787 flyaways

Tentative word is that ZA104 (JA807A, L/N 41) should leave today at about 6pm. It was officially delivered on the 12th. It will be flying as NH9397 departing for Haneda. Nothing up on Flightaware of yet but there is still a few hours to go.

ZA102 (JA804A, L/N 9) is projected to be delivered today with a tentative flyaway date of January 16 at 7:15PM. It will also fly to Haneda as NH9397.

January 787 delivery update part 2

I just got this from a source but it may change depending on conditions at Everett. ZA104 (JA807A, L/N 41) may have been contractually delivered on Tuesday, January 10th. It may flyaway to Haneda Tokyo today, January 12th at about 6PM local time if delivery has been indeed made a couple days ago. Typically the flyaway is a couple days after contractual delivery though it varies from customer to customer and particular circumstances a t the time.

ZA102 (JA804A, L/N 9) is scheduled to be delivered today and may flyaway a couple of days from now. There were no further test flights of both aforementioned aircraft since January 10th.

ZA117 (JA806A, L/N 40) is still scheduled (tentatively) for delivery on the 30th but this should be taken with a grain of salt as the aircraft has not appeared on the flightline yet.

Further I've gotten information that ZA236 (VT-ANH, L/N 35) may make its first flight around Jan. 16th though this is still up in the air (so to speak). This aircraft is to conduct the final portion of F&R/ETOPs testing on the GEnx powered 787 for certification purposes. If Boeing is able to get this part of the program completed in time with certification of of the GEnx 787s then They may be able to deliver two GEnx 787s starting in February. One each would go to Japan Airlines (ZA177, JA822J, L/N 22) and Air India (ZA236, VT-ANH, L/N 35). Boeing also has a 787 penciled in for ANA (ZA105, JA808A, L/N 42) next month.

There are no definitive delivery dates for these airplanes for obvious reasons and these airplanes themselves may not deliver next month due to continued issues revolving the amount of re-work and the allocation of resources to effectively deal with the amount of work. there should be further clarification of the 787 deliveries on about two weeks when Boeing has it's 2011 earnings conference call.

Additional January 787 delivery information

Ok this is coming to me from another source but now we have three Dreamliner deliveries coming up though this is all tentative. Here's the situation now and it seems to be improving:

JA804A (ZA102, L/N 9) to deliver on Jan. 9
JA807A (ZA104, L/N 41) to deliver on Jan. 11
JA806A (ZA117, L/N 40, first flight on Jan. 20th, deliver on Jan. 30

This information is regarded as preliminary as there can unforeseen issues to can derail any of these milestones. Also note that these dates are not the dates that ANA flies them to Japan but dates where contractual delivery is made and money has changed hands.

Fourth 787 to deliver soon

ANA's 4th 787, JA807A (ZA104, L/N 41) is scheduled to flyaway on Jan. 10 around 6PM local time, according to the latest schedule, as NH9397. This means that the offical handover should occur within a couple days before that. This all assumes that there are no other issues with the aircraft.

There is still no word on delivery and flyaway of JA804A (ZA102, L/N 9) but thoughts are it should be in around the middle of this month.

Dominic Gates has a few more details regarding the delays in the 787 deliveries in his article that came out this morning:

Dominic Gates: Boeing delivers more, and less, in 2011

JA805A flying out tonight; JA807A a maybe

UPDATE: It appears that ZA104 will not be going anywhere due to ongoing tech issues. This aircraft did fly today and will also fly tomorrow. There should be more clarification on its status later this week. Currently both this aircraft and ZA102 are scheduled for delivery in January but I do expect at least one more 787 to be delivered this month. Currently NH9397 has left on its delivery flight to Tokyo.

According to Flightaware, NH9397 (also known as ZA116, JA805A, L/N 31) will flying out to Japan on its delivery flight at 6 pm Pacific Time. According to sources this aircraft should be parked at gate 206 when it arrive at Haneda International Airport tomorrow morning.

The same sources said that NH9399 (also known as ZA104, JA807A, L/N 41) is scheduled to leave Everett at 7:15PM Pacific time and will be parked at gate 205 when it arrives at Haneda. ZA104 took an earlier flight around the Washington State area supposedly by ANA pilots so it is unknown if this plane has actually been delivered.

These two airplanes are fitted with the Trent 1000 package "B" engines which brings fuel consumption to within 1% of promised specifications. These airplanes will be employed on ANA's international routes beginning with Tokyo-Beijing later this month followed by Tokyo-Frankfurt next month.

In related news, Flightblogger posted this afternoon on the 787's delivery issues

Updated 787 info...no deliveries till Jan. 4th

UPDATE: The flyaway (from Everett) should occur on the 4th for 805A and 807A which means delivery (formal paper signing and transfer of money) should occur by the 3rd of January.

Just got a message as well as saw a posting on an airliners.net forum that all three 787s that were due to be delivered around now have "gone tech" meaning there is a maintenance related issue with all three airplanes.

JA805A (L/N 31, ZA116) was supposed to depart Everett 2 days ago and is now schedule to be flown out on Jan. 4th in an evening depature. JA807A (L/N 41, ZA104) will fly out the same day a little later after JA805A has left(it was to deliver on Dec. 30th and fly out a couple days later).

JA804A's (L/N 9, ZA102) delivery was also scheduled for Dec. 30th (fly out a couple days later) but also cancelled though for unknown reasons. It is not known when it will be ready for delivery though this aircraft has flown as recently as Dec. 30th (as had ZA104).

Currently there are no other 78 deliveries scheduled in January but this doesn't mean that Boeing will not deliver any more beyond the two aforementioned aircraft. The situation is very fluid and it is unknown if the issues affecting these two aircraft is something more endemic throughout all the 787s or if this a one off situation.

Dec. 31st - no sign of further 787 deliveries

Today is December 31st, 2011 and there has been no further evidence of any other 787 deliveries beyond the ones made in September and October.

This doesn't indicate that ANA and Boeing has concluded the formal signing over of the aircraft and transferring of money and signing of documents. That may well have happened already but no aircraft has left Everett bound for Japan as of yet and there has been no announcement from Boeing or ANA of the formal delivery of any of these airplanes. ZA116 (JA805A) is still in Everett and has flown both Boeing and customer flights but I don't know if there are more test flights that have yet to be done or if there is any more work that needs to be concluded on the airplane itself. This Dreamliner is probably the one that is closest to being delivered.

The other two airplanes ZA104 (JA807A) and ZA102 (JA804A) have done some customer flights out of Everett but probably need to do a few more flights before ANA formally accepts them. I do think that Boeing can deliver all three airplanes within the next week in order for ANA to meet its newly revised international 787 service schedule. It is to start Tokyo - Beijing service in the middle of January and Tokyo - Frankfurt service in February.

As far as other airplanes, ZA236 has yet to make a flight to start finish F&R/ETOPs testing on the GEnx powered 787. There is no word on when that will happen though it has run its engines for the first time just before Christmas though there was a small fuel fire 30 minutes into the engine run. I don't know what effect that has on the schedule as of now.

Possible Delivery Delay for GEnx powered 787?

Given that the delays to the 787 for ANA are well documented, Boeing is pushing hard to get three more Dreamliners into the hands of the airline before the end of the year. The revised delivery schedule for this month shows that ZA116 should deliver around Dec. 27 with ZA104 and ZA102 delivering on Dec. 30th. Of course this is all subject to change.

The knock on effects maybe felt to the GEnx powered 787s. Let's review first. Boeing has flown almost all the test points for FAA certification of the GEnx-1B powered version of the 787. The remaining test points that need to be completed is functionality and reliability testing and ETOPs testing. Now Boeing completed some of this testing on the flight test version of the aircraft but the FAA requires that some portion of this testing to be done on a production version of the plane. Boeing has assigned ZA236 (L/N 35, VT-ANH). When Boeing ran the F&R/ETOPs testing on the Trent-1000 version of the airplane it was done on ZA102 (which is being prepared for delivery) and lasted about 300 hours.

I am assuming that Boeing will have to fly a similar number of hours for the GE powered machine but some of those hours have been done on the test flight birds (ZA005 and ZA006). It is unknown how many more hours will be needed to finish certification testing.

ZA236 has yet to fly and it seems that resources have been diverted from preparing this airplane for flight to preparing the three aforementioned ANA 787s for delivery. Flightblogger had reported that Boeing was to fly ZA236 by the middle of this month but it's now looking that it will be later this month. For the Trent-1000 version, Boeing conducted the 300 hour F&R/ETOPs over a 51 day period during this past summer. Assuming that Boeing has to only fly half that amount (150 hours) with ZA236 (with the rest already done by the test aircraft) which means about 3 to 4 weeks of flight tests and that testing starts soon after the New Year, the test program can wrap up around the end of January. Figure a couple of weeks before the FAA issues the amended type certificate (middle of February) then deliveries can take place start in middle to late February. This is assuming that there aren't any production issues holding up these airplanes and no unexpected issues that are revealed during the final F&R/ETOPs testing.

Boeing's delivery forecast for the GEnx-1B was very early 2012 (January) and internal documents up until last week had Boeing delivering the first to Japan Airlines in January 2012. This is now not the case as the situation is still very fluid.

Charleston forges ahead

Boeing Photo

Boeing announced today that the first 787 to be built in their new plant in North Charleston has touched down on its wheels for the first time today. The weight on wheels means that this airplane will be rolled to the last final assembly spots for further assembly tasks. The airplane is destined for Air India and is designated ZA237, L/N 46. Boeing is expecting that this airplane should be delivered by mid -2012 but Jim Albaugh has indicated that it can be delivered earlier than that. It appears that this aircraft (from the photo above) is headed for the third position on the line where, according the the Boeing press release, it will receive mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems and under go testing. Presumably it will head to position 4 for interiors and engine installation.

Here's the Boeing press release:

Boeing South Carolina Site Achieves 787 Weight on Wheels Milestone

Production achievement marks continued momentum on first 787 built at site

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA)
announced today that its first South Carolina-built 787 put weight on wheels for the
first time on Dec. 18.

"Our Boeing South Carolina team has achieved another significant milestone, putting weight on wheels," said Jack Jones, Boeing South Carolina vice president and general manager. "This is a result of both great local talent and dedication and talent and knowledge assembled from across Boeing Commercial Airplanes."

The airplane moved on its landing gear, via tug, to the next production position where electrical, hydraulic and mechanical systems installation and testing will continue over the next several weeks. Installation of the airplane's engines and interior will begin soon.

"To achieve weight on wheels just 24 months after breaking ground on this new facility is incredible," said Marco Cavazzoni, Boeing South Carolina Final Assembly and Delivery vice president and general manager.

"This is a great testament to what can be done when a well-trained, knowledgeable and highly motivated team focuses on a common goal."

Boeing South Carolina remains on schedule for its first 787 Dreamliner delivery in the first half of 2012.

Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes and will allow airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public. As a result of innovative technologies, the airplane offers unparalleled operating economics, fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. More than 800 787s are on order by more than 50 airlines, a testament to the airplane's unique capabilities.

In the background of the photograph is the next Dreamliner to be built at Charleston already in the wing-body join tooling in position 1. This airplane is ZA238, L/N 54 and is also destined for Air India.

In other news not too much is happening with the 787s at Everett though there seems to have been a lot of movement of the completed airframes from pictures on Matt Cawby's web site. ZA 104 made its first flight yesterday and Boeing, so far, is maintaining a delivery target for the end of this month. ZA116 had ANA pilots conducting radio checks today while ZA102 was supposed to conduct taxi tests now that it out of change incorporation. All three of these airplanes are scheduled for delivery late this month with ZA116's delivery coming up first. The next few days will be very interesting.

More on Boeing 787 delivery schedule

In the wake of the news coming out of Japan of the delay to the 3rd Dreamliner delivery more news has since come out courtesy of Dominic Gates at the Seattle Times and Susanna Ray at Bloomberg News.

Dominic Gates reported yesterday evening that the reason of the delay for the third 787 to ANA is wiring issues that the FAA found during a standard inspection as well as non functioning APUs in three 787s. Because the APU didn't start, tests that were to be done with the APU running had to be put off until the units were replaced. Boeing is calling these issues minor yet they were severe enough to force ANA to revise its international plans that were supposed to start this month.

It is unknown if this is a problem that is endemic through the 787s that are sitting in Everett or it is just a one off problem. Still the upshot is that the L/N will not be delivered until middle of next week and the other three airplanes that are set to be delivered have yet to fly on their pre-delivery tests with Boeing and ANA pilots. The delay which this site reported back in mid November forced ANA to postpone the start of international 787 service to next month.

Due to the pressure to deliver these four airplanes (L/N 9, L/N 31, L/N 41, L/N 42) Boeing is having some of it workers work through the holiday season which is traditionally a week off for Boeing employees. Undoubtedly they will probably be well compensated for their time. There are only three of these airplanes on the Boeing flightline though the fourth, L/N 42, is outside in front of EMC so it might be pulled out to the flightline very soon. Interestingly according to the Bloomberg article, the APU and wire issues aren't pacing the schedule. The question then is, what is pacing the delivery schedule, at least in the near term. Both articles say that Boeing feels that the issues are minor.

As of yet L/N 41 and L/N 42 have not flown and L/N 9 while it has flown still has not begun the process of Boeing and customer check flights. L/N 31 has had quite a few flights but has not flown since Wednesday, Dec. 14th. I'll be watching to see if there is any further movement on these airplanes but certainly, if the other three airplanes have not flown by middle of next week then Boeing's hopes of delivering at least four 787 this month will be dashed.

Lastly, in a related note, L/N 35 which to perform the ETOPs/F&R testing for the GEnx-1B on a 787 production frame still has not made its first flight. IF Boeing hopes to deliver the GEnx powered 787 next month they need to start flight tests on this airplane very soon or the certification and start of deliveries can slide to the right again.

Boeing to attempt 4 787 deliveries in December

According to a source, Boeing will now attempt to deliver 4 787 in the month of December instead of 2 as I had previously reported.


In addition to JA805A (L/N31,ZA116) and JA807A (L/N41, ZA104); Boeing will also try to deliver JA804A (L/N9, ZA102) and JA808A (L/N42, ZA 105).

L/N 9 has already flown as it took part in the certification test program when it conducted F&R/ETOPs testing for the 787/Trent-1000 combination. Boeing should be able to deliver this airplane though it still needs to conduct pre-delivery test flights. Of the four airplanes that are mentioned above, only L/N 31 is flying customer and Boeing pre-delivery flights. It it anticipated that this airplane should be delivered within the next one week, before Christmas time.

The other three have yet to fly and are all scheduled to be delivered just before New Year'e Eve (2011 in case you were wondering). L/N 42 was to have flown on Dec. 13th and it is still not on the flightline as of yet. L/N 41 is supposed to fly on the 16th of December.

Additionally, it was revealed that Boeing has penciled in three 787 deliveries for next month. L/N 23 (JA822J, ZA177) will be the first 787 with GEnx-1B engines delivered to a customer. This airplane has just returned from San Antonio where it was undergoing change incorporation. It has received a new paint job (which has underwhelmed the aviation geek community) though I don't know if it has its customer interiors fitted as of yet. L/N 35 (VT-ANH, ZA236) for Air India is also due to be delivered in January. This airplane is supposed to start ETOPs/F&R testing in support of the certification test program for the GEnx powered 787s. According to Flightblogger, this airplane is to have it's first flight around the middle of December so far nothing yet. Lastly, L/N 40 (JA806A, ZA117) will also be delivered to ANA in January. This aircraft is still at EMC. Nothing is certain with these three airplanes and their delivery dates are dependent on getting the work done on them as well as finishing up ETOPS and F&R testing on the GEnx powerplant.

This is quite an ambitious schedule for the next two weeks for Boeing. They are still struggling with the amount of work that has to be done on the 24 or so 787s that are in Everett. Particularly vexing is the amount of work on the early build 787s. As I had mentioned before none these early build 787s are in EMC (yet) or in 40-24. They're all stacked up on the Everett flightline. Most of the deliveries are the late build models which don't require as much work. Even so, the amount of work is so daunting that Boeing is trying hard to get the late build 787s into the air and into the hands of customers. There is a rumor going around that Boeing is pulling people off the 747-8 airplanes that have to be prepared for delivery and putting them on 787. If so then 747 deliveries might fall as a consequence. Boeing has delivered 8 thus far and are planning to deliver 1-2 more 747s.

Time is running out if Boeing is to deliver even two 787s this month let alone 4.

787 update 12/1/2011

With all the excitement over yesterday's Boeing-IAM contract extension, there wa also news about the 787 that has come out and I would like to recap here.

787-GEnx certification

Boeing is still about 95% complete with 787-GEnx-1B certification testing according to Jim Albaugh who spoke at a Credit Suisse conference in NY yesterday. Certification testing using ZA005 and ZA006 are more or less complete according to Flightblogger, in a post on Nov. 29th. Additionally, he reported that ZA006 is getting some test equipement removed pior to be sent to San Antonio for refurbishment into a customer aircraft. If the change incorporation being done on production aircraft is any indication then this work on ZA006 is likely to take quite a bit of time to complete.

Boeing has done some of the F&R testing on the test aircraft but has to do the rest on a production standard aircraft. The 787 that has been tasked for this work is L/N 35 which is a 787 to be delivered to Air India. According to Flightblogger, first flight of this airplane has been delayed to around the middle of December owing to the slower pace of change incorporation on the 787s. Because of the delay in getting the needed aircraft, delivery of the first GEnx-1B 787 has slipped to January of 2012. The first one will be delivered to Japan Airlines, probably L/N 23, ZA177 which just returned form San Antonio after undergoing change incorporation work. Just yesterday the GEnx-1B engines received it ETOPS 330 certification however both the Trent and GEnx engines in combination with the 787 airframe won't be certified for ETOPS 330 until a fix to the fuel monitoring software is implemented, tested and certified by the FAA.

ZA004 - Trent Package "B" testing

According to Guy Norris, Boeing has completed certification testing for the Trent 1000 package "B" improvements for the 787. This will allow Boeing to finally start to deliver 787 with the new Trents which bring the specific fuel consumption to within 1% of the original promised specs. Boeing had undertaken this testing using ZA004. Over the last few weeks this airplane has been flown several times a day in order to finish up all the requirements. Once the FAA has received and approved all the test data, Boeing should be able to start delivering 787s with this engine. L/N 31 will be the first 787 to be delivered with the package "B" Trent 1000 engines.

Future deliveries

The pace of deliveries is obviously being didtaced by the pace of change incorporation which is excrutiatingly slow right now. The pace has already pushed the GEnx 787 deliveries out to January as well as deliveries to Trent 1000 customers further to the right. ANA was supposed to have received 5 787 in December...it will only receive two (L/N 31 and L/N 41). Both these airplanes are Trent 1000 package "B" airplanes. There are two other ANA 787s that have their engines attached and being prepped for delivery. These are L/N 9 (ZA102, JA804A) which was just pulled out to the Everett fuel dock and L/N 42 (ZA105, JA808A) which is still in front of the EMC.

These airplanes are not due to be delivered until after January 1st but there are now more 787s appearing on the flightline in preparation for delivery which is a good sign but on the flip side most of the aircraft that are out on the flightline are very early build airplanes that need extensive re-work done before they can be delivered to customer. Just to get these 11 airplanes (L/N 7 to L/N 19) done would probably take a good 2 years. Most of the deliveries will come from the late builds, particularly L/N 30 on up.

Production and Ramp Up

Jim Albaugh gave a nice update on the status of 787 production and ramp up. Currently they are are still at producing at 2.5 787 per month with the aim of ramping to 3.5 by around March or April and then to 5 by the end of 2012. Boeing is still maintaining it guidance of 10 787s per month by the end of 2013.

Albaugh had very good things to report about the North Charleston plant. The first aircraft from that line should deliver before June of 2012. The plant is capable of producing 2.5 787 per month right now. Boeing has now opened up the delivery center as well as the 787 interiors fabrication plant to supply bins, partitions, crew rest areas, etc. for the Charleston built 787s.

Test Flight Fleet

Now that test flights are nearing the end (at least for the 787-8), Boeing is starting to make plans for the first three airplanes built. ZA004-ZA006 will be refurbished and sold to customers (BBJ). Boeing has flown ZA001, the first 787, to Palmdale Airport where it will be in storage until they figure out which museum to house it in. Likely candidates are the Museum of Flight in Seattle or the Future of Flight museum in Everett though I wouldn't count out the NASM (National Air and Space Museum) in Virginia out. ZA002 is going to be in Charleston, SC for some time for testing purposes but its long term fate is unclear. ZA003 is due to start a 6 month tour of the 787 on December 5th. First stop is China an other Asian and African countries whose airlines have bought the 787. After the tour is completed the aircraft's long term fate is also undecided. No doubt there would be some testing to be done, particularly on engine and airframe improvements to lower weight and increase fuel efficiency and reduce the noise footprint. This is why ZA002 and ZA003 will probably held by Boeing for the foreseeable future to serve as test beds for these improvements.

More flying and more movements

Boeing continues to fly the 787 test flight fleet aggressively as it attempts to certify the Roll Royce Trent 1000 powered 787 by the end of November for delivery in December to ANA. Thus far the test flight hours are over 1,400 hours with the half way mark (1,550 hours) in sight. I project that Boeing should be at the half way mark by mid August if not earlier. They still need to be very aggressive with the test flights in order to get to the certification goal by late November which is less than four months away. The Rolls Royce powered fleet has amassed over 1,300 flight hours (they are targeting 2,430 hours). The sole GE powered aircraft has also been flying quite a bit in order to get the GEnx-1B powered airplanes into customer hands in early 2011. The majority of 787 customers, thus far, have elected the GEnx-1B engines on the 787. ZA005 has racked up just under 110 flight hours. ZA006 is not expected to join the test flight program until early September. It should be rolled out to the flight line in about 1 week (August 9th is what I'm hearing) where it will undergo preflight ground testing. Sources confirmed that ZA006 is still inside ATS Hangar 3.

Production has slowed a bit though. ZA231 was supposed to have started final assembly in late July is now pushed back to August 9th. Meanwhile ZA103 emerged from the temporary tent hangar on the Boeing flightline and was taken to the ATS Hangar to presumably finish up reassembly tasks. ZA104 has been moved into the spot just vacated ZA103 and is starting it's side of body modifications. ZA115 was taken out of the ATS Hangar and is now on the Boeing flightline with many of the other 787s for ANA. Boeing will be slowing down assembly activities in September to allow the supply chain to catch up and reduce travelled work flowing into Everett.

September should bring some changes though with ZA004 expected to receive improved Trent-1000 (the "package B") with better fuel burn. That would take ZA004 out of flight test for some time while they install and ground test the engines on the aircraft. I would expect that the first production 787s should start getting their engines and interiors around October-November time frame and start flight tests soon after that.

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

787 Update - January 10, 2010

Yesterday another flight test 787 showed up on the Everett ramp being prepared for it's first flight. Sources tell me that this aircraft is ZA004 but a registration has not yet shown up on it's side.

ZA003 should show up very soon on the Everett ramp as well very soon to start it's preparations for first flight.

Both ZA003 and ZA004 are projected to have their first flights in the first week of February.

Additionally, Matt Cawby reported on his blog that the fatigue test air frame is very close to finishing its side of body modifications and should be moved to the fatigue test area around January 30th to start 3 years of fatigue testing. It will be moved out of the temporary hangar that is on the Boeing flight line.

Matt Cawby's January 9, 2010 Blog Update

Flightblogger got a great article up on the production challenges that the 787 still faces now that the aircraft has entered test flights. Thus far Boeing has completely assembled 1 complete 787s (LN 1 through LN 11) plus two test air frames (ZY997 and ZY998). Currently there are 4 aircraft undergoing final assembly (LN 12 through LN 15) and parts of LN 16 are just starting to arrive in Everett. Flightblogger is reporting that Boeing planes to start increasing production on the 787 round mid February.

Flightblogger: Dreamliner Production Challenges Lie Ahead

Finally through today, January 10, 2010, the 787 test fleet has accumulated over 45 and half hours test flight hours. Also today, Za001 flew the longest 787 test flight thus far at 5 hours and 48 minutes. You can track the 787 flight test hours by going to this spreadsheet here.

Where are the 787s in the New Year?

Future of Flight Photo

Now that the 787 flight test program is well underway, let's update where the fleet is.

LN1 (ZA001) Boeing Flight Test Center, Boeing Field - in flight test
LN2 (ZA002) Boeing Flight Test Center, Boeing Field - in flight test
LN 3 (ZA003) Boeing Paint Hangar, Paine Field (completed Side of Body modifications undergoing fuel tank aqueous wash and painting)
LN 4 (ZA004) Building 40-24, Paine Field (Completed Side of Body modifications, undergoing reassembly after fuel tank aqueous wash and painting)
LN 5 (ZA005) In ATS Hangar
LN 6 (ZA006) In ATS Hangar
LN 7 (ZA100) Boeing Everett Flightline awaiting side of body modification
LN 8 (ZA101) Boeing Everett Flightline awaiting side of body modification
LN 9 (ZA102) Boeing Everett Flightline awaiting side of body modification
LN 10 (ZA103) Building 40-24, Paine Field awaiting side of body modification
LN 11 (ZA104) Building 40-26, position 4 undergoing final assembly
LN 12 (ZA105) Building 40-26, position 3 undergoing final assembly
LN 13 (ZA115) Building 40-26, position 2 undergoing final assembly
LN 14 (ZA116) Building 40-26, position 1 undergoing final assembly
LN 15 (ZA117) Building 40-26, position 0 parts arriving in preparation for Final Assembly

End of the long road for the 787

Tomorrow, weather permitting, the 787 will end an a very long and painful road to first flight. I'll try to keep tabs tomorrow on progress of the weather as it relates to first flight.

Boeing will stream the 787 first flight live on it's web site as well as the newairplane.com web site. But in the meantime, Randy Tinseth, speaking for Boeing on his blog says:

Let's Go!

Great sentiment that is obviously shared! In the meantime Flightblogger has put up a new post describing, in excellent detail, the taxi tests that occurred on Saturday as well as the progress to date as well as a second post describing the test flight regime that ZA001 will be undertaking over the next few months. ZA001 apparently has been fueled for it's first flight.

Read Flightblogger's reports:

Better Know a Dreamliner - Part One - ZA001

ZA001 stretches its legs

Additionally, ZA002 (Dreamliner 2) is progressing towards it's first flight with gear swing tests.

Liz Matzelle captured some great video of this gear swing test:

ZA002 Gear Swing Tests from Liz Matzelle on Vimeo.

Dreamliner 9 is heading to the paint shop at Everett. LN 10 through LN 13, as far as I know, are still in building 40-26 going through final assembly. ZA003 is also going through preps and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this airplane flying next month.

Finally, Aviation Week has a whole section devoted to the 787 first flight as well as featured blog post from Guy Norris and Mike Mecham.

Aviation Week's Boeing 787 First Flight Special Report

787 Countdown to first flight (resumed) Part 7

It's official: 787's First Flight is Tuesday

Boeing Sets Long-Awaited 787 First Flight

Flightblogger: 787 Fleet location

UPDATE (11/22/2009): ZA002 has been moved out to the Everett flightline and it seems that all the wing to body fairings have been reinstalled indicating that reassembly tasks maybe complete. See a picture of the Everett flight line by clicking here.

Flightblogger posted a great summary of where all the 787s are and the status of each aircraft

ZA001/LN1 : In paint hangar undergoing reassembly and should move to building 40-24 (767 line) this weekend to complete those reassembly tasks

ZA002/LN2 : Finish modifications and is in building 40-24 for reassembly tasks

ZA003/LN3 : In building 40-24 under going side of body modifications

ZA004/LN4 : At the ATS Hanger under going side of body modifications

ZA005/LN5 : On the Everett flightline awaiting it's turn for side of body modification

ZA006/LN6 : On the Everett flightline awaiting it's turn for side of body modification

ZA100/LN7 : On the Everett flightline awaiting it's turn for side of body modification

ZA101/LN8 : On the Everett flightline awaiting it's turn for side of body modification

ZA102/LN9 : At the ATS Hangar awaiting it's turn for side of body modification

ZA103/LN10 : In building 40-26 undergoing final assembly

ZA104/LN11 : In building 40-26 undergoing final assembly

ZA105/LN12 : In building 40-26 undergoing final assembly

ZA115/LN13 : In building 40-26 undergoing final assembly

ZA116/LN14 : Parts are arriving (horizontal stab and wings in da house)

Flightblogger : Getting Oriented

Flightblogger 787 Update

Well now that we've reached the end of the third quarter, Flightblogger Jon Ostrower has but up a 787 update reviewing some of the happenings in the 787 program. Here's a bulleted synopsis:

• James Albaugh visited Boeing Charleston. There is talk of Boeing applying for permits to start clearing land for the 2nd assembly line facility. This comes right on top of Washington's State proposal to Boeing to keep the 2nd line in Everett. Also there seems to be some surveying and construction equipment at the Charleston site.
• Flightblogger made a correction regarding when the first 787-9 while be produced. Earlier he said it would be the 109th airframe to come off the line (LN 109). It will actually be the 139th airframe according to the latest production schedule.
• Well the 787 backlog is shrinking but because customers are cancelling. The latest is TUI which cancelled 10 787-8 but took purchase rights on 13 air frames. Whoop Dee Doo. Flightblogger also lists out the threats to the 787 backlog from other airlines considering cancelling their orders. It's a very dangerous time for the 787. They need to get it the air real soon.
• Production - Dreamliner 11 sections should all be in be earlier next week allowing the 787 line to move forward. The wings for Dreamliner 12 will be bought in early next week and ZA100 (LN7) will be moved out to the paint hangar to get an aqueous wash and paint job. It will not have the side of body fix installed. That will be done later but there is access to the areas of the wing and fuselage in order to install the fix. Dreamliner 11 will start final assembly later next week.

Flightblogger 787 News

Flightblogger: Fix installation to start next week

Flightblogger is citing program sources as saying that Boeing will start installing the side of body reinforcement fix for ZY997 and ZA001 next week. The fix should take about a month to complete meaning that ZA001 should reemerge from the Boeing paint hangar around mid to late October. Modifying each aircraft takes about three months but that time includes the time needed to prep each aircraft to receive the modification and to remove the necessary panels and gain access to the areas where the work crews will install the parts. The actual parts installation should take about a month.

ZY997 is receiving the fix concurrently with ZA001 will undergo the same wing stress test that had revealed the problem in the first place. This is to ensure that the modifications work as modelled on Boeing's 787 FEM. Once the fix is validated then ZA001 should be cleared to undertake high speed taxi tests and rejected take off tests prior to first flight.

Lastly, Flightblogger says that Boeing is about to start final assembly on ZA104 (LN10) which is the 4th production 787. The 787 line in building 40-26 should pulse today clearing the way for ZA104 to be moved into position 1 on the assembly line. That means that ZA100 will be in position 4, ZA101 will be moved to position 3 and ZA102 will be moved to position 2.

Look for the other test flight 787s to also have the modification installed in them over the next couple of months. Timing is still yet unknown.

Flightblogger: 787 fix installation to start next week