787 April 2017 Mid Month Review

	Number
Testing Complete	3
To be assembled in Everett	183
To be assembled in Charleston	140
Parts Arriving	6
Undergoing final assembly	6
Storage	1
Storage/Change Incorporation and Re-Work	0
Change Incorporation and Re-Work	1
Pre-Flight Prep	10
Production Testing	5
Non Customer Flight Tests	2
Ready for Delivery	2
Donation	3
Delivered	540
TOTAL	902

Well most of the way through April Boeing has delivered 8 Dreamliners on their way to delivering 10 787s this month.  An early build 787 for Ethiopian has been pushed out though the delivery date for ZD008, (LN 18, ET-ATI) seems somewhat in flux.  I've heard that delivery can happen in May though I've also heard that delivery won't occur until "after June"  For now I'm listing as stored until there is more definite clarity to delivery.  In the meantime Boeing will deliver 2 more 787 before the end of the month for a total of 10 deliveries.

Production totals for April look to be 11 787s completed and rolled out from the two 787 factories with another 10 or 11 aircraft starting final assembly.  Note that 3 of these 787s were built in Everett and had started final assembly and rolled out within the month of April.

Boeing has gotten the 787-10 flight testing off to a good start.  It appears that they're only flying the aircraft on the weekdays thus far and I'm uncertain that this is going to change.  It may mean that the flight test team doesn't have as much risk to retire or that the flight test schedule doesn't require as many flight hours as the -8 or -9 thus limiting testing to the weekdays.  I'm also expecting that the second flight test 787-10, ZC036 (LN 548, N548ZC) should take to the air around May 2nd, a week from this coming Tuesday. ZC002 is still in final assembly and I expect it to roll out aroune the 2nd week of May and should join flight testing around late June.Thus far the lone 787-10 flight test aircraft has racked up about 72.38 flight test hours.  Boeing needs to achieve Initial Airwothiness Testing which I believe should be down shortly, it will be followed by the TIA (type inspection authorization) which would allow the 787-10 to start the certification program with the FAA and have the FAA on board the -10 to observe the certification flight tests and sign off on each required test flight objective.  The 787-9 achieve the TIA after about 275 flight test hours on the initial Roll Royce powered 787-9 which took about 3 months.  The 787-8 received it's TIA after about 4 months of flying. I believe certification testing for the -10 should start around the end of June to early July time frame if not earlier.

You can follow my log of the 787-10 flight test by clicking the link below for the 787 Spreadsheets.

787 Spreadsheets

787 get expanded Type Inspection Authorization...Finally

Boeing Photo of ZA003 at Eglin Air Force Base


The FAA has given Boeing the expanded TIA (Type Inspection Authorization) for the 787 last night. This now means that Boeing and the FAA will undertake test flights and ground tests to certify the 787. Boeing is still planning for first delivery by the end of this year to ANA. Boeing also announced that ZA003 is in Florida to undertake extreme weather testing after flying 5 hours from Boeing Field to Eglin Air Force Base. Boeing also noted that the 78 test fleet has now exceed 500 test flight hours. I'm still trying to find out when flight test will start to take place with FAA inspectors and engineers aboard but I anticipate that it will be soon. Here's Boeing's press release.

News Release Issued: April 20, 2010 11:14 PM EDTBoeing 787 Flight-Test
Program Progressing
EVERETT, Wash., April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted Boeing (NYSE: BA) expanded type inspection authorization (TIA) today, clearing the way for its personnel to fully participate in future test flights and for the collection of required flight-test data. Initial TIA was granted Feb. 11, which supported the collection of flutter certification data.
The expanded TIA marks the FAA's confirmation that the airplane and team are ready to collect additional certification data. Boeing achieved the expansion by demonstrating the readiness of the airplane throughout a variety of speeds, altitudes and configurations.
"This TIA expansion is another significant step toward delivering airplanes to our customers. We remain on track to deliver the first airplane to ANA this year," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, Commercial Airplanes.
In addition to receiving expanded TIA, Boeing finalized the aerodynamic configuration of the 787.
"We have completed sufficient testing to decide that no additional changes to the external lines or shape of the airplane are required," said Fancher. "Having an airplane match its expected performance with so few changes is rare and speaks to the maturity of the design."
The 787 flight-test fleet logged its 500th hour of flying April 16. On Sunday, ZA003, the flight-test airplane outfitted with interior elements, landed in Florida, where it will go through extreme weather testing at McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base.
Boeing released two videos highlighting flutter and ground effects testing. These videos feature commentary by the pilots and the chief project engineer and are available on http://www.boeing.com/ and http://www.newairplane.com/.

Flightglobal had picked up this story and you can read their article here. Fligtblogger also has a post on his blog about the TIA.

Flightblogger: Boeing 787 granted Type Inspection Authorization

787 back in the air tomorrow; 747-8 returns to the air

According to information I received the in flight anomaly that ZA001 experienced is a non issue and all airplanes will return to flight tomorrow. ZA004 should be in the air as will ZA001 and ZA002 (to continue flutter tests and S & C tests).

RC501 is in the air this evening and should land at Moses Lake where it will be temporarily based for the Initial Airworthiness Flight Tests.

Here are a couple other stories about the recent 747 and 787 events.

Aviation Week : Boeing Probes 787 Engine Issue

Guy Norris also put up an update stating that ZA001 will continue flutter tests tomorrow and ZA002 will fly an stability and control test flight. ZA004 should be flying tomorrow as well as the third 787 to join the test program.

Guy Norris : 787 and 747-8 Updates
Guy Norris : 787 hits engine snag, 747-8 returns to flight

Lastly, Aviation Week linked to an article that really describes the phenomenon of flutter very well. Here's the link for those of you who are interested:

Autopia : 787 Dreamliner Hiccups During Flight Testing

Some 747-8 news and some 787 news

Ok switching gears for a moment. Here's some 747 news. Flightblogger is reporting that the first 747-8 will start 40 hours of final gauntlet testing later this week. Final gauntlet tests the aircraft's systems and subsystems by making the airplane think that it is flying and seeing how those systems react.

First flight is probably going to occur sometime in February though I still don't have a firm date. That date, like the 787 first flight date before it, is dependent on the results of gauntlet testing and the need, if any, for any further testing.

Guy Norris reports that Boeing is working through a long list of EWAs (Engineering Work Authorizations) which is a long name for systems checks. Boeing has been working on a series of systems to make sure they're ready for final gauntlet. Guy says that given that final gauntlet hasn't started means that first flight won't occur until very late this month to middle of next month.

Matt Cawby got a couple of nice picture of the two 747-8F on the Boeing flightline. Curiously both are registered N747EX.

Lastly, in a somewhat related note, Flightblogger says in his post that the 4th LCF for the 787 program is due in Everett next month after taking it first flight (post conversion) on Friday, January 15. In a 787 related update, ZA004 will be testing the 787's evacuation slides this week and ZA001 will hopefully start further flight envelope expansion tests with further flutter and primary flight control system tests followed by high speed stability and control testing.

Randy Tinseth, in a blog posting on Friday, January 15, talks about the 787 achieving its Initial Airworthiness testing milestone and notes that the 787 fleet has accumulated 59 hours and 15 minutes of flight test time. Using flightware I've calculated 59 hours and 40 minutes of flight time which is close.

Flightblogger's Week Ahead Post

Guy Norris: 747-8 Flight Test Update

Matt Cawby: January 15 747-8 Update

Boeing Prepares 747-8 Flight Test Program

Randy's Journal: Initial Airworthiness

787 flight tests off to a promising start

Boeing Complete 787 Inital Airworthiness Testing

Ok I've been out for the last couple of days so I'm going to start out with old news. Boeing said, in a press release on Friday, January 15, 2010, that it has completed initial airworthiness tests on the 787. The main thrust of this announcement is two fold:

1. The 787 is safe to fly with more than just the pilot and co-pilot aboard. Now Boeing's flight test engineers can also fly aboard to monitor tests


2. The 787 flight envelope can now be expanded beyond the what has already been tested thus far.

Here's Boeing's Press Release:

News Release Issued: January 15, 2010 5:28 PM EST

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Achieves Initial Airworthiness Milestone

EVERETT, Wash., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) has completed initial airworthiness testing on the 787 Dreamliner. This milestone will enable more crew members to take part in flights and will allow more airplanes to join the flight test program.

"This is an important step forward," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We are very pleased with the results we have achieved so far. The airplane has been performing as we expected."

Since the first flight in mid-December, the program has conducted 15 flights, achieving several key accomplishments. Pilots have taken the airplane to an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 meters) and a speed of Mach 0.65. Nearly 60 hours of flying have been completed. Initial stall tests and other dynamic maneuvers have been run, as well as an extensive check-out of the airplane's systems. Six different pilots have been behind the controls of the 787.

In the weeks ahead, the team will continue to expand the flight envelope at which the 787 will operate to reach an altitude of more than 40,000 feet (12,192 meters) and a speed of Mach 0.85. Subsequent testing will push the airplane beyond expected operational conditions.

"The pilots have told me the results we are seeing in flight match their expectations and the simulations we've run. That's a real tribute to Boeing's expertise and the international team that helped develop and build the airplane," said Fancher.

Flight testing will continue in the months ahead. First delivery is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

As always, the other follows of the 787 program weighed in with their postings and here is a rundown of this weekends commentary.

Flightblogger posted a great update reviewing the previous months' flight test progress as well as reviewing the status of the aircraft that have been built thus far. Here's a synopsis of the aircraft status:

ZA001/LN1 : At Boeing Field undergoing flight tests
ZA002/LN2: At Paine Field for aqueous tank wash
ZA003/LN3: At Paine Field undergoing preparations for its first flight in February
ZA004/LN4: At Paine Field fuel dock undergoing preparations for its first flight in February
ZA005/LN5: At Paine Field ATS Hangar undergoing side of body modifications
ZA006/LN6: At Paine Field ATS Hangar undergoing side of body modifications
ZA100/LN7: At Paine Field flightline awaiting side of body modifications
ZA101/LN8: At Paine Field flightline awaiting side of body modifications
ZA102/LN9: At Paine Field inside temporary hangar undergoing side of body modifications
ZA103/LN10: At Paine Field undergoing painting
ZA104/LN11: At Paine Field building 40-24
ZA105/LN12: At Paine Field undergoing final assembly
ZA115/LN13: At Paine Field undergoing final assembly
ZA116/LN14: At Paine Field undergoing final assembly
ZA117/LN15: At Paine Field undergoing final assembly

Parts for airplane 16 are starting to arrive into Everett. This airplane is the first to be assembled that will not require the side of body modifications. Lastly, Flightblogger reports that when parts for airplane 17 arrives it'll be for for Royal Air Maroc powered by GEnx engines.

787 Flight Test Update: Month One

Guy Norris had a nice synopsis of the 787 program on his blog as well. In it he said that ZA001 is going to be taking a breather while it undergoes checks. The airplane has not flown since January 14th.

Guy Norris: 787 completes initial airworthiness testing

Finally, Innovation Analysis Group, had a great Podcast featuring Jon Ostrower (Flightblogger) and Guy Norris.

IAG's 787 Update