747-8I Makes A Move

Boeing's first 747-8I (RC001) made a brief move from the 747 final assembly line in building 40-22 to building 40-23 where it will be undergoing more ground testing before heading outside to be painted and gauntlet testing prior to first flight which is expected in sometime in February.

A second 747-8I of the line and destined for Lufthansa (RC021) is expected to come off the line next month and be flying sometime around April. The length of the flight test program will be much shorter owing to the fact that much of the testing has already been done on the 747-8F and does not need to be repeated on the 747-8I. It's anticipated that the two aircraft test flight fleet should finish all flight test and certification activities in about 6 months with first delivery to a VIP customer in November or December of this year.

Matt Cawby got some great pictures of the first 747-8I being rolled to 40-23:

Matt Cawby: 747-8 Intercontinental Move

Boeing starts assembly of first 747-8I; 4 Dreamliners flying today

Today, Boeing announced the start of assembly of the first 747-8 Intercontinental. This is the largest version of the 747 built and will seat 51 more passengers than the 747-400. It also incorporates the GEnx-2b engines as well as a new wing design. The first flight of the -8I should take place by the end of the year with delivery of the first aircraft in the 4th quarter of 2011. Boeing started the final assembly of this aircraft by loading wing spars and wing panels into the assembly tools to start the build out of the wing for the aircraft. Gradually the other parts of the 747-8I will be delivered and assembled in building 40-22. Here's Boeing's Press Release on the start of final assembly:

News Release Issued: May 8, 2010 2:07 PM EDT

Boeing Begins Assembly of First 747-8 Intercontinental
EVERETT, Wash., May 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) today announced it began assembly of the first 747-8 Intercontinental at the factory in Everett, Wash. Late this week, mechanics took the first step in major assembly for the new airplane by loading its wing panels and spars in the assembly tools. The spar is the internal support structure that runs through the full length of the wing.

"This milestone symbolizes the dedication, focus and hard work that our team, suppliers and customers have invested in designing this wonderful airplane," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 747-8 Intercontinental will provide our customers with increased levels of passenger comfort, greatly improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions and noise."

Deutsche Lufthansa AG was the first airline to order the new, fuel-efficient passenger airplane, contracting for 20 747-8 Intercontinentals, with purchase rights for an additional 20. "We are very pleased to see that the production on the 747-8 Intercontinental has begun," said Nico Buchholz, senior vice president, Corporate Fleet of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. "We are looking forward to welcoming the aircraft in our fleet as it is a component of Lufthansa's strategy to modernize its fleet and increase environmental stewardship. The 747-8 shows our clear commitment to customer orientation."

The new 747-8 Intercontinental is stretched 18.3 feet (5.6 m) from the 747-400 to provide 467 seats -- 51 more than its predecessor -- in a three-class configuration. GEnx-2B engines and a new wing design provide airlines a quieter, more fuel-efficient airplane. The 747-8 is 16 percent more fuel efficient and creates a 30 percent smaller noise footprint than its predecessor. The 747-8 also provides nearly equivalent trip costs and 13 percent lower seat-mile costs than the 747-400, plus 26 percent greater cargo volume.

The 747-8 interior incorporates features from the 787 Dreamliner, including a new curved, upswept architecture that gives passengers a greater sense of space and comfort while adding more room for personal belongings. The architecture is accentuated by lighting technology that provides smooth transitions for a more restful flight.

The 747-8, which includes the 747-8 Intercontinental and the 747-8 Freighter, was launched in November 2005. Boeing has 108 orders for the 747-8 -- 32 for the 747-8 Intercontinental and 76 for the 747-8 Freighter. The first 747-8 Intercontinental is scheduled to deliver in late 2011.

Fleetbuzzeidtorial.com has an analytical piece on the future of the very large aircraft market:

Saj Ahmad: Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental Kicks Off Assembly

In 787 test flight news, the 787 test flight fleet surpassed 600 test flight hours today (May 8th) with all 4 Rolls Royce aircraft flying today. Boeing is trying to ramp up the test flights for each of the airplanes in order to make the end of year deadline to certify and deliver the first 787 to ANA. The 19th 787 (for ANA) just emerged from the paint hangar and is now parked on the flightline.

787 ultimate load test to be conducted today

Boeing Photo

UPDATE (6:21 PM on March 28th): Flightblogger just tweeted that the test has occured and that indications are that the wing had passed the 150% ultimate load test with no funnies. Good news!

Boeing has scheduled the ultimate load test for the 787 wing today, March 28th. the test was to occur between 10 AM and 12 noon Pacific Time. Since it is past that time there is still no word on if the test was conducted and the results (if any).

In order for the test to be undertaken today, Boeing cleared buildings 40-22 (747 assembly), 40-23 (static test) and the 40-24 buildings of all personnel except for the test engineers that are sequestered in a "bomb shelter" in building 40-23. This is in case the wing fails before it reaches the 150% load threshold. Boeing doesn't plan to break the wing above the 150% threshold.

I am still waiting to hear about results but until then here's a great article from Bloomberg about the 787 ultimate load test.

Bloomberg: Boeing plans critical test on Dreamliner today

End of August and the 787 summertime blues

Well we're quickly approaching the end of August, the end of summer and hopefully the end of a period that Boeing would like to forget. If it weren't for the side of body issue the 787 would be flying around Boeing Field now for about two months. Now we have to wait about another three month for that happen (if Flightblogger is correct) and another month from now to hear Boeing's revised schedule. Too much is now riding on this for them to get it wrong. So with that in mind let's try and look ahead to what's yet to come.

As some of you may know, Boeing big wigs flew into Everett last week from Chicago and I believe the big topic of conversation was the 787. But I am hearing that Scott Carson might be retiring at the end of this year. Coincidence or not we'll see but right now it's just a rumor. I wonder if it's another coincidence that Boeing filed building permits today for the North Charleston site. Me thinks not! Boeing needs the second line to recover the lost ground in 787 production so the second line is inevitable (I said so a year ago) and I think Boeing will add additional autoclave capabilities to the 2nd line. The question will be where will the 2nd line go? At this point, if I'm a betting man it will be North Charleston but that will hinge on the vote by Boeing Charleston workers weather to decertify its union on Sept. 10th. If it is decertified then I think North Charleston is a shoo in despite what concessions Washington State and the IAM would give to Boeing. Boeing needs to have uninterrupted production if they are to catch up with deliveries. IAM going out on strike every 3 to 4 years will only get in the way of that.

Now articles are out that Air Berlin is considering cancelling it's order for 25 787-8s whether this is a bluff to wring out more concessions from Boeing is unclear though it sounds like Air Berlin is making an issue of the delays as a cornerstone of their arguments. That's a little surprising as they would be grateful for the delays as Air Berlin has a lot of capacity right now and they would probably need to add capacity in the future after the world economy recovers and air travel with it.

Now let's see what's happening on the tarmac at Everett. Well not too much there there is a big pup tent in the middle of the Boeing flight line where several of the 787 that will be in line for the fix will receive it. Out on the flight line there are 4 787s: LN2 (in ANA livery), ZY998 the fatigue air frame, LN6 and another test flight 787 in the Boeing 787 livery which I suspect may be LN 5. I think LN 4 is probably in 40-26 and LN 3 is still in 40-22 and LN 1 in the paint shop. That means that LN 7 and LN 8 probably have made or will make a line move soon to clear way to start final assembly on LN 9. The parts of this aircraft are in Everett.

Guy Norris also reported that tests are still going on on LN 2 on the Boeing flightline. He also has a great article on Boeing's moves in Charleston as well.

Guy's August 25 787 update
Guy's Boeing-Charleston Article
Air Berlin Mulls 787 Cancellation

Lastly, is Wall Street turning bullish on Boeing and specifically the 787? According to Scott Hamilton at Leeham & Co. a couple of Wall Street analyst now have a brighter outlook on the 787.

Scott's article on 787 forward loss.

787 line moved on Friday (March 13)

Boeing moved the 787 line on Friday March 13th.). Dreamliner 3 was moved out of the line to building 40-22 (747 line) where it will continue assembly thus moving Dreamliner 4 and Dreamliner 5 down one spot and making room for Dreamliner 6 to start final assembly on Monday March 16th in position 1. Dreamliner 2 will remain it is current spot in position 4 in building 40-26

The final section for that airplane, the main center fuselage is being flown tonight to Everett from Global Aeronautica on the Dreamlifter. Track the LCF flight here.