French Newspaper: Forgtten tool in P100 sparked fire

Ok, I'm not sure how credible this report is but in light of Scott Hamilton's report that FOD was the culprit of the fire, there is now this from the French newspaper "Le Figaro". The article refers to a report in another French newspaper "La Tribune" about a tool being left in the panel. Click HERE to access the article in French. Click HERE for the artice in La Tribune. Below is a translation using Google Translation fro the article in Le Figaro:

A foreign body may have triggered the fire that broke out Nov. 9 on a test flight of a Boeing 787, forcing since the American manufacturer to suspend his campaign test flight within 3 months delivery date official said Monday The Tribune.

"A tool, forgotten in a cabinet (which is software components, ie), has caused a short circuit," according to comments from industry sources reported by the daily La Tribune.

However, this would not have such consequences, notes the newspaper, noting that the entire power distribution system is at stake.

The Tribune added that several manufacturers are involved, including French Zodiac, one of the subcontractors of the American Hamilton, supervisor of the electricity distribution and Boeing aircraft, Specifications and controls.

And translation of the La Tribune article:

Incredible as it may seem, it is a forgotten tool in a cabinet that is at the origin of the fire on 9 November that forced Boeing to halt flight testing of the B787. Although detected, the anomaly still poses problems for engineers who need to understand how to prevent it from reproducing. Among the subcontractors in the crosshairs: French Zodiac.

FOD for "foreign object damage" or damage caused by foreign body. That, according to several industry sources, the triggering element of the fire that broke out Nov. 9 on a test flight of a Boeing 787, forcing since the manufacturer to suspend its test campaign flight three months after the first delivery to All Nippon Airways. "A tool, forgotten in a cabinet (which is software, components ..., ed) caused a short circuit," says Will we at The Tribune.

However, this should not have such consequences. Because the whole system of power distribution, a crucial point in the plane, which is involved. "For security, everything is redundant in a plane. But the blackout that occurred in the first cabinet spread to the second, and the aircraft had to use emergency power management to ask, "say the sources. This is a small wind turbine (called the rate) that is located on the fuselage and a small generator supplying emergency power for the aircraft to land.

Several manufacturers are involved in this can of worms. Including French Zodiac one of the subcontractors of the American Hamilton (subsidiary of United Technologies), supervisor of distribution of electricity in the air, and of course Boeing, Specifications and controls. The French equipment provides such components in the cabinet. Hamilton provides other. "However, you can not blame anyone for now, says one industry, as more than a problem of quality of play is a problem in the logic of management of the electrical system since the breakdown spread. "

Nevertheless, the results of races may be final. The Boeing 787 was headed straight for seventh behind. It is even a certainty for the highly respected Steven Udvar-Hazy, head of aircraft lessor Air Lease Corporation. "If changes are needed on some software, it will take time and aircraft deliveries will be postponed," said a French industrialist. Morgan Stanley, such a scenario could shift the first deliveries of the aircraft at 2012. They were laid in 2008, when launching the program in 2004.

ZA004 did make the ferry flight to Everett yesterday though ZA003 has not returned to Boeing Field as of yet but Guy Norris is reporting that ZA002 being prepped for a return flight back to Boeing Field though no date has been set. Additionally, ZA001 is now entering a lay up period for maintenance with ZA004.

Guy Norris: 787 ZA004 returns to Everett

Guy Norris: Another brief 787 flight

Guy Norris says that two 787s will fly briefly on Saturday, Nov. 20th. ZA003 will fly from Everett to Boeing Field while ZA004 will fly in the opposite direction going to Everett from Boeing Field.

ZA004 will be going to Everett to get some routine maintenance accomplished. This maintenance work was preplanned. ZA003 is expected to resume ground tests at Boeing Field. ZA001, ZA005 and ZA006 are also conducting ground tests until they all can have clearance to resume test flights.

Lastly, ZA102 which is the first production 787 to fly will be rolled out of 40-24 around the end of the month according to Guy. It would be fitted with the package "A" Trent 1000 engines and is schedule to fly in December depending on what happens with the fire investigation. Even if it doesn't fly it could still conduct ground test as well as taxi tests.

Guy Norris: 787 to fly again (briefly) on Saturday

Another 787 delay prediction, Scott Hamilton says 4 to 6 months

Aviation analyst, Scott Hamilton, is predicting a 4 to 6 month delay in delivering the 787 to customers. He is saying that the cause of the fire is being narrowed down and that it could be an instance of FOD (foreign object damage) that started the fire in the P100 power panel. The fires was not related to any testing activity

Still the panel and the electrical system would need to be redesigned but Boeing has a good handle on the scope of the work to be done. Additionally, Boeing is working with the FAA in order to resume flight testing while using a work around the panel issue and at the same time undertake the redesign of the the panel.

Scott Hamilton: Our 787 forecast: 4 - 6 month delay

FOD does seem (at this point) logical for the following reason: during the two plus years that the 787 first flight was delayed, Boeing and Hamilton Sundstrand had thoroughly tested the electrical system including the P100 panel in the Boeing systems lab in Seattle. There was no known occurrence of fire during those tests. As such because of the delays, many of the 787 systems have been thoroughly tested and are considered mature systems. Any issues that were uncovered during that time would have been corrected by now.

ATW: Boeing to announce 7th 787 delay

According to Geoffrey Thomas of Air Transport World, Boeing is getting ready to announce another delivery delay of possibly up to 9 months. Geoffrey also cites QANTAS engineering insiders that there is a significant (he did not elaborate) problem.

As I mentioned, the FAA is really the determinant of when the 787 will return to flight and be certified. At the time of the fire, I estimate that Boeing had about two and half to three months of flight testing to be completed. If this still holds then it's possible that the 787s could return to flight testing in about 6 months with delivery about 3 months later. This puts a projected first delivery date to about mid to late third quarter of 2011. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Boeing will announce a new first delivery date of mid fourth quarter 2011. They will need some time to digest the data from the flight testing that has been done; produce the required engineering changes and incorporate the changes into the 787s that have been built.

Geoffrey Thomas: Boeing reportedly set to announce another 787 delay

Despite another delay, I expect that Boeing will continue to produce 787s and get them ready for delivery. As had been mentioned in the past postings, Boeing has significant rework to do on the 787s that have been built. Another delay will give them some breathing room to get that rework done. They will have more rework to do after the test flight fleet returns to the air and other issues are revealed that would require changes to be made on the production 787s. The continued production of 787 that are undelivered presents Boeing with another problem: where to put park all those 787s. Already Boeing is squeezing them into spots near the Future of Flight Museum as well as the the apron in front of the Boeing assembly building and has set aside spots near the Everett ATC Tower to park even more 787s. But if there is another delay where can Boeing park all those new built 787s especially as they attempt to ramp up production next year? Mind you that the Boeing Everett ramp will be full of 777, 747-8, and 787s. There is the potential of additional stalls to the south of the Boeing plant, as well as the ATS Hangar which Boeing is renting currently. Boeing can possibly rent the ramp space in front of the ATS hangar. Boeing can also use building 40-23 which was used for the static testing of the 787 fuselage. That fuselage is due to be removed as is the test equipment that was installed for the static testing.

According to sources, Boeing is looking into increasing the 777 production rate to 8 to 10 per month from the current 5.5 per month. Boeing would utilize 40-23 for additional 777 assembly space. However, with the current issues in the 787 program, that space might be better served, in the short run, to store production 787 as well as an enclosed space to do rework on the 787s. Hopefully many of the questions will be answered in the next few days.

What will drive another 787 delivery delay?

Morgan Stanley equity analyst, Heidi Wood, raised the spectre of additional delays to delivering the 787 to customers by trying to read between the lines of Boeing's latest statement that they released on Nov. 16th.

In my opinion, trying to read into something that is or isn't in a press release does smack of grasping at anything for information.

Is there a possibility of a delay?

Yes, a very real one. The fire was serious and had exposed some shortcomings in some of the systems that distribute electrical power through out the aircraft. No one knows what the problem is...yet. How long to fix it will be determined by the root cause of the fire, the fixes that needed to be implemented, and how to make sure that the insulation does not catch fire under any circumstance.

All that can be rectified but the driver of any delays won't be how long it'll take to fix any issues but the driver will be the FAA and any demands they place on Boeing to demonstrate that the power panels are safe and that there is very limited chance of fire in the aft bay and if there is a fire, that it is contained and doesn't damage any other vital systems. The other factor that Boeing will need to demonstrate (or re-demonstrate) is that the redundancies work as advertised. Boeing seemed to have been saying this yesterday though Heidi Woods was casting doubt about that in her research note.

When will the 787 return to flight? Only god and the FAA knows but we have to wait to hear the final results of the investigation before any educated judgement is rendered by those outside of the 787 program and the FAA.

ZA002 News - ZA001 and ZA005 to fly back to Boeing Field

Boeing released a statement this morning updating the media on the fire on board ZA002 and giving some immediate plans. First off, the two 787s that are not at Boeing Field, ZA001 and ZA004 will be flown back to Boeing Field. Currently ZA001 is at Rapid City, SD where it was being re-fueled for a return to Boeing Field when the fire took place. Boeing elected to ground the airplane after the incident. ZA005 has been at Victorville, CA. for a few weeks undertaking NAMS (nautical air mile testing). It too will be flown back to Boeing Field today. Boeing cleared the flights with the FAA and no testing will be undertaken on these ferry flights to Seattle. The other 787s are already at Boeing Field except for ZA002 which is being repaired and ZA003 which is at Everett for ground tests.

On ZA002, Boeing has completed its inspection but not its investigation. They've collected all the data and have begun repairs to the aircraft. There was a some structural damage which Boeing says will be repaired using standard repair techniques that they have developed for the composites on the 787. The repair team will also replace the insulation and the failed power module.

Boeing has not yet established a timeline to complete the repairs or for when test flights will resume. They say they are getting closer to a root cause of the fire but have not yet shared this knowledge.

Boeing said the entire incident lasted only 90 seconds and the fire lasted 30 seconds. Boeing also said that the redundancies allowed the airplane to conclude the flight in a configuration that would have enabled it to fly to a diversion airport if the airplane was flying a typical revenue flight. The meaning of that statement is that the airplane systems worked as advertised (other than the failed power panel) and the safety systems and redundancies made sure that the airplane concluded the flight safely. This would have been the case if the airplane was over the middle of the Atlantic at 40,000 feet.

A local Seattle TV news station said that the pilots didn't declare an emergency until AFTER the 787 had landed in Laredo. It had been widely assumed that the emergency was declared while the airplane was on final approach into the airport.

King 5: Pilots Declared Fire Emergency after 787 landed

In light of the fire, the FAA has stopped certification activities except for ground tests. How long this suspension will last will depend on the nature of the incident and Boeing's ability to demonstrate that they have a fix and that it will not occur again.

FAA Hits Brakes on 787 Certification

Guy Norris has a posting on today news:

Guy Norris: 787 will today - briefly

Here's Boeing's statement:

Two Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Return to Seattle; Laredo Investigation Continues

EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- While the investigation into the incident onboard 787 Dreamliner ZA002 continues, Boeing has established a plan to fly two other aircraft, ZA001 and ZA005, back to Seattle from Rapid City, S.D., and Victorville, Calif. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has reviewed and approved the plans.

ZA001 was undergoing refueling in South Dakota when the incident on ZA002 occurred and the company decided to forgo additional flights. ZA005 was on remote deployment for testing in California.

The flights follow a series of inspections on the airplanes' aft electronics bays. No testing will be performed on the flights.

The team investigating the incident in Laredo has developed a detailed understanding of the ZA002 incident, though more work remains to complete the investigation. In addition to the information already released about the incident, data show that:

The total duration of the incident was less than 90 seconds.
The fire lasted less than 30 seconds.
The airplane concluded the event in a configuration that could have been sustained for the time required to return to an airport suitable for landing from any point in a typical 787 mission profile.


The team in Texas has completed inspection of ZA002 and has begun to
prepare to install a new power panel and new insulation material. The team also is repairing minor structural damage that occurred during the event. This damage will be addressed with standard repair techniques in the airplane structural repair manual. The team is currently evaluating the timeline for completion of the repair work.

The incident on ZA002 demonstrated many aspects of the safety and redundancy in the 787 design, which ensure that if events such as these occur, the airplane can continue safe flight and landing.

No decision has been reached on when flight testing of the 787 will resume. Before
that decision can be made, we must complete the investigation and assess whether any design changes are necessary. Until that time, Boeing cannot comment on the potential impact of this incident on the overall program schedule.

787 production continues

Meanwhile there will be line move in the 787 final assembly building today with the 26th 787 (ZA231) for Air India moving to the paint hangar at Everett.
The first 787 for Air India (ZA230) made it's first appearance being towed to the Boeing flightline at Everett. Flightblogger posted photos of the aircraft being towed to the flightline from the paint hangar. The line move makes room for the 30th 787 (ZA234) to start final assembly. The next 787 to enter final assembly after that will be ZA117 for ANA on Dec. 1st...two weeks from now.

Boeing releases more information on ZA002

Boeing came out what now seems like daily updates on their investigation into the fire about ZA002. Boeing is saying that the P100 panel that apparently started the fire in the electronics bay by setting an insulation blanket on fire. Boeing has removed the faulty unit and is sending a replacement unit to be installed in Laredo.

Boeing also states that while there is significant damage to the P100 unit, there doesn't seem to be much damage to the surrounding area or systems. Their investigation is still preliminary so there may be changes in this assessment as the investigation progresses. Boeing stated that they did find molten metal (aluminum according to Flightblogger) near the P100 panel but this was to be expected in light of the fire that took place. Boeing still stresses that their investigation of the area around the P100 panel including the composite fuselage is not completed yet and will take a few more days. They are also trying to assess repair time and plans as well as plans to return the test flight fleet to the air.

Here is Boeing's press release:

Updated Boeing Statement on 787 Dreamliner ZA002 Incident

EVERETT, Wash., November 11, 2010 - Boeing continues to investigate Monday's incident on ZA002. We have determined that a failure in the P100 panel led to a fire
involving an insulation blanket. The insulation self-extinguished once the fault in the P100 panel cleared. The P100 panel on ZA002 has been removed and a
replacement unit is being shipped to Laredo. The insulation material near the
unit also has been removed.

Damage to the ZA002 P100 panel is significant. Initial inspections, however, do not show extensive damage to the surrounding structure or other systems. We have not completed our inspections of that area of the airplane.

The P100 panel is one of several power panels in the aft electronics bay. It receives power from the left engine and distributes it to an array of systems. In the event of a failure of the P100 panel, back-up power sources - including power from the right engine, the Ram Air Turbine, the auxiliary power unit or the battery - are designed to automatically engage to ensure that those systems needed for continued safe operation of the airplane are powered. The backup systems engaged during the incident and the crew retained positive control of the airplane at all times and had the information it needed to perform a safe landing.

Molten metal has been observed near the P100 panel, which is not unexpected in the presence of high heat. The presence of this material does not reveal anything meaningful to the investigation.

Inspection of the surrounding area will take several days and is ongoing. It is too early to determine if there is significant damage to any structure or adjacent systems.

As part of our investigation, we will conduct a detailed inspection of the panel and insulation material to determine if they enhance our understanding of the incident.
We continue to evaluate data to understand this incident. At the same time, we are working through a repair plan. In addition, we are determining the appropriate steps required to return the rest of the flight test fleet to flying status.

Boeing will continue to provide updates as new understanding is gained.

Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times has a very detailed report up as well. In it he says that he has access to Boeing photos showing the damage to the P100 unit including damage to the contactors within the unit which close and open circuits when power is needed. Dominic also said that the insulation blanket which caught fire was placed between the P100 unit and the composite fuselage skin. Once the pilots cut power to P100 (which is on the left side of the airplane), the P200 unit which is on the right side of the airplane provided power as did the aircraft's APU (auxiliary power unit) and RAT. This is why the aircraft was able to land safely with power.

You can read Dominic's article below:

Dominic Gates: Boeing photos show damage to key 787 electrical components

Additionally, Flightblogger has posted his update as well:

Flightblogger: A Closer Look: 787 fire investigation points to P100 power panel

I've added Guy Norris' report that he put out this morning:

Guy Norris: 787 - new detail of fire and damage on ZA002

Boeing Updates ZA002 incident investigation

Boeing just put out a press release that give us our first view as to what MAY have been the problem. Boeing is saying that a power control panel in the aft electronics bay will need to be replaced. This doesn't necessarily mean that the power control panel was the cause of the fire. That determination will have to wait until the investigative team has completed it's analysis of the data from ZA002. Boeing is indicating that this may take a few days. It's safe to assume that the 787 test fleet will continue to be on the ground until that time at the very least....perhaps longer if modifications have to be made in some of the systems that have found to cause the fire.

Boeing obviously will not say anything about possible impact to the schedule until the investigation is complete and fixes have been identified. Ground testing will continue on the airplanes while the investigation is on going.

Also Flightblogger has had made several updates with regards to ZA002. You can read them here:

Flightblogger: Flash: 787 test fleet grounded after electrical fire

Here's Boeing's Press Release:

Update on Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA002 Incident

EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- During approach to Laredo,Texas, yesterday, airplane ZA002 lost primary electrical power as a result of an onboard electrical fire. Backup systems, including the deployment of the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), functioned as expected and allowed the crew to complete a safe landing. The cause of the fire is still under investigation by Boeing.

The pilots executed a safe landing and at all times had positive control of the airplane and all of the information necessary to perform that safe landing.

Initial inspection appears to indicate that a power control panel in the aft electronics bay will need to be replaced on ZA002. We are inspecting the power panel and surrounding area near that panel to determine if other repairs will be necessary.

We have retrieved flight data from the airplane and are analyzing it in Seattle. This process will take several days. We are committed to finding the cause quickly but will not rush the technical team in its efforts.

The team was conducting monitoring of the Nitrogen Generation System at the time of the incident but there is no reason to suspect that the monitoring or earlier testing of that system had anything to do with the incident.

Consistent with our internal processes, until we better understand the cause of the incident on ZA002, we have decided to postpone flight test activities on other airplanes. Ground test activities will be conducted until flight test resumes.

Likewise, we cannot determine the impact of this event on the overall program schedule until we have worked our way through the data. Teams have been working through the night and will continue to work until analysis is complete and a path forward is determined.

ZA002 news

There is not too much to add though unsurprisingly Boeing has decided to suspend 787 test flights until they find the root cause of thee fire and implement a fix. How long and what impact that will have is unknown but data from the airplane has been sent to Seattle for analysis.

I anticipate that they would be able to narrow down the cause of the fire in a fairly short amount of time but we shall see. Flightblogger posted that all test flights are off until Thursday at the earliest and the test flight airplanes will conduct ground tests. Guy Norris also put up a detailed post about the disposition of the test flight fleet and what ground tests they will be conducting. Lastly, Dominic Gates has an excellent recap of yesterday's events.

Boeing was in midst of aggressively test flying the 787s over the past month and was on track to post high utilization rate of the test flight fleet as well as posting higher flight test hours month over month. This incident no doubt slows them down.



Boeing spokesperson, Lori Gunter sent out the following release, what is interesting is that the aircraft did not lose primary flight display:

In regards to requests for additional information regarding the incident on
ZA002 in Laredo, TX, today, Boeing can confirm the following:

* ZA002 departed from Yuma, AZ, bound for Laredo, TX. - 42 crew members were
on board the airplane in support of the flight test program.
* One minor injury occurred during the evacuation. That crew member has since cleared medical approval and has left the medical facilities.
* During the flight from Yuma, the crew was conducting a test to monitor the efficiency of the Nitrogen Generation System. - During the event, the crew was collecting system performance data and no additional testing was being performed.
* Contrary to some reports, the pilot did not lose primary flight displays.
* Data from the airplane is being transported from Texas to Seattle so that our experts can understand what happened prior to, during and after the event. This will take some time to accomplish. Until that is completed, we cannot offer further information regarding the event.

Update: ZA002 had fire in aft electric bay

So what do we know:

ZA002 was flying a test flight to test the NGS system on a 6 plus hour flight that was to terminate at Valley Airport in Harlingen, Tx. As the flight was preparing to land a fire broke out in the aft electronics bay under the passenger cabin. The fire had knocked out the auto throttle and the primary flight displays. The Ram Air Turbine (RAT) was then deployed to provide power to control the aircraft. After the aircraft landed in Laredo, the pilot deployed the emergency slides and the 30-40 people who were on board evacuated with 1 possible slightly injured.

Obviously it is too early to tell what had happened and what equipment was the cause of the fire as well as how long it will take to repair the aircraft and get it back in to the test flight program. Obviously, it is also too early to tell what impact this will have on the flight test program though I do anticipate that it will have an impact. It is worth noting that 787s were still flying after this incident though it is possible that Boeing did not know the severity of the problem until well after the test flights had landed. ZA001 flew from Boeing Field to Rapid City, SD and was to continue with more test flights but did not. ZA004 also flew out of Boeing Field and was to fly to Rapid City but was diverted back to Boeing Field. ZA005 was flying over the Pacific on what was to be a 10 - 11 hour NAMS test flight. It landed about 4 hours ago well short of that goal. Clearly it seems that Boeing may be grounding, temporarily, the 787 test flight fleet until they know what happened and what corrective measures have to be taken. It is known if the fire originated in flight test equipment or on one of the 787 systems. Hamilton Sundstrand is assisting Boeing with the investigation. My feeling it may have originated in one of the 787s systems. However, Guy Norris of Aviation Week is saying that only ZA002 is being taken out of service

Concerns:
A major concern was the fire knocked out power to the flight displays and the auto throttle. Because the aircraft is an all electric architecture instead of the traditional hydraulic/pneumatic systems this incident may raise concerns.

I will update this story as I learn more.

I've linked to the other usual suspects who are reporting on this story:

Flightblogger: Smoke in ZA002's cabin forces evacuation

Guy Norris: 787 grounded after smoke in cabin

Dominic Gates: Electrical fire forces emergency landing of 787 test plane

Aubrey Cohen: Boeing 787 lands with smoke in cabin, crew evacuates

Breaking: ZA002 experiences smoke in main cabin

During a test flight this afternoon, the 2nd test 787, ZA002 experienced smoke conditions in the main cabin as it was getting ready to land at Valley Airport in South Texas. The aircraft immediately diverted to Laredo, Texas where the crew and engineers on board evacuated the aircraft. Boeing is currently investigating the incident.

The incident does not seem to have stopped the other 787 test flight activities but that doesn't mean they won't be affected at a later date.

More on this as it develops.

Rolls Royce Issues statement on the Trent 900 incident

Below is RR's statement regarding the Trent 900 failure on QF32. The main takeaway is that the failure on flight 32 is unrelated to the failure of the Trent 1000 in early August.

Trent 900 statement
Monday, 8 November 2010

Rolls-Royce has made progress in understanding the cause of the engine failure on the Trent 900 powered A380 Qantas flight QF32 on 4 November 2010. It is now clear this incident is specific to the Trent 900 engine.

As a result, a series of checks and inspections has been agreed with Airbus, with operators of the Trent 900 powered A380 and with the airworthiness authorities. These are being progressively completed which is allowing a resumption of operation of aircraft in full compliance with all safety standards. We are working in close cooperation with Airbus, our customers and the authorities, and as always safety remains our highest priority.

We can be certain that the separate Trent 1000 event which occurred in August 2010 on a test bed in Derby is unconnected. This incident happened during a development programme with an engine operating outside normal parameters. We understand the cause and a solution has been implemented.

The Trent 900 incident is the first of its kind to occur on a large civil Rolls-Royce engine since 1994. Since then Rolls-Royce has accumulated 142 million hours of flight on Trent and RB211 engines.

We will provide a further update with our interim management statement on 12 November 2010.

787 and 747-8I news - November 7, 2010

Last week was an eventful week for the 787 program with the Rolls Royce Trent 900 engine issue raising questions about the design of the Trent 1000 and if there is a larger problem that could affect first delivery.

The August 2nd failure of the Trent 1000 engine on a test stand in Derby was a major factor of the latest 787 delay no matter what anyone else would tell you. Last weeks incident on QF32 with the Trent 900 engine highlighted the potential human cost of an uncontained engine failure. Part of the engine had damaged the wing of the A380 and if the pieces had penetrated the wing fuel tank, it would have most certainly lead to the loss of the aircraft and all on board. The potential lost of QF32 would have been the third worst air disaster ever given the number of souls aboard the airplane.

This incident also underscored Boeing's decision to delay the 787 delivery to ANA (to be equipped with the Trent 1000) to mid February. Now Rolls says they have a hardware and software fix but in light of what happened last week, Rolls Royce has a lot of explaining and soul searching to do. They have to convince the airline industry and the airframe manufacturers that their products are safe. Recent events have thrown much light on their products. Rolls Royce is hurting and I do direct you this this article HERE to get a real good read out on the potential problems that the uncontained failures of the Trent 1000 and Trent 900 engines have for Rolls. Finally, Boeing is not going to be helped by Pratt and Whitney's lawsuit against Rolls Royce for patent infringements. The lawsuits aims to prevent Rolls Royce from delivering any Trent 1000 engines to Boeing and the 787 program. If this goes through Boeing and its customers who ordered the Trent's will be in a very tough spot.

Boeing still has issues with the 787 that they have to grapple with out the Rolls Royce issue and that issue is the travelled work and all the rework that the assembled 787s have to have before they are delivered to customers. Boeing is still mum on the number of 787s that they will deliver next year but there has been press reports that there would be 10 month delay to some deliveries, notably to Air India and Korean Air. Boeing has come out forcefully in the light of those press reports to say that their isn't an further delay beyond those that they have already announced and that the media that originated the newest story was using information that Boeing had released two months ago. The verdict: Boeing is still sticking with the mid 1st quarter 2011 for first delivery but beyond that Boeing has not made any announcement of the pace of deliveries after the first airplane is in ANA's hands.

Air India has come out and said that they are expecting their first 787 in June 2011 which is in line with past reports. Still we will still have to see how the pace of rework goes after the completion of the flight test program in order to better gauge the delivery schedule of the 787s.

Meanwhile, Flightblogger reported the resumption of 787 part deliveries into Everett with the arrival of the wing set for the 31st 787 (ZA117 for ANA). There was a line move late last week where LN 25 (ZA230 for Air India) was moved to the paint hangar allowing ZA233 (also for Air India) to be loaded into the final body join spot.

Flightblogger: Boeing restarts 787 deliveries with arrival of wings for Airplane 31



Flight test activities continued this past weekend with the Boeing test flight fleet logging about 60 flight test hours over the last three days (Nov. 5 - Nov. 7). Some of the milestones include the 787/Trent 1000 fleet surpassing 2,000 flight test hours, the 6 test flight airplanes surpassing 75% of the required test flight hours (3,100 total), ZA001 surpassing 700 flight test hours flown, the test flight fleet surpassing 2,300 flight test hours, the 787/GE test flight fleet surpassing 50% of the required test flight hours, and the 750th test flight of a 787.

Also ZA006 undertook a marketing mission to Amsterdam and Paris in an effort to sell AF/KLM the 787. During this time, ZA006 was parked next to an Air France A380 overnight at Charles De Gaulle in Paris which would have made for a great photo.

747-8I, RC001 makes progress.

Boeing's other major passenger aircraft that's in development also is making progress as the first 747-8I achieved power on for the first time. Power on allows some testing of the aircraft's systems in the assembly hangar while assembly is on going and is an important milestone. Boeing plans a four month test flight program and first delivery in about a year from now. The reason for the short flight test program is that much of the testing has already or will be completed by the 747-8F.

Below is Boeing Press Release as well as video of the power on of RC001:

Boeing Achieves Power On for New 747-8 Intercontinental

EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 5, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) has completed the power on sequence for the new 747-8 Intercontinental. This milestone enables the program to begin functional tests on the airplane.

"This is a critical step in the assembly process for the new 747-8 Intercontinental," said Elizabeth Lund, 747 deputy program manager, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The airplane's systems are now live. This milestone is a reflection of the focus and hard work of our engineers, mechanics and suppliers."

Power on is a complex series of tasks that methodically energize and activate the airplane's systems. In this critical stage of the assembly process, the electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems are brought on line.

Mechanics connected the 747-8 to an external power cart to energize the flight-deck display and maintenance systems. The electricity coursing through the airplane's 133 miles (214 km) of wire will be as high as 105 kilovoltampere (kVa).

The program also activated the airplane's hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Pressurized to 3,000 pounds per square inch (psi), the hydraulics power the flight control surfaces, landing gear, brakes and steering systems. The 160 psi applied to the pneumatic system enables the airplane to operate the environmental control systems and the leading-edge flaps.

"We are very methodical in ensuring the integrity of the airplane's systems," said Todd Zarfos, vice president of 747 engineering, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "This accomplishment is a key milestone in validating the design, installation and functionality of the electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic systems."

A video that gives you an inside look at the power on sequence is available at http://bit.ly/dlXgym.

The program is expected to complete assembly of the 747-8 Intercontinental in the first quarter of 2011. The airplane is scheduled to enter service in late 2011 following the flight test program.

The 747-8, which includes the 747-8 Intercontinental and the 747-8 Freighter, was launched in November 2005. Boeing has 109 orders for the 747-8 -- 33 for the 747-8 Intercontinental and 76 for the 747-8 Freighter. The first 747-8 Intercontinental is scheduled to deliver in late 2011.

The new 747-8 Intercontinental offers the lowest operating costs and best economics of any large passenger airplane, while providing enhanced environmental performance. The 747-8 provides new revenue opportunities that allow airlines to maximize profits. Eighteen feet longer than the 747-400, the 747-8 has 51 additional seats to accommodate 467 passengers in a typical three-class configuration, and it also offers 26 percent more cargo volume.

Boeing Video

Guy Norris: Boeing says first delivery remains on track

Guy Norris posted an article today saying the Boeing still firmly believes they will deliver the first 787 to ANA in mid 1st quarter of 2011 despite the amount of rework that needs to be done.

Guy also says that ZA004 should fly later this week with updated electronic engine control software loaded and will be receiving the package "B" Trent 1000 engines soon. I've been told that ZA004 should go into layup to have those engines installed sometime this month and should re-emerge in December for return to flight after ground testing the engines.

Guy Norris: Boeing: 787 First Delivery Remains on Track

787 flight testing contiues as Boeing reasses delivery schedule

Boeing continues to make huge strides in the 787 flight test program but now the long pole in the delivery tent is now the amount of rework that Boeing needs to perform on each of the 25 787s that are built according to Flightblogger.

As I had posted earlier, Boeing has been flying the 787 test fleet aggressively over the past two weeks. Boeing told me that they have completed over 70% of the required testing needed to certify the Rolls Royce powered 787. While Boeing has flown 80% of the 2,430 flight hours needed to certify the Trent 1000 version of the 787, flight hours does not necessarily translate into test points that have been completed. Boeing has told me that the number of hours needed to certify the 787 might be fewer than the 3,100 hours that they initially estimated. The number of hours needed certainly has changed however.



While Boeing is doing well on the test flight front, they are approaching the end of flight testing and that means getting the production 787s ready for delivery. Given all the testing that has been done, it is normal that Boeing will have to make changes to the 787s on the flight line, in the final assembly bay and on the parts still at suppliers. This is what change incorporation is all about. However, there are numerous changes that have to incorporated into the aircraft all the way back into the supply chain that Boeing may have to delay deliveries to of some of the aircraft. It is plausible that some of the airplanes that yet to be assembled may actually be delivered before planes that are already built due to the incorporation of the design changes in the supply chain and the time needed to rework the 787s already built. It may be easier to put some of the change into supply chain (which has to be done regardless) than it is to access the areas that need work and incorporate the needed rework. Make no mistake, these changes and rework needs to be done before the airplanes can be delivered and the question is can Boeing get these airplanes ready in time given the amount of work that has to be done.

Flightblogger: Boeing reviewing 787 delivery schedule and post-certification rework looms

787 and 747-8I news

Well let's start with something new. Below is a video of the first 747-8I, RC001, being rolled to the 747 final assembly slant position in Everett. This aircraft should be rolled out late this year or very early next year with first flight occurring during the 1st quarter of 2011. The 747-8I's flight test program will consist of two aircraft and should take only 4 months as the 747-8F is certifying much of the 747-8 aircraft. First delivery is still targeted for end of 2011 to a Kuwaiti sheikh and to Lufthansa in early 2012.

Video Courtesy of the Boeing Company

On to the 787...The flight test program has increased its pace in the last two weeks, with flying almost 230 hours. The GE powered 787 have been getting a real work out of late as well with both ZA005 and ZA006 flying longer duration missions. While these hours have increased the hours per flight they are not ETOPs flights. It is expected that ETOPs flights won't begin until January.

Boeing, I believe is pretty comfortable with the pace of flight testing at this point that they are going to send ZA006 on a marketing trip to Paris and Amsterdam in order to woo Air France/KLM for their potential 100 aircraft order. The company is expected to chose between the 787 and the A350 though the 787 offering the GEnx may have an advantage. Flightblogger has details about this story in his latest post:

Flightblogger: Boeing appears set to woo Air France/KLM with 787 visit

Flightblogger talks 787 production and horizontal stabilizers

Now that Alenia has effectively shut down 787 production for another 2 weeks....flightblogger revealed in a new post that the Italian company actually may have shut it down for much longer. The reasoning.....there hasn't been a 787 line move since October 3. There were to have been two more line moves in the month of October whch did not occur. The reason is the needed rework of the horizontal tail assemblies that Alenia is responsible for. Boeing has a whole slew of people in Italy trying to get them back on track but it seems that Alenia's troubles probably run very deep.

With all the issues surrounding the horizontal stabilizer, Boeing chose to mocve the line which left ZA231 without a the tailplane. It was being reworked when the line moved and is now installed on airplane 27 (ZA178).

This has thrown 787 final assembly into a tailspin (pun intended) as the horizontal stabs for airplanes 26 to 29 are being reworked as well as those that are already on the fully assembled production airplanes. Stabilizers meant for certain palnes are being installed on others. This won't be a problem as it is a common part, of course, but it does illustrate what the problems at Alenia has caused downstream in the production process.

Here's how things are laid out in building 40-26 in terms of HTP-airframe

Airplane 25 --> HTP #25
Airplane 26 --> HTP #29
Airplane 27 --> HTP #26
Airplane 28 --> HTP #27
Airplane 29 --> HTP #28
Airplane 30 --> HTP #30 --- this is where Boeing will be back to a normal assembly routine.

As evidenced by the number of 787s on the Boeing flightline where the HTP has been disassembled, it is evident that the problem is quite serious with many of them requiring rework prior to delivery. Boeing has set up a tool to allow easy access to the areas of the HTP that need rework but it's clear that the first 23 production airplanes will have quite a bit of work ahead of them before they are delivered next year. Flightblogger's article is a great read and does raise some flags with respect to Alenia. My sense is that if there is way Boeing can extract it self from Alenia it will. They have already indicated that the HTP for the 787-9 will probably come back in house and I think this is a certainty.

Flightblogger: A Closer Look: Inside the 787 delivery hold and horizontal stabilizer issues

787 production update

UPDATE: Dominic Gates has article saying that the latest assembly pause is due to issxues at Alenia, again. No wonder James Albaugh is bringing 787-9 HTP production back in house. Read his article:

Dominic Gates: Boeing calls two week stop on 787 section deliveries to Everett

This past weekend I referred readers to Matt Cawby's web site which showed two 787 fuselage parts being loaded on the the LCF. Boeing has told me that due to high winds in the area, the parts were placed inside the aircraft so that they were out of the elements.

This must indicate that the back of 40-26 is pretty full with 787 parts since these sections could not be stored in the Boeing facilities at Everett.

Boeing has also said that they will tell 787 suppliers that they will have a slight pause in 787 parts shipments into Everett. The pause will average about 2 weeks depending on the supplier. Both suppliers as well as workers on the final assembly line will continue working on the aircraft as the pause only effects shipments into Everett. Here's Boeing's statement:

With regards to the sections being loaded onto the LCF:

We loaded those pieces back on because forecasters here predicted heavy winds and we didn’t want to have them sitting outside in those conditions. Nothing more.

With regards to the shipment pause:

We will formally notify partners in the days ahead that we are going to have a
slight (it’s different partner by partner but on average two weeks) pause in
shipments. As we said in summer, this is one way we will manage the production
system. Partners are continuing to work during this shipment pause as is the
final assembly team here in Everett.

Delta reaffirms 787 order

In an SEC filing, Delta Airlines reaffirm their intention to take delivery of 18 787-8s that the airline inherited in its merger with Northwest Airlines. NWA was the first US airline to order the 787 in 2004. That order was originally supposed to be delivered between 2008 and 2010. However, Delta will now take delivery between 2020 and 2022...ten years from now. No word on the fate of the 50 options that the carrier also holds.

United Airlines will be the first US carrier to receive the airplane sometime next summer.

Dreamliner 4 circuit around the country and potential 787 production woes resurfacing?

ZA004 undertook a very long 13+ hour test flight that took it around the country yesterday to test the 787s to test...of all things... the fuel gauge of the aircraft. According to Flightblogger, the test (which I initially thought was an ETOPs flight) was to see how the Fuel Quantity Indication System. The test added a large amount of flight test time to the 787/RR test flight fleet and bought them closer to the 2,430 flight hours needed to certify the 787/Trent 1000 engine combination and allow for deliveries to start to ANA. The Trent 1000 powered 787 test flight fleet has accumulated well over 1,900 flight test hours thus far and the total 787 flight test hours has exceeded 2,100 hours leaving 1,000 flight test hours needed to complete the test flight program.

Flightblogger: 787 goes cross country to check the gas gauge

While the test flight program continues to make progress, there are signs of production troubles on the 787 final assembly line. ZA233, the 29th 787s to be assembled was initially supposed to start final assembly on Oct. 4th. It was pushed back to late October, then early November and now I got news that it won't start assembly until around November 17th...over 6 weeks late. To add to the mystery, Matt Cawby got video of a rear and forward 787 fuselage sections being loaded back on to the 747 LCF in Everett instead of being offloaded. Now the LCF did not depart Everett so my guess is that they might be being stored on board the 747 LCF. I am hoping to hear from Boeing about any production pauses on the 787 line and what reloading of the fuselage sections on the LCF may mean.