Boeing has for all intent and purposes declared that the finish line is insight for the 787-8 and 747-8F airplane flight tests and are preparing the gaggle of airplanes sitting at Everett Field for delivery to customers. These announcements came at Boeing Investor's Conference held on May 24
th. Boeing program manager's also made revelations regarding the 787-8 and its future variants both in terms of new product development as well as production.
Flight Testing787Boeing confirmed that F&R and
ETOPS testing will start in early June. Earlier I had reported a June 9
th start date and that date looks to be solid. Functionality and reliability testing will test the aircraft as if it is in a commercial airline environment with simulating failures and other problems to see how the 787 will handle it. The test airplanes will be used but critical to this testing will be the use of
ZA102, the ninth 787 built and recently re-worked to full production standard with all the necessary change incorporation modifications that were needed. This is the standard that all production 787 in which all will be delivered. So far the Rolls Royce powered 787s have completed 96% of required testing and the
GEnx powered 787s are done with 75% of testing.
The FAA must issue an amended type inspection authorization (TIA) before Boeing can start F&R and
ETOPs testing but that should happen soon. Thus far, of the 4,200
deliverables that needs to be completed for type certification of the Rolls powered 787, less than 150 remain to be done and of those less than 40 need to be submitted to the FAA directly.
ETOPs certification will be accomplished on test points that need to be run and not the number of flight hours. Those test points will be run during the 300 hours needed for F&R testing thus both tasks will be tested concurrently.
As this required testing draws to a close, Boeing will send ZA002 during the week of July 4th to Japan for service ready validation operations (SRVO) where the airplane will be inducted into ANA's operations. This testing is to ensure that the 787 is ready for life as a passenger carrier and not a test airplane. ANA and Boeing will conduct fit checks with maintenance stands and jacks within the hangar, ground servicing operations, refueling and maintenance activities, as well as simulate operations between initial city pairs that ANA will fly the airplane on like Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima. Read Boeing's statement:
Boeing and ANA to Conduct 787 Service Readiness Validation in Japan
-The first time the 787 will fly to Asia and Japan
TOKYO, May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] and ANA today announced how the two companies will work together to help prove the 787 Dreamliner's readiness to enter service on a commercial basis. Using the second flight test aircraft, known as ZA002, they will simulate in-service operations across several airports in Japan in a service ready operational validation. The validation is expected to take place the week of July 4. Anticipated city pairs include trips between Haneda Airport in Tokyo and airports in Osaka (Itami and Kansai), Okayama and Hiroshima.
This will be the 787's maiden appearance in Japan. ANA is the launch customer for the aircraft and has 55 Dreamliners on order. The 787, which will be deployed across the ANA route network, is an integral part of ANA's strategy to strengthen its position and support its growth and expansion plans.
"ANA is eager to introduce the innovative 787 Dreamliner to Japan," said Shinichiro Ito, ANA president and chief executive officer. "Giving our employees the opportunity to gain experience with the airplane will help ensure a smoother entry into service later this year."
"We've put the airplane through its paces in a rigorous flight test program," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "Now, as we get closer to first delivery, we'll prove out its capabilities and reliability in a revenue-like environment."
ANA's maintenance crews also will practice maintenance and servicing of the 787 during the validation. This will include typical ground servicing activities, fit checks of airplane jacks and maintenance hangar stands, towing and refueling the airplane, and other routine maintenance operations. Watch this video to see how Boeing and ANA are planning for the validation.
Similar service ready validations have been conducted with great success on previous Boeing programs, including the 777, 737NG and 757-300.
Boeing plans to deliver the first 787 to ANA in the August to September timeframe.
6 comments:
Hello Uresh,
Is there any reason for the lack of any 787 flight activity since May 27.
Thanks
john
Some airplanes azre down for maintenance while some are undergoing ground tests. Given that Boeing is practically through the test flight regime for certification save for F&R And ETOPs there isn't much flying to do until the FAA gives the final sign off. I still have information that F&R/ETOPs should start by June 9th. Won't be long now.
Hello Uresh,
Can you confirm whether ETOPS testing began on June 9 as planned.
thanks
JohnV
I can confirm that it has not yet started. ZA102 will be the sole aircraft tasked with F&R and ETOPs. It has been conducting test flights but my understanding is that those flights are a build up to F&R/ETOPs.
Technically that's not true.. ZA102 will do most of the ETOPS but it's not capable of doing the GE engine based criteria. They need to do those sections on one of the GE planes.. probably ZA005 or ZA006.
Hello Uresh,
On your 787 Production and Disposition spreadsheet, do you have any knowledge of which future frames will be assigned to the S. Carolina assembly line. Also saw a picture of LN39 for Ethopian airlines on the Everett flight line, so the line has moved 3 slots since your last update, so Boeing seems to be maintaining close to a 2 week window between moves.
John
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