Boeing pilots: 787 performs 'exactly as we expected'

Boeing called yesterday's 787 first flight a success despite the inclement weather that cut it short, setting the stage for what the company hopes will be a smooth flight test program culminating with FAA certification and first delivery to launch customer ANA in the 2010 fourth quarter.

"We figured out more things about this aircraft after 10 minutes of flying than we had in the last 100 days" of ground testing, Chief Pilot Michael Carriker said at a news conference after landing aircraft ZA001 at a rainy Boeing Field in Seattle a little more than 3 hr. after it took off from Paine Field in Everett (ATWOnline, Dec. 15). The manufacturer had hoped to keep the aircraft in the air for more than 5 hr. "There was a lot of climbing, turning, descending to avoid weather," Copilot Randall Neville said.

The 787 did not go higher than 15,000 ft. and only about half the planned tests were achieved owing to the weather, but the pilots noted that conditions allowed them to test how it handled turbulence and constant course corrections. "It was a busy flight, but the airplane handled fine," Neville said. "We had to contend with weather out there today and there were no surprises . . .At times, it was almost second-hand. The airplane [performed] exactly as we expected."

Added Carriker, "We didn't have our normal 150-200 nm. straight leg to fly . . .We didn't get to the high speeds we would have liked today, primarily because of the weather." The Trent 1000-powered aircraft's highest airspeed was180 kt. or about 207 mph.

Carriker said the second flight will occur "in about a week" after more instrumentation is installed. Even though Boeing has built more time into its latest flight test program/first delivery schedule, he said the company is sticking to its original, aggressive flight test program (ATWOnline, April 30). "We're not changing the plan," he said. "We think the [flight test program is] going to be seven or eight months."

He added that the side-of-body fixes that pushed first flight to yesterday had no impact on the Dreamliner's performance (ATWOnline, Nov. 17).

Program VP and GM Scott Fancher noted that even as the flight test program moves forward, "we're ramping up the production system" (ATWOnline, Nov. 23) and he predicted additional orders will come in as the program validates Boeing's performance claims. Firm orders stand at 840 from 55 customers, not including United Airlines' order for 25 that has not been recorded officially (ATWOnline, Dec. 9).

Airbus tipped its hat to its rival, calling the flight "a big achievement [that] underscores the continual advancements in commercial aircraft that come about because of healthy competition."

Source: Air Transport World