For Dreamliner One to take to the sky by the end of June, three test aircraft must complete an orchestrated set of milestones in order to earn clearance for the 787’s maiden voyage. Right now, the 787 schedule is being guided by the completion of the following milestones.
“It all has to get done,” said Boeing, emphasizing that there is no particular order to the tests.
What follows is as complete of a guide as I’ve been able to assemble over the two years using material provided by Boeing, the Flight Archive and interviews. This post, in its preliminary form, went by the title The Dreamliner Learns to Fly, which was first authored in August of 2007. Here to there is a significantly more complete guide to understand what it takes to get the 787 into the air for the first time.
If anything is missing, inaccurate or misrepresented, please do not hesitate to contact me privately via email at flightblogger (at) gmail (dot) com. I consider this an evolving document.
Photo Credit Liz Matzelle
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.