787 undertaking long duration flight tests

ZA004 has been engaged in long duration test flights over the last couple of days with two flights that lasted about 9 hours each. A source told me that these flights are performing steady state performance certification testing as well as laminar flow evaluations. ZA004 is in the air again today for another long duration test flight. The FAA is on board for these test flights. In other news, it is expected that ZA003 will be making the flight from Eglin Air Force Base to San Antonio for further hot condition environmental testing. It has successfully completed the testing at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory.

Lastly, Randy Tinseth put up a blog post addressing the temporary suspension of part deliveries into Everett. Boeing is delaying the shipping of the next two 787s (LN 23 and LN 24) due to parts shortages going into the suppliers.

Randy Tinseth : Temporary adjustment to 787 supplier deliveries

Boeing Announces 787 extreme weather testing

Boeing Photos

Boeing announced the start of extreme weather testing on the 787. It now appears that Boeing will conduct both cold weather as well as hot weather testing at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base. ZA003 is expected to be there for about two weeks. The aircraft will be subjected to extremes in temperatures and then technicians will go through and do a simulated preparation for flight to see how the systems act after being exposed to temperature extremes. This will not be the only extreme weather testing for the 787. There will be more testing which will probably also involve flight testing in the temperature extremes. Here's

Boeing's press release:News Release Issued: April 22, 2010 4:21 PM EDT

787 Dreamliner Undergoing Extreme-Weather Testing in Florida

VALPARAISO, Fla., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner has begun a series of extreme-weather tests at Valparaiso, Fla. A special hangar at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Elgin Air Force Base allows the airplane to experience heat as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius) and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 43 Celsius).

After the airplane is stabilized at either the hot or cold temperatures, flight test technicians will follow the Airplane Maintenance Manual to perform the steps required to prepare the airplane for flight release and operate under these conditions. Sensors and monitors will allow the test team to determine if all systems hardware and software operate as expected.

Cold-weather testing is being conducted first, with preliminary hot-weather testing to follow. Additional extreme-weather testing will be conducted later in the flight test program.

"We have Dreamliner customers who will operate the 787 in a wide variety of environments throughout the world," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "This testing is about ensuring that the airplane meets the expectations of our customers."

A crew of approximately 100 people traveled from Seattle to support the test operations on ZA003, the third 787 airplane to be built.

The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is the second remote testing location for the 787 Dreamliner. The second airplane in the fleet, ZA002, performed a variety of tests in Victorville, Calif., last month. The testing in Florida is expected to last nearly two weeks.

About the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The 787 Dreamliner is an all-new twinjet designed to meet the needs of airlines around the world in providing nonstop service between mid-size cities with new levels of efficiency. The airplane will bring improved levels of comfort to passengers with larger windows, bigger baggage bins and advances in the cabin environment, including lower cabin altitude, higher humidity and cleaner air. Delivery of the first 787 is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.
Fifty-seven customers around the world have ordered 866 787s since the program was launched in April 2004, making the Dreamliner the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history. Delivery of the first 787 is planned for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Boeing also has a great video of the aircraft going through the deep freeze in the ice locker.

Freezin' in Florida

Guy Norris has an article on Aviation Week reviewing the 787 testing thus far including the extreme weather testing now on going:

Guy Norris: Boeing 787 Begins Extreme Weather Tests

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

On the move

It was moving day for engineers and other flight test personnel in both the 787 and 747-8 programs.

First, ZA003 flew to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the first cross country trip for the 787 to perform cold soak testing the the McKinley Climatic Laboratory. The aircraft will easily fit into the hangar sized for a C-5 Galaxy transport and will be subject to temperatures as low as -65 degrees Fahrenheit. The plan is for ZA003 tho be there until April 27th after which it will fly to either San Antonio, Tx. or Yuma, Az. for hot weather testing.

Second, RC521, the second 747-8 flew to Palmdale, Ca. where it will spend most of its test flight life. The aircraft first made a short flight to Moses Lake, Washington from where it proceeded to fly to Palmdale. Boeing says that the other two 747-8s will join this airplane in the coming weeks. Here is Boeing's press release on the 747-8's move to Palmdale:

Boeing 747-8 Freighter Begins Flight-Test Operations in Southern California
PALMDALE, Calif., April 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 747-8 Freighter, RC521, landed in Palmdale, Calif., today, marking the beginning of a planned transition of 747-8 Freighter testing to Southern California. The more than four-hour flight from Boeing Field in Seattle included testing on avionics and cruise performance.

"Taking the airplane to Palmdale is a big step," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program. "The team is focused on ensuring a seamless transition into the next phase of the flight-test program as we prepare to expand testing of the 747-8 Freighter's performance characteristics."

The airplane will be stationed in Palmdale for the majority of its scheduled flight-test program. The crew will conduct several tests on the airplane with fuel-mileage and
engine-performance testing as key focus areas.

"Palmdale provides an excellent test environment for the 747-8 Freighter," said Andy Hammer, 747 test program manager. "It allows us to take full advantage of one of the world's premier experimental test flight facilities and the excellent weather conditions to meet our flight-test requirements on the road to obtaining our amended type certification."

A contingent of employees has been stationed at Palmdale for the testing, including flight-test engineers and the support personnel who prepare the airplane for each day's flights. In the coming weeks, the two other 747-8 airplanes in the flight-test fleet will join RC521 in Southern California.

The entire flight-test program calls for the three airplanes to perform a total of about 3,700 hours of ground and air testing. The first 747-8 Freighter delivery to Cargolux is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

ZA003 headed cross country to Eglin Air Force Base

The third Dreamliner, ZA003, is at this moment flying to Eglin Air Force Base to take part in cold soak tests at the USAF's McKinley Climatic Laboratory. The 787 flew out of Boeing Field at 7:08AM PST for the 787s first cross country flight which should take about 5 hours or so even though Flightaware shows a flight time of 45 minutes...we knew the 787 is supposed to be fast but c'mon!

Flightaware for BOE 3

Flightblogger had revealed earlier this week that ZA003 would perform cold soak test at Eglin Air Force Base. I'm not sure how long it'll be there and what temperatures it will exposed to but they will run the 787s systems to see how they act in the extreme cold though I'm guessing they wouldn't run the engines or APU inside the lab.