Ok so last post I figured that Boeing will not deliver more than 4 787s in March. Well I'm having a crow dinner as Boeing has delivered 5 this month and looks to possibly deliver 4 to 5 more before the end of the month.
Last week Boeing did deliver three 787s to customers (one for Japan Airlines, one for Qatar, and one for United Airlines). Now it's looking like Boeing can deliver one to Qatar this week as well as two for ILFC (for Norwegian and Aeromexico), Royal Brunei and possibly Kenya Airways. The later is to fly to Nairobi around April 4th but it may deliver a few days before that and fly away on April 3rd.
It does appear that Boeing flight activities are picking up, possibly to verify any wing fixes on the aircraft that needed them. I do believe that the airplanes are still going to the EMC to finish off travel work but also to conduct the wing inspections and implement the fix if needed.
Meanwhile the ramp in Everett continues to get crowded while the Charleston ramp is starting to see an easing of congestion. Of the 5 787s delivered this month, 3 were Charleston built 787 and 2 were built in Everett. One aircraft that was built in Everett, ZA230 (LN 25, VT-ANA) for Air India was delivered at Charleston even though it was built in Everett.
Boeing did deliver LN 152, on the 787s that was within the batch with suspected wing issues. It appears that this aircraft was cleared of the issues after the inspection and was subsequently delivered to Japan Airlines.
In terms of production, It appears that Boeing is continuing on rolling out 10 787s per month. LN 190 should be the last 787 to enter final assembly this month. Lastly, I do anticipate that ZB197 (LN 146, JA830A) should make its first flight sometime in April and join the 787-9 test flight fleet. This will be a production standard aircraft with little to no flight test wiring/equipment.
As far as April 787 deliveries goes...it's too soon to tell. We would need to see more B-1 flights and there hasn't been one of those since March 10th...2 weeks ago.
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Sunday, March 23, 2014
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LN 163 had its' first flight today (3.25) so the wing fixes are well underway and must not be very time consuming. Good news!
6 deliveries so far this month with 4 Ready for Delivery, so 10 this month may happen!
Anybody know what on the early builds is causing them to be over-weight? Just wonder why after so much time they haven't been able to reduce the weight to specification.
Mostly over-engineered parts.
ANA just put in a massive order for planes from both Boeing and Airbus. The deal includes 14 new 787-9's.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-ana-holdings-boeing-idUSBREA2Q0B720140327
March is the last month of the Boeing fiscal quarter. Out of the 10 full quarters of 787 deliveries, the last month of the quarter has been the leading, or tying, month for deliveries in 9 of them. The only exception being 3Q13.
3Q13 was hampered by customers pushing deliveries into their next fiscal quarter. Hence 3 deliveries on the first day of 4Q13.
Given the Malaysia Air fiasco/debacle/tragedy, anyone know why the pilot can turn off the 2 transponders?
The pilots on the news programs say it's because all electrical items need to be under the control of the pilots, yet it seems the transponders should be an exception.
After this instance I hope they change this so they are always on while in the air.
Did the GE engine icing problem turn out to be a software problem?
I resume it's been fixed, but has it been?
Interesting shuffle of the labels on final assembly positions in E 40-24 and E 40-26. At first I thought there was a dual-line reversion, then I noticed the 1A/1B designations. Should we expect similar for C 88-30?
Hi all
Does anyone have any info about ln 5 ? In recent photos she's had the engines removed wing fairings flaps and part of her tail. Is she being broken up now the test program is completed?
Dave
No it's going to be delivered to a customer.
TravelingMan,
One part of the weight increase in early 787 builds was that during testing, Boeing discovered part of the fuselage needed additional strengthing and attached titanium plates to provide this support at the cost of several thousand pounds. In later models, Boeing redesigned that part of the fuselage and was able to minimize the weight increase. I really doubt it would be cost-feasible to replace that part of the fuselage with the redesigned part(s).
That said, these overweight 787s are still perfectly good for an airline with a thick medium range route where the additional weight is less penalizing, especially if the planes can be obtained at a discount price.
I couldn't find the aviation week article that described this in detail, but Iincluded a snippet from the 787 wikipedia article highlighting a bit of this further below
Also, regarding transponders, pilots always have the ability to turn off any electrical system in the cockpit for safety reasons (e.g., due to a short or if it is on fire). Transponders are usually turned off at the gate as well (even as the aircraft may be powered on).
Cockpits are not generally protected against malicious actions by a pilot because the presumption is a pilot is trusted and already controls the yoke and engine throttle anyway. At cruise altitude, it doesn't take much to put an aircraft into a high speed stall, spin, or nose down twisting out of control. I took flying lessons a few years back and we used to practice for some of these maneuvers and it can sometimes be quite unsettling... especially the unpowered stall recoveries.
Vab
"On May 3, 2009, the first test 787 was moved to the flight line following extensive factory-testing, including landing gear swings, systems integration verification, and a total run-through of the first flight.[87] On May 4, 2009, a press report indicated a 10–15% range reduction, about 6,900 nmi (12,800 km) instead of the originally promised 7,700 to 8,200 nmi (14,800–15,700 km), for early aircraft that were about 8% overweight. Substantial redesign work was expected to correct this, which would complicate increases in production rates;[88] Boeing stated the early 787-8s would have a range of almost 8,000 nmi (15,000 km).[89] As a result, some airlines reportedly delayed deliveries of 787s in order to take later planes that may be closer to the original estimates.[90] Boeing expected to have the weight issues addressed by the 21st production model.[91]
On June 15, 2009, during the Paris Air Show, Boeing said that the 787 would make its first flight within two weeks. However, on June 23, 2009, Boeing announced that the first flight is postponed "due to a need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft".[92][93][94] Boeing provided an updated 787 schedule on August 27, 2009, with the first flight planned to occur by the end of 2009 and deliveries to begin at the end of 2010.[95] The company expected to write off US$2.5 billion because it considered the first three Dreamliners built unsellable and suitable only for flight tests.[96] On October 28, 2009, Boeing announced the selection of Charleston, SC as the site for a second 787 production line, after soliciting bids from multiple states including Washington.[97] On December 12, 2009, the first 787 completed high speed taxi tests, the last major step before flight."
I see. The extra weight being in the fuselage, they'd basically have to take most of the plane completely apart to fix it. Too bad. Though apparently they're still being worked on in some capacity, what, two years later?
Does any one know which airplane went from the brown, change incorp. and rework status to the red, storage status and why? Thanks
Flight Aware shows A7-BCI as the plane delivered from Charleston today, which means maybe you were correct originally when you marked BCJ as delivering before BCI on March 15?
They're wrong...it was BCJ.
Looks like Azul airlines (same founder as JetBlue) based in Brazil is taking a look at the "teens" among other competing Airbus aircraft. I'm guessing Delta might be looking at them too if the price is right.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-04/azul-said-to-mull-boeing-airbus-wide-bodies-to-fly-beyond-brazil.html
"The Dreamliners discussed with Boeing included 787s from early in the production run for the world’s first composite-plastic jetliner, one person said. Those planes, which are known as the “teens” and are heavier than jets assembled later, would be deeply discounted, the person said.....
Azul also is considering narrow-body models such as the Airbus A321neo and Boeing’s 737 Max, along with the planned upgraded version of Embraer’s E190, which wouldn’t be capable of international routes, one of the people said. The carrier is examining the economics of each aircraft type and how it fits into the current business model, that person said."
Good to hear nothing out of LOT and Norwegian for some time: Their issues must have been resolved.
Now if AI can get past their problems Boeing won't be reading about what non-performers the 787's are from customers.
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