastly, Matt Cawby is reporting that vibration testing is almost complete on Dreamliner 2 and that High Instensity Radiated Fields (HIRF) testing is up next for Dreamliner 2. See it here.