FlightBlogger Archive 2007-2012

Author: Jon Ostrower

  • A quiet night before a busy Saturday in Everett

    ZA001-Dec11_560.jpg

    From this angle, ZA001 sits quietly tonight in Everett (December 11), though beyond the view from the “grassy knoll” it’s clear that work on all the visible – and less visible – 787s carries on in earnest.
    Tonight, ZA002 left Paint Hangar 45-04 and is now parked at the fuel dock. All told, there are six 787s outside on the Everett flight line. ZA001 (N787BA) in Stall 105, ZA002 (N787EX) at the fuel dock, ZA100 (JA801A), ZA101 (JA804A), ZA006 (N787ZA) and ZA102 which is curiously wrapped in black plastic, presumably awaiting paint, and not visible is ZY998, which is being modified inside the flight line tent. 
    Saturday morning will bring taxi tests of various speeds for ZA001 as well as the flight readiness review. Both will begin first thing in the morning and are likely to clear the 787 through final tests before the first flight window opens at 10 AM on December 15.
    The Future of Flight is hosting a tweet-up starting at 7:15 AM (December 12) to watch the 787 taxi tests (#787TT) from the Stratodeck overlooking Paine Field. Here are directions to Future of Flight. Bring your hats, bring your gloves, bring your cameras. See you there.

    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.

  • Travel Day: Seattle Bound!

    FlightBlogger image

    Travel Day: Seattle Bound!, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

    Back on a plane once again for my final swing of 2009. Flying through LAX on my way to SEA on this United Airlines 757-200 (N522UA). Should be on the ground in the Pacific Northwest in the afternoon.

    UPDATE: Made it safely to Seattle after a rather unpleasant day of travel. Crazy headwinds put us into Los Angeles from Dulles (photo above) almost an hour later than scheduled with no holding and no delayed departure. I ended up hopping an Alaska Airlines 737-400 flight from LAX to SEA.

    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.

  • Airbus A400M takes to the sky!

    PICTURES: Airbus celebrates as A400M gets airborne
    By Craig Hoyle

    Airbus Military’s first A400M transport took off from San Pablo airport near Seville, Spain at 10:15 local time on its historic first flight, with the aircraft expected to remain airborne for up to 3h.

    Perhaps in keeping with the programme’s delayed nature, the A400M got airborne 15min later than scheduled. Some 15min into its sortie the aircraft was at 8,000ft (m) performing low speed testing, and Airbus says all is performing as expected.

    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.

  • IT’S OFFICIAL: BOEING OPENS 787 FIRST FLIGHT WINDOW ON DECEMBER 15, 10 AM

    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.

  • Breaking: Boeing completes 787 side-of-body analysis, final gauntlet

    ZY997flex_560.jpg
    OVERVIEW
    • Analysis on side-of-body reinforcement is now complete and validated.

    “I am happy to report that the program has validated the airplane structure for the 787 Dreamliner,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

    “We are very pleased with the results of this final functional testing. With the successful completion of static testing and this functional testing, our focus now moves to first flight,” adds Fancher.

    • Limit load testing completed, ultimate load testing will be in 2010.
    • ZA001, ZA002 and ZA003 side of body modification is now complete.
    • First flight is “expected to occur after final flight readiness reviews, receipt of documentation from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and taxi testing.”
    Sources say that taxi testing and first flight readiness reviews are are set to begin as early as Saturday. First flight still targeted for Tuesday, December 15 at 10am.

    ***Editor’s Note: I’m flying to Seattle tomorrow morning. Looking forward to being in Everett by the end of the day.
    Photo Credit Boeing

    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.

  • On the flight deck of ZA001 for the 787 final gauntlet

    In the nearly three years of closely watching the developments on the 787 program, this page has sought to provide a nearly realtime look the arduous, often painful, ultimately extraordinary process of bring a commercial aircraft to the world.
    Yesterday afternoon in Everett, photographer Matt Cawby captured a look inside the flight deck of the 787 right in the middle of a rehearsal for first flight as part of gauntlet testing.
    The 6:30 second clip of “air”-to-ground communications, cut down for length, joins up with Mike Carriker and Randy Neville (who will be handling ATC communications) on the flight deck of ZA001 just before beginning a simulated flight from Paine Field to Boeing Field in Seattle. This dress rehearsal leaves no detail out. Once the twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000  engines are started and the flaps are set to 20, Carriker calls for “The T-Birds,” Boeing’s famous T-33 chase planes, “to get airborne.”
    This particular flight had ZA001 departing to the south on runway 16R. On the day of first flight, ZA001 will depart to the north on runway 34L. 
    “Okay Team, we’re at the end of the runway, ready to call for takeoff. Alright, I see the chase airborne, he’s overhead. And when you guys are ready to go we’ll call to get on the runway for the chase and brake release,” says Carriker.
    The test leader then calls to Carriker instructing him to hold while updated speed calculations are prepared and then fed into the aircraft’s Flight Management Computer.  While holding for the update speeds, Carriker jokes that newly added flight deck functionality, the taxi map, has been installed in time for first flight: “I would’ve bet that we didn’t have a taxi map on first flight and I lost that bet.”
    “Okay 001, here’s some tweaked speeds based on the current temperature and wind. Speeds: 136, 140, 147, this is with de-rate one and no assumed temperature,” says the test leader.
    The V1 speed in this case is 136 kts, VR is 140 kts and V2 is 147 kts.
    “Okay we’ve got that loaded, we think we’re good to go, and we’re ready to call for takeoff,” replies Carriker.
    “Okay, I’m ready,” says the test leader.
    “Okay, chase, we’re coming on the runway, the call comes over Paine Tower…okay team, we’re on the end of the runway although we’re going southbound for practice here and I see chase, chase is on downwind and about 20 seconds from brake release,” says Carriker.
    Carriker pauses for a moment.
    “This is going to be so cool.”

    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.

  • Rolls-Royce: “Boringly predictable” thrust planned for 787 first flight

    FlightBlogger imageI had an opportunity to sit down with Trent 1000 chief engineer, Andy Geer and Richard Jenkins, Rolls-Royce head of marketing for Boeing programs. They took me through an overview of the engine program and discussed the early flights planned for the 787, which from Geer’s perspective, are “relatively uninteresting.”

    “My one job,” he emphasizes, “Is to deliver boringly predictable
    thrust for the airplane.”

    Flight Test Engines:
    ZA001 – 10015 & 10016 // ZA002 – 10012 & 10020
    ZA003 – 10018 & 10019 // ZA004 – 10023 & 10021

    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.

  • 747-8F spools up its four GEnx-2B engines

    RC501enginestart.jpgBoeing has completed first engine runs on its 747-8 Freighter as the aircraft moves closer to its first flight early next year.

    Boeing’s first 747-8F – designated RC501 – started its General Electric GEnx-2B engines just before 1000 PT on December 8 at the company’s Everett, Washington facility.

    However, this is not the first time a 747 has started a GEnx-2B engine on its airframe. In March, the engine flew for the first time under the wing of GE’s flying 747-100 test bed for flight testing.

    When RC501 started its engined Tuesday morning, the aircraft was operating on its auxiliary power unit before starting its the first of four engines. Once started, the remaining three engines were started using the cross-bleed function, says Boeing.

    Sources close to the aircraft say gauntlet testing for RC501 should begin late this month or early in January.

    The GEnx-2B is part of the same family of engines that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The two engines have about 80% commonality, the main difference being that the -2B engine is a bleed-air system, where as the -1B found on the 787 is a bleedless, electric architecture that draws electricity to directly power aircraft systems.

    Photo Credit Boeing

    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.

  • Breaking: Boeing confirms start of 787 final gauntlet (Update1)

    FlightBlogger image
    Boeing has confirmed that the final gauntlet for the 787 got underway Tuesday night in Everett.

    Final Gauntlet testing operates the aircraft in a closed-loop simulation mode that will evaluate ZA001‘s systems while fooling the aircraft in believing it is flying.

    Programme sources say the Final Gauntlet will be split into two primary blocks. The first includes a B1 first flight profile, the standard checkout of all aircraft systems as part of standard production testing, then building in potential failure conditions for aircraft’s systems.

    That first block then transitions into the second block of more rigorous “first flight” Final Gauntlet with an expanded profile of tests planned for the aircraft’s maiden sortie.

    Initially, Boeing found it surprising how difficult it was to fool the 787 into believing that it was flying, due to the greater level of integration of the aircraft’s systems. Frank Rasor, director of flight test operations for Boeing Commercial Airplanes said in April:

    Depending on which airplane you talk about, it can be as simple as you trick an airplane by setting a bit in a computer or by connecting a specific wire or jumper, and that change the configuration of the airplane.  With this airplane being a part of an interactive network, you basically need all of the boxes or components that might be talking, specifically about being able to make it believe it’s in air mode or ground mode, when you’re doing things like gear swing testing, the airplane must think it’s in the air otherwise you will not be able to retract the gear and do the gear test.  So you have to simulate air mode. 

    You don’t just put in a flight controls bit, you have to make sure the radio altimeters are talking and saying something about air ground or engines are running and tack signals are available.  You simply have to look more places to make sure that coordination has been done, and the airplane thinks it’s in the air.  It’s additional work, and I think our test team is up to that, they’ve already shown that, learning from some of the earlier tests have been applied to the last few tests we’ve done.  We haven’t had any issues with that so the team is learning.  It’s just a little different aircraft to work with than what we’ve had in the past.

    The Final Gauntlet tests are expected to last two to three days.

    Photo Credit Boeing

    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.

  • Reports: Boeing and Airbus to split United Airlines order

    Both the Wall Street Journal and TheStreet.com are reporting that United Airlines is set to announce a 50-aircraft order split between both Boeing and Airbus. The reports suggest that United has purchased 25 787 Dreamliners and 25 A350 XWBs with options for more to follow.

    Neither report specifies the variant or delivery dates for each type selected, but could have significant implications for each airframer. Early indications exist that United has selected the 787-8 and A350-900, but this remains unconfirmed.

    Boeing CEO Jim McNerney visited Charleston late last week and “let
    slip” that the company held 840 orders for the 787 “with more to come
    by the end of the year,” says a person who was present for his comments
    and belived the remark was a potentially subtle allusion to the United
    order.

    First, it’s important to establish that in a easing global recession, an order for 50 firm wide-body aircraft, even one that is split, is an impressive sign of the potentially changing fortunes of the commercial aircraft market for both Airbus and Boeing and represent major victories in a time when orders of this size are few and far between.

    Though for Boeing, a split buy is a troublesome sign for the 777. In the most direct sense, the airline that launched the 777 had an opportunity to reinvest in the aircraft and declined. This could hasten the ascent of a next generation 777 or an equivalent option in the 305-365 seat segment.

    For Airbus, while it has made significant inroads into the 777 market, its flank remains exposed where the 787 excels. The A330-200 remains an option for interim lift aircraft as airlines wait for their 787s or smaller A350s, but the reality is that the 220-270 seat market is extremely vulnerable for Airbus in the long run.

    Now let’s see if these reports become reality, but I’m left wondering: How does this help United control its costs? Why order one type when you can order two for twice the price?

    ALSO SEE: Down to Two: United weighs its wide-body options & Travel Options by United: A guide to fleet renewal.

    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.