That's is probably want Boeing's 787 customer base is singing this holiday season. Yet Boeing doesn't seem any closer to issuing their revised schedule or say when test flights will resume. There does seem to be a lot of ground testing going on and Boeing is preparing ZA102 for its first flight though right now it is conducting extensive ground tests including starting it engines for the first time on Dec. 22nd. However that is little comfort with the airplanes still stuck on the ground and the certification test flights on hold.
There is a report that Boeing may have solved some of the electrical issues to the satisfaction of the FAA which may allow Boeing to resume test flights as early as this weekend, I believe this is doubtful as Boeing is basically shutdown from Dec. 24th through January 2nd for the Holidays. A source has told me that they were looking to resume test flights around Dec. 23-24th but now this is looking doubtful. Boeing has been in very frequent (daily) meeting with the FAA over the resumption of test flights and certification though. However it may not be too much of a stretch that Boeing has resolved issues to the FAA satisfaction. Boeing Japan President, Michael Denton, has said that Boeing is expected to announce a return to test flights soon though he didn't have an update for the delivery schedule.
The fact that Boeing maybe returning to test flights soon is good news the fact that they may still be weeks away from announcing when deliveries would start is troubling. It may indicate that the real issues are the unfinished work, supplier problems and on going engineering changes which won't be improved upon to support a near term delivery schedule.
The FAA is coming down hard on Boeing to such an extent that ETOPS certification out of the box may be in serious jeopardy according to Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times.
In an article that was published 5 days ago, Dominic described the amount of work that has to be done on the Dreamliners that are already assembled. His sources have told him that there about 140,000 incomplete items on all these airplanes that have yet to be done, either in Everett or in San Antonio where crews will put the 787s through the change incorporation program and prepare these airplanes for delivery. One 787 (one for Air India) has been on the Boeing flightline without the horizontal stabilizer indicating that Boeing is still dealing with the poor workmanship from Alenia.
Dominic Gates: Dreamliner's woes pile up
Boeing to boost 777 output 66 percent by 2013 amid 787 delays
Lastly, Flightblogger has published an extensive article on the 787 business case. In it he describes how the deep discounts that Boeing gave on the 787 has put Boeing under fiscal pressure to make a profit on this program. The discounts were on the order of around $65mm that was given to one large airline who placed a very large order. Boeing had calculated that the program would cost about $5bn and now estimates are for around $12bn - $18bn additional after factoring in cost overruns, compensation to customers, and additional resources needed to finish all the outstanding work.
Showing posts with label ALenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ALenia. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
One Year In....The 787 year in review.
For the last 12 months I've been giving a monthly update on the 787 flight test progress with the exception of last month. With the one year anniversary of ZA001's first flight and the suspension of 787 flight activities, it seems an appropriate time to review the 787 program and try and take a look ahead to see what awaits the 787. It has been a year of triumphs and heartache within the program and the current forecast for the program is, at best, overcast.
787 - December 15, 2009 to December 14, 2010
December 15, 2009 was a day that Boeing hoped that see the start of putting the troubles of the 787 program in the rear view mirror. It was a day that cloudy and rainy (typical Pacific Northwest weather). The first 787, ZA001, made an on time takeoff and flew for a little over 3 hours. ZA002 flew one week later in a flight that was shortened by issues with the main landing gear door and the nose gear. Nevertheless these initial flights started Boeing on the path of initial airworthiness flight trials. The 787 achieved IAT in mid January 2010 which allowed Boeing to conduct test with the other test flight airplanes as well as with engineers on board. This allowed for the expansion of the787 flight test envelope which would include stability and control testings, flutter testing and functionality and reliability testing of the airplane.
Boeing added airplanes to the test flight fleet with ZA004 flying in late February, 2010 and ZA003 flying in mid March 2010. The near term goal of the program was to achieve Type Inspection Authorization for the 787. This is the point that would formally kick off the certification program for the 787. This point of the program was expected to be achieved by mid to late February, 2010 but was not granted until April 20, 2010. This was a major indicator that the program may suffer delays to the delivery schedule yet again. During this period Boeing had successfully test the 787 wing to the ultimate load limit test on ZY997, the static test airframe. This was a major certification test point that Boeing needed to accomplish given the issues that Boeing had found almost a year earlier with the side of body join and the weakness that was discovered.
Boeing continued testing throughout the spring and summer of 2010. They seemingly hit a very good flight test pace during late May/early June only to see the number of flight and flight hours flown to drop off a month later and then recover later in the summer. Progress was made in September through the early part of November with significant flight hours being posted especially with the GEnx powered 787s that had finally joined the flight test program. However there were set back to flight testing (and production) due to the time needed to inspect the horizontal stabilizers on all 787s due to Alenia's workmanship issues. Boeing needed to spend precious time and resources to inspect and conduct any repairs on the aircraft that were built and/or flying. Still despite the Alenia debacle, Boeing was still on track to deliver the 787 by end of 2010 until an early August Trent 1000 engine test in Derby, UK took a bad turn and the engine had an uncontained failure of it intermediate pressure turbine.
This was a major setback for Rolls and Boeing as it threw the entire schedule into doubt. Indeed, the engine that failed was due to be installed on ZA102 (LN 9) which was to be used for flight tests of production standard aircraft. Boeing had to delay delivery to mid February because of the unavailability of an engine for ZA102 within the needed time frame to start flight tests on this aircraft.
Still Boeing said they were confident in Rolls Royce's hardware and software fixes to prevent a recurrence of the failure and Boeing continued with flight and ground testing of the 787 through early fall until Nov. 9th.
ZA002 was flying a long duration test flight with FAA personnel aboard testing the nitrogen generating system (part of the fuel inerting system) and was on final approach to an airport in Laredo Texas when a fire erupted in the lower electronics bay near the left wing. The fire was out after about 30 seconds but the power panel where the fire originated was destroyed and the aircraft had experienced power distribution problems while in the process of landing. An emergency was declared (apparently after landing) and the crew and test personnel evacuated the aircraft using the emergency slides.
The problems that lead to the fire in the P100 power distribution panel are now well known but now at this point, one year after the first 787 flew the 787 schedule is in shambles. The aviation world is waiting for Boeing's revised schedule. The 787 has had more than its fair share of problems and delays since it was launched in 2004 and there's nothing to say that there won't be any more issues when Boeing and the FAA resumes flight testing.
Boeing is still encountering supplier and production issues and probably will continue to see sporadic halts to part deliveries into Everett. Clearly there is still plenty of issues that need to be cleaned up so that Boeing can start deliveries of the 787 and ramp up production. However, the aviation world is now waking up to the fact in light of problems in various aircraft programs (A380, 787, A400M, F-35, and the A350) that the old model that aircraft manufacturers used to develop, design, test and produce high technology aircraft is out the door. Robert Wall of Aviation Week summed it nicely in a blog post a week ago: "Skeptics quip that Airbus is effectively fighting the last war, and that the only thing it is assuring is that it will invent a whole new series of missteps. If that turns out to be true, then perhaps it is time to put to bed the idea of accelerating development cycles on major products and just learn to live with the fact that the gestation period for a major civil aircraft program is eight years or longer."
787 - December 15, 2009 to December 14, 2010
December 15, 2009 was a day that Boeing hoped that see the start of putting the troubles of the 787 program in the rear view mirror. It was a day that cloudy and rainy (typical Pacific Northwest weather). The first 787, ZA001, made an on time takeoff and flew for a little over 3 hours. ZA002 flew one week later in a flight that was shortened by issues with the main landing gear door and the nose gear. Nevertheless these initial flights started Boeing on the path of initial airworthiness flight trials. The 787 achieved IAT in mid January 2010 which allowed Boeing to conduct test with the other test flight airplanes as well as with engineers on board. This allowed for the expansion of the787 flight test envelope which would include stability and control testings, flutter testing and functionality and reliability testing of the airplane.
Boeing added airplanes to the test flight fleet with ZA004 flying in late February, 2010 and ZA003 flying in mid March 2010. The near term goal of the program was to achieve Type Inspection Authorization for the 787. This is the point that would formally kick off the certification program for the 787. This point of the program was expected to be achieved by mid to late February, 2010 but was not granted until April 20, 2010. This was a major indicator that the program may suffer delays to the delivery schedule yet again. During this period Boeing had successfully test the 787 wing to the ultimate load limit test on ZY997, the static test airframe. This was a major certification test point that Boeing needed to accomplish given the issues that Boeing had found almost a year earlier with the side of body join and the weakness that was discovered.
Boeing continued testing throughout the spring and summer of 2010. They seemingly hit a very good flight test pace during late May/early June only to see the number of flight and flight hours flown to drop off a month later and then recover later in the summer. Progress was made in September through the early part of November with significant flight hours being posted especially with the GEnx powered 787s that had finally joined the flight test program. However there were set back to flight testing (and production) due to the time needed to inspect the horizontal stabilizers on all 787s due to Alenia's workmanship issues. Boeing needed to spend precious time and resources to inspect and conduct any repairs on the aircraft that were built and/or flying. Still despite the Alenia debacle, Boeing was still on track to deliver the 787 by end of 2010 until an early August Trent 1000 engine test in Derby, UK took a bad turn and the engine had an uncontained failure of it intermediate pressure turbine.
This was a major setback for Rolls and Boeing as it threw the entire schedule into doubt. Indeed, the engine that failed was due to be installed on ZA102 (LN 9) which was to be used for flight tests of production standard aircraft. Boeing had to delay delivery to mid February because of the unavailability of an engine for ZA102 within the needed time frame to start flight tests on this aircraft.
Still Boeing said they were confident in Rolls Royce's hardware and software fixes to prevent a recurrence of the failure and Boeing continued with flight and ground testing of the 787 through early fall until Nov. 9th.
ZA002 was flying a long duration test flight with FAA personnel aboard testing the nitrogen generating system (part of the fuel inerting system) and was on final approach to an airport in Laredo Texas when a fire erupted in the lower electronics bay near the left wing. The fire was out after about 30 seconds but the power panel where the fire originated was destroyed and the aircraft had experienced power distribution problems while in the process of landing. An emergency was declared (apparently after landing) and the crew and test personnel evacuated the aircraft using the emergency slides.
The problems that lead to the fire in the P100 power distribution panel are now well known but now at this point, one year after the first 787 flew the 787 schedule is in shambles. The aviation world is waiting for Boeing's revised schedule. The 787 has had more than its fair share of problems and delays since it was launched in 2004 and there's nothing to say that there won't be any more issues when Boeing and the FAA resumes flight testing.
Boeing is still encountering supplier and production issues and probably will continue to see sporadic halts to part deliveries into Everett. Clearly there is still plenty of issues that need to be cleaned up so that Boeing can start deliveries of the 787 and ramp up production. However, the aviation world is now waking up to the fact in light of problems in various aircraft programs (A380, 787, A400M, F-35, and the A350) that the old model that aircraft manufacturers used to develop, design, test and produce high technology aircraft is out the door. Robert Wall of Aviation Week summed it nicely in a blog post a week ago: "Skeptics quip that Airbus is effectively fighting the last war, and that the only thing it is assuring is that it will invent a whole new series of missteps. If that turns out to be true, then perhaps it is time to put to bed the idea of accelerating development cycles on major products and just learn to live with the fact that the gestation period for a major civil aircraft program is eight years or longer."
Thursday, October 28, 2010
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
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
Monday, October 25, 2010
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:
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:
With regards to the shipment pause: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.
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.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
787 now in final stages of flight testing
Boeing Chief, Jim McNerney said during the third quarter earnings conference call that the 787 flight testing is in the final stages. Flight testing has picked up in the last week as the 787s have racked up just under 2,100 flight hours and the number of hours needed to certify the Trent 1000 powered version of the 787 is down to under 550. Another important milestone on the 787's road to certification is completion of the required number of simulated flight cycles on the fatigue test airframe (ZY998) for first delivery. Boeing will continue to fatigues test the 787 airframe for the next 3 years but they needed to get a certain number of cycles completed before they delivered the first airplane to ANA. All this work was done on the ground at Everett. Boeing has reiterated its intention to delivery the 787 in mid 1st quarter 2011. McNerney also said that Rolls Royce has a hardware and software fix to prevent the recurrence of the uncontained engine failure that took place in Derby, UK in early August.
Still ahead for the 787 is the all important ETOPS type certification where the specific engine-airframe must be approved for ETOPS flights mainly across the Atlantic and Pacific. Later each individual carrier must get it ETOPS operational certificate. This testing is expected to get underway around January.
In the meantime Boeing continues production of the 787s at Everett. McNerney said that supplier shipments are picking up. Boeing has had to slow down production twice this year in order to allow the supply chain to catch up and reduce the travelled work coming into Everett. Boeing is expected to start final assembly on ZA233 (LN 29) a 787 for Air India.
Lastly, Boeing is talking about bringing production of the horizontal stabilizers for the 787-9 back in house according to Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times. Boeing is still finding workmanship issues coming out of Alenia. According to the article, Boeing has found more issues on the test flight airplanes as well as a few of the production airplanes. A couple of the test flight airframes have been fixed and they're working through the others. I wonder if this was the reason the 787s didn't fly as much between mid September and mid October? You can read Dominic's article here:
Dominic Gates: Boeing considers building 787-9 horizontal tails in-house
Finally, Flightglobal has an article out saying that Boeing believes that the majority of 787 orders will be for the 787-9 model. This is supported by many of the order conversions from the 787-8 to the 787-9 by airlines. You read the article here:
Flightglobal: Bigger 787 variant to boost order share: Boeing
Still ahead for the 787 is the all important ETOPS type certification where the specific engine-airframe must be approved for ETOPS flights mainly across the Atlantic and Pacific. Later each individual carrier must get it ETOPS operational certificate. This testing is expected to get underway around January.
In the meantime Boeing continues production of the 787s at Everett. McNerney said that supplier shipments are picking up. Boeing has had to slow down production twice this year in order to allow the supply chain to catch up and reduce the travelled work coming into Everett. Boeing is expected to start final assembly on ZA233 (LN 29) a 787 for Air India.
Lastly, Boeing is talking about bringing production of the horizontal stabilizers for the 787-9 back in house according to Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times. Boeing is still finding workmanship issues coming out of Alenia. According to the article, Boeing has found more issues on the test flight airplanes as well as a few of the production airplanes. A couple of the test flight airframes have been fixed and they're working through the others. I wonder if this was the reason the 787s didn't fly as much between mid September and mid October? You can read Dominic's article here:
Dominic Gates: Boeing considers building 787-9 horizontal tails in-house
Finally, Flightglobal has an article out saying that Boeing believes that the majority of 787 orders will be for the 787-9 model. This is supported by many of the order conversions from the 787-8 to the 787-9 by airlines. You read the article here:
Flightglobal: Bigger 787 variant to boost order share: Boeing
Friday, September 10, 2010
787 Flight Test Time Exceeds 1,800 hours; ZA006 starts its engines; Boeing possibly moving more 787 production in house
Lotsa headlines since I haven't posted over the last week.
There's been a good amount of progress with the test flight program over the past week with 4 of the 5 787 flying from remote locations around the world. ZA001 has been flying out of Edwards AFB and later Roswell Air Center for take off and landing trials. ZA002 was in Iceland until last Wednesday getting crosswind testing under the 787's belt. ZA003 is still in Yuma, Arizona undergoing its hot weather flight testing. ZA004 is still doing flight loads survey testing out of Victorville, California. ZA005 is the only 787 to stay at Boeing Field though it was rejoined by ZA002 by mid week.
Thus far the test flight team has accumulated over 1,800 flight hours and in the first 9 days of September has flown over 130 hours which is on pace to put the 787 at 400 flight test hours if this current trend continues. That would be the most flight hours flown in one month since May which saw over 329 flight hours flown. Boeing has been flying the 787 with more frequency lately and they seem to be making good headway with the test flight fleet.
ZA006, the last of the test airplanes finally turned on its GEnx-1B engines for the first time. This aircraft's first flight has been delayed by about four months due to many small unspecified issues that cropped up. The airplane is expected to go through gauntlet testing soon and the latest I've heard for first flight is September 24th. This aircraft will be testing electromagnetic effects, high intensity radio frequency testing and ETOPS (extended twin engine operations) testing.
An article by Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times is reporting that Boeing is expanding its composite development and manufacturing center in Puget Sound area. This expansion, initially will support the manufacture of test sections for the 787-9 but may be used to supply the horizontal stabilizers (part that Alenia has built and whose workmanship issues have helped pushed the 787 entry into service into 2011) and wings when Boeing is planning increase the monthly output of 787s to 10 per month though the article says that Boeing Japanese and Italian suppliers will continue to manufacture those parts. Boeing is saying that no decisions have been made with respect to bringing more manufacturing in house.
Additionally, Dominic reported that a separate facility will be built in Salt Lake City, UT to build the vertical tail fins for the 787. Currently, the Boeing facility in Frederickson, Wa is only facility to manufacture the vertical fins. With the planned increase in 787 production to 10/month, this facility will provide the vertical fins to support that increase.
Dominic Gates: New Boeing plan: Expand work in Seattle
Early in the month, Flightblogger had a blog post reporting that Boeing will be retiring the large tooling tower that is used to assemble the 787 in the first position on the 40-26 final assembly building. The tool, known as MOATT, has apparently not lived up to its expectation and instead Boeing will use cranes and other traditional assembly processes to snap the 787 together. Additionally Boeing is working through the horizontal stabilizer issues at Alenia especially making sure that the workmanship issues do not reappear as well as reworking the first 26 horizontal stabilizers if they need rework. Currently, Boeing is in a production hold with airplane 27 in final assembly. Airplane 28 is not expected to start final assembly until later this fall thus allowing the rest of the supply chain to catch up and to eliminate travelled work going into Everett.
Flightblogger: Boeing continues search for 787 production equilibrium
Lastly, there is an interesting article out on Boeing San Antonio and the work they'll be doing to prepare 787s for delivery to customers. The summary is that some of the 787s will be flown to San Antonio in order to incorporate final system and mechanical changes into the 787 before the aircraft gets their interiors and are delivered to customers. Boeing has planned that San Antonio would do some of the change incorporation work based upon the flight tests that are now on going. There's no date when the first 787 will be sent for change incorporation but some airplanes will undergo change incorporation in Everett while some will have it done in San Antonio.
Boeing S.A. to troubleshoot 787
There's been a good amount of progress with the test flight program over the past week with 4 of the 5 787 flying from remote locations around the world. ZA001 has been flying out of Edwards AFB and later Roswell Air Center for take off and landing trials. ZA002 was in Iceland until last Wednesday getting crosswind testing under the 787's belt. ZA003 is still in Yuma, Arizona undergoing its hot weather flight testing. ZA004 is still doing flight loads survey testing out of Victorville, California. ZA005 is the only 787 to stay at Boeing Field though it was rejoined by ZA002 by mid week.
Thus far the test flight team has accumulated over 1,800 flight hours and in the first 9 days of September has flown over 130 hours which is on pace to put the 787 at 400 flight test hours if this current trend continues. That would be the most flight hours flown in one month since May which saw over 329 flight hours flown. Boeing has been flying the 787 with more frequency lately and they seem to be making good headway with the test flight fleet.
ZA006, the last of the test airplanes finally turned on its GEnx-1B engines for the first time. This aircraft's first flight has been delayed by about four months due to many small unspecified issues that cropped up. The airplane is expected to go through gauntlet testing soon and the latest I've heard for first flight is September 24th. This aircraft will be testing electromagnetic effects, high intensity radio frequency testing and ETOPS (extended twin engine operations) testing.
An article by Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times is reporting that Boeing is expanding its composite development and manufacturing center in Puget Sound area. This expansion, initially will support the manufacture of test sections for the 787-9 but may be used to supply the horizontal stabilizers (part that Alenia has built and whose workmanship issues have helped pushed the 787 entry into service into 2011) and wings when Boeing is planning increase the monthly output of 787s to 10 per month though the article says that Boeing Japanese and Italian suppliers will continue to manufacture those parts. Boeing is saying that no decisions have been made with respect to bringing more manufacturing in house.
Additionally, Dominic reported that a separate facility will be built in Salt Lake City, UT to build the vertical tail fins for the 787. Currently, the Boeing facility in Frederickson, Wa is only facility to manufacture the vertical fins. With the planned increase in 787 production to 10/month, this facility will provide the vertical fins to support that increase.
Dominic Gates: New Boeing plan: Expand work in Seattle
Early in the month, Flightblogger had a blog post reporting that Boeing will be retiring the large tooling tower that is used to assemble the 787 in the first position on the 40-26 final assembly building. The tool, known as MOATT, has apparently not lived up to its expectation and instead Boeing will use cranes and other traditional assembly processes to snap the 787 together. Additionally Boeing is working through the horizontal stabilizer issues at Alenia especially making sure that the workmanship issues do not reappear as well as reworking the first 26 horizontal stabilizers if they need rework. Currently, Boeing is in a production hold with airplane 27 in final assembly. Airplane 28 is not expected to start final assembly until later this fall thus allowing the rest of the supply chain to catch up and to eliminate travelled work going into Everett.
Flightblogger: Boeing continues search for 787 production equilibrium
Lastly, there is an interesting article out on Boeing San Antonio and the work they'll be doing to prepare 787s for delivery to customers. The summary is that some of the 787s will be flown to San Antonio in order to incorporate final system and mechanical changes into the 787 before the aircraft gets their interiors and are delivered to customers. Boeing has planned that San Antonio would do some of the change incorporation work based upon the flight tests that are now on going. There's no date when the first 787 will be sent for change incorporation but some airplanes will undergo change incorporation in Everett while some will have it done in San Antonio.
Boeing S.A. to troubleshoot 787
Friday, August 27, 2010
Boeing announces delivery delay for the 787
Boeing sent out a press release early (very early) this morning. Here is the text of the press release:
The delivery date revision follows an assessment of the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test this fall.
While Boeing works closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability, flight testing across the test fleet continues as planned.
Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011. The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.
The schedule revision will not affect the company's financial guidance.Analysis
This is totally expected by many and now is made official by Boeing. Boeing had only passed the half way mark of the test flight program only recently and still has over 1500 flight hours of testing to complete. Boeing cited instrumentation reconfiguration as well as the horizontal stabilizer issues but the straw that broke the camels back for first delivery was the Trent 1000 issue and the uncontained failure that took place on August 2nd. Boeing and Rolls Royce are citing the delay of delivering the Trent 1000 package "B" for the last part of test flight.
The package "B" Trents are the improved Trent 1000 engines which brings the engine in line with fuel burn guarantees provided to customers. It also has modifications to the failed parts so that there would not be a recurrence of the failure that was seen. Boeing has also said that the flight test program will continue but I am not sure if the current package "A" Trents that are now hanging of the 4 test flight airplanes will have restrictions place on their operating envelope due to this failure.
Another question is if Boeing and Rolls Royce will equip the early production 787s for ANA with the package "A" Trents with modifications or will they equip them outright with the package "B"s?
In terms of an impact to Boeing earnings, I expect that it will be negligible, Boeing was only expecting to deliver a couple of 787s to ANA this year. Most of the 787s that are built are to be delivered in 2011 and that's when Boeing would see the real income flowing from the 787 program.
With the 6 additional weeks for testing how much does Boeing need to fly the 787 to get to the end of certification? Assuming that Boeing would continue test flight into the end of January, 2011 this would equate to 158 days from now. Boeing still has to fly 1,515 total hours on the 787 and of those hours 982.5 have to be flown on the Trent 1000 aircraft. This means that Boeing will have to fly the Trent powered airplanes an average of 6.2 hours per day every day until January 31st, 2011. They would have to fly 9.58 hours a day everyday spread across both the Rolls Royce and GE powered airplanes.
Flightblogger has also been following this story very closely and has an article up on the delay to first delivery of the 787. His article give a lot of great detail to the issues facing the Trent 1000:
Flightblogger: 787 first delivery delayed to mid-Q1 2011
EVERETT, Wash., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Boeing (NYSE: BA)Company said today that it now expects delivery of the first 787 in the middle of the first quarter 2011.Boeing Sets 787 First Delivery Date for Mid-First Quarter 2011
The delivery date revision follows an assessment of the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test this fall.
While Boeing works closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability, flight testing across the test fleet continues as planned.
Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011. The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.
The schedule revision will not affect the company's financial guidance.Analysis
This is totally expected by many and now is made official by Boeing. Boeing had only passed the half way mark of the test flight program only recently and still has over 1500 flight hours of testing to complete. Boeing cited instrumentation reconfiguration as well as the horizontal stabilizer issues but the straw that broke the camels back for first delivery was the Trent 1000 issue and the uncontained failure that took place on August 2nd. Boeing and Rolls Royce are citing the delay of delivering the Trent 1000 package "B" for the last part of test flight.
The package "B" Trents are the improved Trent 1000 engines which brings the engine in line with fuel burn guarantees provided to customers. It also has modifications to the failed parts so that there would not be a recurrence of the failure that was seen. Boeing has also said that the flight test program will continue but I am not sure if the current package "A" Trents that are now hanging of the 4 test flight airplanes will have restrictions place on their operating envelope due to this failure.
Another question is if Boeing and Rolls Royce will equip the early production 787s for ANA with the package "A" Trents with modifications or will they equip them outright with the package "B"s?
In terms of an impact to Boeing earnings, I expect that it will be negligible, Boeing was only expecting to deliver a couple of 787s to ANA this year. Most of the 787s that are built are to be delivered in 2011 and that's when Boeing would see the real income flowing from the 787 program.
With the 6 additional weeks for testing how much does Boeing need to fly the 787 to get to the end of certification? Assuming that Boeing would continue test flight into the end of January, 2011 this would equate to 158 days from now. Boeing still has to fly 1,515 total hours on the 787 and of those hours 982.5 have to be flown on the Trent 1000 aircraft. This means that Boeing will have to fly the Trent powered airplanes an average of 6.2 hours per day every day until January 31st, 2011. They would have to fly 9.58 hours a day everyday spread across both the Rolls Royce and GE powered airplanes.
Flightblogger has also been following this story very closely and has an article up on the delay to first delivery of the 787. His article give a lot of great detail to the issues facing the Trent 1000:
Flightblogger: 787 first delivery delayed to mid-Q1 2011
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Boeing to announce slip in 1st 787 delivery on morning of August 27
Flightblogger has revealed that Boeing will announce a slip in the 787 delivery schedule by about 3 months. Boeing is now targetting a a delivery timeframe of mid February to late March for delivery of the first 787 to ANA.
The delay is attributed to the horizontal stabilizer issues at Alenia as well as the uncontained failure of the Trent 1000 engine on a test stand in early August. Boeing had already warned that 787 deliveries could slip into 2011. It looks like they will move the 1st delivery to that time frame.
The delay is attributed to the horizontal stabilizer issues at Alenia as well as the uncontained failure of the Trent 1000 engine on a test stand in early August. Boeing had already warned that 787 deliveries could slip into 2011. It looks like they will move the 1st delivery to that time frame.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Engines and stabilizers
The story that Flightblogger broke yesterday is gaining traction and may herald another delay depending on what happened to the Trent 1000 engine that Rolls was testing earlier this month. The situation is made even murkier because according to Rolls Royce they said that they had implemented a fix which says that they knew of the potential of the IPT (intermediate pressure turbine) to fail though they also said that they are well on their way to understanding the issue. Nonetheless this is an issue that bear watching carefully. Guy Norris has a brilliant summary of the Rolls Royce issue in his latest blog post. Apparently, this issue has not kept the 787 on the ground as ZA001 is conducting wet runaway test (also called the Slip N' Slide) in Roswell, NM and ZA004 is flying a flight loads survey test right now. However, a statement that Boeing sent to Flightblogger use the ominous words "to date" when referring to the impact that the IPT failure to the flight test program. Both Guy's and Flightblogger's post are below.
Flightblogger: Boeing statement on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine failure
Guy Norris - 787 - More Danger of Delays?
The other issue that is being talked about is that of Alenia's workmanship on the parts they build for the 787. The horizontal stabilizer is the part that has gotten the most scrutiny of late but Alenia has had problems in the past with the manufacture of the fuselage sections that they are contracted to produce though it seems that the fuselage sections are being built with better quality. However the sum of all these issues has lead to some speculation that Boeing may buy out Alenia's share of the 787 program and bring the the manufacture of these parts back in house. Saj Ahmad has written an editorial backing such an action by Boeing and I also believe it makes sense but only if the economics of such a buyout keep the program in a forward profit position. Boeing has spoken of bringing more of the 787 program engineering back under their tent and they've done that with the 787-9 which is making great strides in the design nd engineering phase of its development and may prove to be the better of the two 787 models that is produced. Bringing in the manufacture of the parts that Alenia builds will ensure better workmanship and quality.
Saj Ahmad - Boeing needs to buy Alenia out of 787 production
Flightblogger: Boeing statement on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine failure
Guy Norris - 787 - More Danger of Delays?
The other issue that is being talked about is that of Alenia's workmanship on the parts they build for the 787. The horizontal stabilizer is the part that has gotten the most scrutiny of late but Alenia has had problems in the past with the manufacture of the fuselage sections that they are contracted to produce though it seems that the fuselage sections are being built with better quality. However the sum of all these issues has lead to some speculation that Boeing may buy out Alenia's share of the 787 program and bring the the manufacture of these parts back in house. Saj Ahmad has written an editorial backing such an action by Boeing and I also believe it makes sense but only if the economics of such a buyout keep the program in a forward profit position. Boeing has spoken of bringing more of the 787 program engineering back under their tent and they've done that with the 787-9 which is making great strides in the design nd engineering phase of its development and may prove to be the better of the two 787 models that is produced. Bringing in the manufacture of the parts that Alenia builds will ensure better workmanship and quality.
Saj Ahmad - Boeing needs to buy Alenia out of 787 production
Friday, August 13, 2010
A retraction and a 787 update
First a retraction. In my previous post I had speculated that the 787 fuselage sections were offloaded from the 747 Dreamlifter because they needed to be inspected due to issues at Alenia. In fact Boeing had informed me that this was not the case but rather the parts were taken off so they unload a horizontal stabilizer that was in front of the fuselage section in the LCF.
These parts were offloaded so they can unload the horizontal stabs. They were reloaded later on. Here's is Boeing's statement:
Ok that's all cleared up, thanks to the Boeing communications team for sending me the correction!
Obviously they had to get the horizontal stab out of the airplane. Speaking of which, there were a couple of articles out today addressing the horizontal stabilizer issue and the review that Boeing is doing at Alenia with regards to workmanship issues on the h stab. First Guy Norris has an article and a blog post about it. In the blog post Guy talks about the h stab becoming an irritant in Boeing because of the inspections it has to conduct on each one of the delivered stabilizers. On a brighter note it has allowed Boeing to hopefully add technology to reduce the drag by the 1%. The technology is called hybrid laminar flow control and wold allow the air passing over the stabilizer to be sucked in before the air turned turbulent while passing over the horizontal stabilizer. Read more:
Guy Norris: 787 - tail wagging the dog
In another article, Guy talks about the current issue with the horizontal stabilizer and the Boeing efforts to inspect and take corrective action. The issue may already be affecting test flights though it is unknown at this moment. The test flight fleet did fly for some 7 to 8 hours yesterday but they were not flying today. However, Boeing now has to inspect new areas of the horizontal stabilizer based up on their audit of Alenia production practices. This may become the long pole in the tent for the 787 program.
Guy Norris: Boeing Extends 787 Inspections To New Areas
Lastly, Scott Hamilton, got some very detailed information on the horizontal stabilizer issue and the fact that Boeing is finding multiple issues with the horizontal stabilizers. Scott goes on to say that the problem is with all the horizontal stabilizers that have been delivered into Everett. Undoubtedly Alenia will have to answer many hard and pointed questions about quality control and workmanship at their plant in Italy. Scott does go on to report that delivery of the first 787s can slip to as late as the 2nd quarter of 2011. Both Scott and Guy report that ZA006 may not fly until late September now though my source has said September 12th.
Scott Hamilton: More 787 problems: 2Q delivery delay coming?
These parts were offloaded so they can unload the horizontal stabs. They were reloaded later on. Here's is Boeing's statement:
The fuselage section captured in Matt Cawby's video happened to be on a Dreamlifter that also carried a horizontal stabilizer that needed to be delivered to the Everett factory first. (The h stab was in the back of the plane, the fuselage section in the front)
So we had to unload the fuselage section in order to unload the h stab. Once that was done, we loaded the fuselage section right back onto the Dreamlifter and delivered it to Charleston the very next day. This had nothing to do with the recent issues.
Ok that's all cleared up, thanks to the Boeing communications team for sending me the correction!
Obviously they had to get the horizontal stab out of the airplane. Speaking of which, there were a couple of articles out today addressing the horizontal stabilizer issue and the review that Boeing is doing at Alenia with regards to workmanship issues on the h stab. First Guy Norris has an article and a blog post about it. In the blog post Guy talks about the h stab becoming an irritant in Boeing because of the inspections it has to conduct on each one of the delivered stabilizers. On a brighter note it has allowed Boeing to hopefully add technology to reduce the drag by the 1%. The technology is called hybrid laminar flow control and wold allow the air passing over the stabilizer to be sucked in before the air turned turbulent while passing over the horizontal stabilizer. Read more:
Guy Norris: 787 - tail wagging the dog
In another article, Guy talks about the current issue with the horizontal stabilizer and the Boeing efforts to inspect and take corrective action. The issue may already be affecting test flights though it is unknown at this moment. The test flight fleet did fly for some 7 to 8 hours yesterday but they were not flying today. However, Boeing now has to inspect new areas of the horizontal stabilizer based up on their audit of Alenia production practices. This may become the long pole in the tent for the 787 program.
Guy Norris: Boeing Extends 787 Inspections To New Areas
Lastly, Scott Hamilton, got some very detailed information on the horizontal stabilizer issue and the fact that Boeing is finding multiple issues with the horizontal stabilizers. Scott goes on to say that the problem is with all the horizontal stabilizers that have been delivered into Everett. Undoubtedly Alenia will have to answer many hard and pointed questions about quality control and workmanship at their plant in Italy. Scott does go on to report that delivery of the first 787s can slip to as late as the 2nd quarter of 2011. Both Scott and Guy report that ZA006 may not fly until late September now though my source has said September 12th.
Scott Hamilton: More 787 problems: 2Q delivery delay coming?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Interesting Video of 787 parts in Everett
Matt Cawby who regularly shoots video and photos of Boeing's Everett flight line recorded an interesting piece of video yesterday at Everett which is below:
Matt Cawby Video
In the video the 747 LCF is loaded with fuselage section for the 787. What is interesting is that these are not the pre-stuffed ready to join sections that would normally arrive into Everett to be taken to final assembly but parts that are normally constructed by Alenia in Grottaglie, Italy and then flown to Boeing Charleston to be assembled with parts from Japan to form the main fuselage section that is finally delivered into Everett. Why these particular parts were flown direct to Everett and not Charleston is a mystery but I think we can reasonably speculate that because of Boeing's review of Alenia production processes and manufacturing standards, these parts might be part of the inspections that Boeing has ordered across all the 787 that have been built. Hopefully there is nothing seriously wrong with the parts but it does say that Boeing is a little nervous about one of its major suppliers.
Matt Cawby Video
In the video the 747 LCF is loaded with fuselage section for the 787. What is interesting is that these are not the pre-stuffed ready to join sections that would normally arrive into Everett to be taken to final assembly but parts that are normally constructed by Alenia in Grottaglie, Italy and then flown to Boeing Charleston to be assembled with parts from Japan to form the main fuselage section that is finally delivered into Everett. Why these particular parts were flown direct to Everett and not Charleston is a mystery but I think we can reasonably speculate that because of Boeing's review of Alenia production processes and manufacturing standards, these parts might be part of the inspections that Boeing has ordered across all the 787 that have been built. Hopefully there is nothing seriously wrong with the parts but it does say that Boeing is a little nervous about one of its major suppliers.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Boeing conducts inspection of Alenia built 787 parts
James Albaugh, head of BCA, gave us quick update of the787 program. among the pieces of information he revealed is that Boeing is doing more of the design work for the 787-9 and is making very good progress with the next 787 version.
However, Boeing is finding more issues with Alenia built parts on the 787 and as a result is conducting more inspections of all the 787s built to date. As of now I do not know what these issues are or which Alenia built parts are subject to the new inspections but Boeing wants to make sure that these parts are "up to Boeing standards." This may explain why the 787s have flown on a limited basis for the last week and a half. Only today did ZA001 and ZA004 flew on an extended basis accumulating about 11 flight hours between the two test flights.
Boeing is planning to move more 787 production in house and I won't be surprised if Alenia's contract to build 787 sections is taken away from Boeing and would be produced at both Everett and Charleston in the next 5 years. Much of this is based on reviewing Alenia's 787 production and assembly in Grottaglie which was initiated by improper workmanship on the horizontal stabilizers. There seems to be no complaint of the Japanese built sections or the parts produced by Spirit. Albaugh also said that Boeing is quite happy that they bought out Alenia's share of Global Aeronautica (now name Boeing Charleston) as well as all of Vought's share of the 787 program.
James Albaugh also said that ZA006 should fly later this month though sources have told me that September 12th is still the date that is being shown on internal Boeing schedules. Albaugh also said that they have delivered 70% of the required certification documentation to the FAA though they've only completed about 47% of the test flights hours so far. Boeing can conceivably be at the 50% mark in about 10 days depending on the pace of test flights.
Bloomberg: Boeing Inspects 787 fleet
However, Boeing is finding more issues with Alenia built parts on the 787 and as a result is conducting more inspections of all the 787s built to date. As of now I do not know what these issues are or which Alenia built parts are subject to the new inspections but Boeing wants to make sure that these parts are "up to Boeing standards." This may explain why the 787s have flown on a limited basis for the last week and a half. Only today did ZA001 and ZA004 flew on an extended basis accumulating about 11 flight hours between the two test flights.
Boeing is planning to move more 787 production in house and I won't be surprised if Alenia's contract to build 787 sections is taken away from Boeing and would be produced at both Everett and Charleston in the next 5 years. Much of this is based on reviewing Alenia's 787 production and assembly in Grottaglie which was initiated by improper workmanship on the horizontal stabilizers. There seems to be no complaint of the Japanese built sections or the parts produced by Spirit. Albaugh also said that Boeing is quite happy that they bought out Alenia's share of Global Aeronautica (now name Boeing Charleston) as well as all of Vought's share of the 787 program.
James Albaugh also said that ZA006 should fly later this month though sources have told me that September 12th is still the date that is being shown on internal Boeing schedules. Albaugh also said that they have delivered 70% of the required certification documentation to the FAA though they've only completed about 47% of the test flights hours so far. Boeing can conceivably be at the 50% mark in about 10 days depending on the pace of test flights.
Bloomberg: Boeing Inspects 787 fleet
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Belated 787 Round Up
Boy I did pick a helluva day to come back and start posting.
First to start the day Boeing decided to buy out Alenia North America's share of Global Aeronautica thereby bringing the entire North Charleston facility into Boeing complete control. It is important to note that Alenia, the Japanese heavies, and Spirit still have responsibility in manufacturing their respective segments but the integration of section manufactured in Italy and Japan will be wholly done by Boeing. Here's Boeing's Press Release:
Here's Boeing's statement of Dreamliner 2 taking to the air:
First to start the day Boeing decided to buy out Alenia North America's share of Global Aeronautica thereby bringing the entire North Charleston facility into Boeing complete control. It is important to note that Alenia, the Japanese heavies, and Spirit still have responsibility in manufacturing their respective segments but the integration of section manufactured in Italy and Japan will be wholly done by Boeing. Here's Boeing's Press Release:
Boeing Acquires Alenia North America's Interest in Global Aeronautica
SEATTLE, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) said today it has acquired Alenia North America's half of Global Aeronautica, LLC, a South Carolina fuselage subassembly facility for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and is now the sole owner of that entity. Alenia North America is a subsidiary of Italy's Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company.
Operationally, Boeing will integrate the Global Aeronautica facility with the rest of Boeing's organization in North Charleston, S.C.
"The Boeing Charleston site is critical to the success of the 787 program," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Through this acquisition, Boeing benefits by joining together two solid operations - including their talented employees and state-of-the-art facilities - into one Boeing team. Ultimately, we believe integration of the site will increase productivity for the 787 program and allow us to maintain our long-term competitiveness."
"We are proud of the major contribution we have made over the past four years through our partnership in Global Aeronautica to the 787 program and to the state of South Carolina," said Giuseppe Giordo, president and CEO of Alenia North America. "We are confident that the foundation we have developed will continue to flourish as it is integrated into Boeing Charleston." The acquisition was effected through a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing; other terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to integrating the employees of both operations into one team in
North Charleston, along with continuing our partnership with Alenia on the 787 program," said Albaugh.
Global Aeronautica, LLC, began in 2004 when Alenia North America and Vought Aircraft Industries formed a 50/50 joint venture in support of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In 2008, Boeing purchased Vought's interest in Global Aeronautica, making the company a 50/50 joint venture between Alenia North America and Boeing.
Global Aeronautica's integration entails the joining of the mid-fuselage sections, the installation and testing of associated elements, and the application of surface finishes to more than 60 percent of the 787's fuselage. Global Aeronautica sits adjacent to the Boeing Charleston site and shares a 240-acre (97-hectare) campus.
So does this come as a surprise? Frankly no in my opinion. The Global Aeronautica production was key to getting the supply chain up and running smoothly. There are still issues with travelled work coming form Global Aeronautica so if Boeing hopes to ramp up to 10 or more per month then they have to fix the issues at GA.
Now the other big story is that ZA002 the second 787 made its first flight today as I had posted earlier, this airplane was expected to make it's first flight prior to Christmas and it has. This flight was cut short (it was in the air for about 2 hours) due to issues with the main landing gear doors, the nose gear and one of the two T-33 chase planes having run low of fuel.
Here's Boeing's statement of Dreamliner 2 taking to the air:
Second Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First FlightBoeing Press Release makes no mention of any in flight anomalies
EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, completed its first flight today. The all-new airplane, which features the livery of the Dreamliner's launch customer, ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan, took off from Paine Field in Everett, completed a two-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.
"We are delighted that the second Dreamliner is in the livery of our launch customer, ANA," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are honored by the airline's support and look forward to delivering ANA the first production airplane next year."
Captain Randy Neville was at the controls for the flight, with Chief Pilot Mike Carriker operating as co-pilot. Neville and Carriker took the airplane to an altitude of 13,000 feet (3,962 m) and an airspeed of 200 knots, or about 230 miles (370 km) per hour. The airplane took off at 9:09 a.m. PST and landed at 11:10 a.m. PST.
This is the second of six 787s being used in the airplane's flight-test program. Each of the airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on systems performance. Like its predecessor, ZA001, the airplane is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
"We would like to convey our sincere congratulations to the Boeing team for its achievement of this milestone, and we look forward to the delivery into our fleet next year," said Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA.
Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times reports the gear door problem as well as issues with the nose gears that were eventually resolved. Dreamliner 2 apparently landed with the landing gear doors down instead of the up or stowed position. Here's Dominic's story:
First Flight of Glitches for Dreamliner 2
Flightblogger also weighed in with information on the Dreamliner 2's first flight and gave some clarity to the situation but all in all the issues that this airplane faced are minor and will be corrected and tested before the airplane goes up again.
Flightblogger: Explanation and Clarification of ZA002's Landing Gear
Guy Norris also had posted on the Things With Wings blog more details on the systems experienced issues on ZA002 during yesterday's flight.
First Flight Problems for 787 Show Up on ZA002
Lastly, here are some great videos. The first on is ZA002's take off as filmed by Matt Cawby (Thanks to Matt on the video)
The second video is landing of ZA002 at Boeing Field. Notice the gear doors in the open position as the aircraft is landing.
Here's a second view of ZA002's first flight from the Future of FLight
Monday, August 17, 2009
747-8 is alive with power and 787 update
Boeing's first 747-8F came alive with power on on last Friday morning in Everett. The new est member of the 747 family will also be the longest airplane in the world at over 250ft (beating the A340-600 by over a yard - take that Airbus!). The aircraft still has to run through a host of check out and assembly activities before being pulled outside to the Boeing flightline. There a whole host of information put out including Randy Tinseth's blog (Randy's Journal). So far it's looking like the 747-8F is having a smoother assembly and testing flow compared to its smaller cousin the 787. Boeing was expected to conduct taxi tests on ZA002 but had postponed it to an unspecified issue. The flight test team will probably try again tomorrow or Wednesday.
Big Time (Randy's Journal)
Guy Norris' 747 power on post
Guy's 747 follow up
Flightblogger RC501 Power On
Power on for this airplane is a big deal as Boeing can now start to retire technical risks associated with the design.
787
Now onto the 787. As mentioned earlier, Boeing had postponed the taxi test for ZA002 with no explanation given. I suspect that there was some issue that is expected to be resolved as the flight test team will have another crack at it tomorrow according to Guy Norris.
Guy Norris: August 14 787 Update
Guy Norris: Taxi test postponed
Flightblogger: Brakes put on taxi test
On the heals of Flightblogger's story about the stop work order on sections 44/46 at Alenia, Randy Tinseth also posted a fairly detailed explanation of the issues and Boeing's response to it.
787/Alenia
In his blog entry, Randy Tinseth reassures that the issue is not going to cost the 787 in terms of financial implications or schedule and as I reported earlier, there won't be any weight or aerodynamic penalties either. He also goes to say that the issue has not cropped up on the 6 test flight aircraft that have already been assembled and would not have caused a delay in first flight.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Another moment to groan...another 787 structural flaw
My good friend, Flightblogger, aka Jon Ostrower has done it again. He broke the news that Boeing had issued a stop work to Alenia manufactured fuselage barrels due to wrinkles that formed in the stringers of the fuselage barrels for airplanes 7 through 29. Flightblogger cited a Boeing memo (on Boeing letterhead) that was obtained and dated June 23rd. The flaws are traced back to the manufacturing process of the two barrels (section 44 and 46) in Grottaglie, Italy. According to Boeing, a fix has been identified and the patched should be applied soon. The patched would be applied to the the outside of the fuselage to provide structural strength in the areas supported by the stringers.
Boeing told me that the patch fix is permanent to airplanes 7 through 29 and with airplane 30 the fix is incorporated by adding additional plies of composite tape to the skin prior to going into the autoclave during the manufacturing process. The patch won't incur any weight or aerodynamic penalties. Boeing said they have no timetable for the resumption of manufacturing at Alenia.
What is a little disconcerting is that the stop work order was issued on June 23rd which is the same day that Boeing announced the postponement of first flight due to the side of body structural flaw. While Boeing announced the side of body issue, there was no mention of the wrinkling issue found in the fuselage barrels. Now according to an article in Bloomberg by Susanna Ray, Boeing spokeswoman said that “It didn’t have any material impact on the program in schedule or cost, so there was no reason to discuss it publicly.” Clearly Boeing has been burdened by bad news after bad news on this program and is trying to limit the amount of negative publicity on the 787 program. However with news like this coming out the way it did, Boeing's credibility has dropped another notch.
Flightblogger Report
Bloomberg 787 report
Other 787 News
Guy Norris is reporting that taxi test for ZA002 can conduct it's ground taxi tests as early as this weekend pending a safety walk down. Guy also said that this will be the last taxi tests conducted by any 787 until the side of body fix is installed on ZA001. Other than that the next major event to happen will be the installation and testing of the side of body fix on the static air frame (ZY997). The parts are supposedly on the way to Everett if not already there.
Guy's August 13th/14th update
Earlier this week Flightblogger outlined the location of the the aircraft in at Everett:
ZA001 - In the paint shop where it will undergo the installation of the parts to fix the structural issues.
ZA002 - Boeing flight line where it will conduct ground taxi tests and then will be prepped for installation of the fix.
ZA003 - In building 40-23 (747 assembly line) waiting for side of body fix
ZA004 - In building 40-26 (787 line) waiting for side of body fix
ZA005 - In building 40-26 behind ZA006 waiting for side of body fix
ZA006 - Boeing flight line waiting for side of body fix
ZA100 - In building 40-26 behind ZA005 continuing final assembly activities and waiting for side of body fix
ZA101 - In building 40-26 behind ZA100 starting final assembly activities
ZA102 - Wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers and rear fuselage in back of building 40-26.
ZY997 - In building 40-22 undergoing repairs and waiting for side of body fix
ZY998 - In building 40-23 (747 assembly line) waiting for side of body fix
Read Getting Oriented
Boeing told me that the patch fix is permanent to airplanes 7 through 29 and with airplane 30 the fix is incorporated by adding additional plies of composite tape to the skin prior to going into the autoclave during the manufacturing process. The patch won't incur any weight or aerodynamic penalties. Boeing said they have no timetable for the resumption of manufacturing at Alenia.
What is a little disconcerting is that the stop work order was issued on June 23rd which is the same day that Boeing announced the postponement of first flight due to the side of body structural flaw. While Boeing announced the side of body issue, there was no mention of the wrinkling issue found in the fuselage barrels. Now according to an article in Bloomberg by Susanna Ray, Boeing spokeswoman said that “It didn’t have any material impact on the program in schedule or cost, so there was no reason to discuss it publicly.” Clearly Boeing has been burdened by bad news after bad news on this program and is trying to limit the amount of negative publicity on the 787 program. However with news like this coming out the way it did, Boeing's credibility has dropped another notch.
Flightblogger Report
Bloomberg 787 report
Other 787 News
Guy Norris is reporting that taxi test for ZA002 can conduct it's ground taxi tests as early as this weekend pending a safety walk down. Guy also said that this will be the last taxi tests conducted by any 787 until the side of body fix is installed on ZA001. Other than that the next major event to happen will be the installation and testing of the side of body fix on the static air frame (ZY997). The parts are supposedly on the way to Everett if not already there.
Guy's August 13th/14th update
Earlier this week Flightblogger outlined the location of the the aircraft in at Everett:
ZA001 - In the paint shop where it will undergo the installation of the parts to fix the structural issues.
ZA002 - Boeing flight line where it will conduct ground taxi tests and then will be prepped for installation of the fix.
ZA003 - In building 40-23 (747 assembly line) waiting for side of body fix
ZA004 - In building 40-26 (787 line) waiting for side of body fix
ZA005 - In building 40-26 behind ZA006 waiting for side of body fix
ZA006 - Boeing flight line waiting for side of body fix
ZA100 - In building 40-26 behind ZA005 continuing final assembly activities and waiting for side of body fix
ZA101 - In building 40-26 behind ZA100 starting final assembly activities
ZA102 - Wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers and rear fuselage in back of building 40-26.
ZY997 - In building 40-22 undergoing repairs and waiting for side of body fix
ZY998 - In building 40-23 (747 assembly line) waiting for side of body fix
Read Getting Oriented
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
LCFs evacuate Charleston
Two of Boeing LCFs left Charleston, SC this morning. The two flight plans filed showed one aircraft heading to Pinal Airpark in Arizona and another heading for Anchorage, Alaska. Here are the flightaware flight plans here and here.
Hurricane Hannah is over Bermuda and the current projected track shows it heading to the Charleston, SC area by Saturday morning. I'm not sure what other preparations Vought, Boeing and Alenia are making for the 787 plant in Charleston.
Hurricane Hannah is over Bermuda and the current projected track shows it heading to the Charleston, SC area by Saturday morning. I'm not sure what other preparations Vought, Boeing and Alenia are making for the 787 plant in Charleston.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Flightglobal: Alenia to acquire 2nd autoclave for 787 production
In this article from Flightglobal, Alenia is planning to acquire a 2nd autoclave for 787 production. Alenia currently has one autoclave and the 2nd one would be used to ensure that there is no disruption in producing the 787 barrels that Alenia supplies. It'll be about two years before it is installed.
Now risk mitigation is very important but one has to wonder if this is also part of Boeing's plan to up 787 production rates to beyond 10/month. Boeing would need to see a healthy uptick in production to get delivery schedules back on track with some airlines warning of up to a 30 month delay in getting their first 787. It would also allow Boeing to meet increase in demand for the airplane which is at just under 900 firm orders. It is already known that some of the Japanese partners have talked about or are making plans to add additional manufacturing capacity to support a higher output.
The worry is also getting secondary and tertiary suppliers to up their production rates to meet the higher output if and when that is decided on, but for now it seems that people are starting to plan for it.
Now risk mitigation is very important but one has to wonder if this is also part of Boeing's plan to up 787 production rates to beyond 10/month. Boeing would need to see a healthy uptick in production to get delivery schedules back on track with some airlines warning of up to a 30 month delay in getting their first 787. It would also allow Boeing to meet increase in demand for the airplane which is at just under 900 firm orders. It is already known that some of the Japanese partners have talked about or are making plans to add additional manufacturing capacity to support a higher output.
The worry is also getting secondary and tertiary suppliers to up their production rates to meet the higher output if and when that is decided on, but for now it seems that people are starting to plan for it.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Dreamliner 4 main fuselage delayed by only a few days.
Ok just out on Bloomberg. Alenia said that a temporary worker put the wrong fasteners in 11 holes in the midbody fuselage which damaged a 30 cm area. The section was repaired with a carbon fiber patch which is the ususal procedure. The section's delivery will be delayed by only a few days as a consequence. The temporary worker was fired.
UPDATE
Jon Ostrower got a response from Alenia. Read it here.
Also Susanna Ray, a reporter for Bloomberg News has an excellent article detailing Boeing stock price moves over the last few days and the issue with Dreamliner 4. Read it here.
UPDATE
Jon Ostrower got a response from Alenia. Read it here.
Also Susanna Ray, a reporter for Bloomberg News has an excellent article detailing Boeing stock price moves over the last few days and the issue with Dreamliner 4. Read it here.
787 Horizontal Stabilizer Successfully Completes Destructive Testing
The word from Alenia. The horizontal stabilizer has passed destructive testing as part of the 787 certification. It'll now move on to fatigue testing of this part.
Here's Alenia's press release.
Here's Alenia's press release.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Dreamliner 4 delay
Scott Hamilton is apparently hearing something of a delay on Dreamliner 4 (LN 4) final assembly. Though it is still scetchy, it may be related to section 44 of the main fuselage that is built by Alenia. Here's Scott's blog entry.
UPDATE
Jon Ostrower is reporting what appears to be structural damage to section 44 and thus has indefinetely delayed final assembly of Dreamliner 4. It seems that a Alenia employee was not following proper procedures when he installed incorrect fastneners improperly. There is no indications that this was a deliberate attempt to damage the aircraft but rather an issue related to perhaps proper training and procedures when assembling these structures.
Boeing has no date as to when LN 4 will be delivered to Everett. Read Jon's article here.
The section has been repaired this weekend and I suspect that the center fuselage for Dreamliner 4 is being kept in Charleston as Boeing and Alenia need to be sure that the structural integrity of the aircraft is not compromised by the mishap. If there are structural issues then there could be a delay in the finishing up the test flight program due to delay in getting Dreamliner 4 in the air. In any case the issue isn't design related but more related to training of the Global Aeronautica employees in Charleston, many of whom are brand new to building aircraft, let alone composite aircraft.
Global Aeronautica will have to review it's training procedures and oversite of new employees building these structures.
UPDATE
Jon Ostrower is reporting what appears to be structural damage to section 44 and thus has indefinetely delayed final assembly of Dreamliner 4. It seems that a Alenia employee was not following proper procedures when he installed incorrect fastneners improperly. There is no indications that this was a deliberate attempt to damage the aircraft but rather an issue related to perhaps proper training and procedures when assembling these structures.
Boeing has no date as to when LN 4 will be delivered to Everett. Read Jon's article here.
The section has been repaired this weekend and I suspect that the center fuselage for Dreamliner 4 is being kept in Charleston as Boeing and Alenia need to be sure that the structural integrity of the aircraft is not compromised by the mishap. If there are structural issues then there could be a delay in the finishing up the test flight program due to delay in getting Dreamliner 4 in the air. In any case the issue isn't design related but more related to training of the Global Aeronautica employees in Charleston, many of whom are brand new to building aircraft, let alone composite aircraft.
Global Aeronautica will have to review it's training procedures and oversite of new employees building these structures.
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