When Boeing first designed the 787, the company’s started with a clean sheet of paper, but one thing had to be maintained: the airmanship of Boeing’s last all new jetliner, the 777, had to be engineered into the new widebody jetliner.
From the handling characteristics to the checklists and emergency procedures, Boeing challenged itself to start with the 777’s operating procedures and build from there. While the systems architecture of the 787 is fundamentally different from the 777, the legacy of the larger long-range twin is evident. The influence of the 777, right down to the alternate flap extension actuation timing, is felt in the 787. Boeing sought to maintain pilot’s mental mindset when transitioning between the two aircraft, says Mike Carriker, 787 chief project pilot, who captained ZA001’s first flight in December 2009.
“I knew we had it whipped early in the program,” says Carriker, “when an engineer laid the 777 failure check list out and said we could match it.”
With the 787 in flight testing, the first 777 line pilots have had an opportunity to take part in early evaluations of the 787’s handling characteristics and has already completed two of the three stages toward formally validating the 787’s handling and training commonality with global regulatory authorities. The first stage, T-1, is a paper-based systems comparison, followed by the significantly more rigorous T-2 phase. T-2 took six 777 line pilots, three representing the FAA, one from EASA, one from JCAB and one from Transport Canada and put them in the left seat of the 787 to prove the handling qualities are similar to that of a 777.
With a Boeing test pilot sitting in the right seat, the 777 pilots conducted various maneuvers including touch-an-go landings, single engine cutouts on takeoff, single engine approaches, as well as single engine missed approaches and single engine approach with a full stop landing.
Carriker said the pilots reported that the aircraft flew “like a 777, and while some said it was either a bit higher, low or about the same on flare forces, they all landed it on the right speeds, on the numbers and on the centerline.”
The third and final phase, T-3, will validate the training courses and takes pilots through a final FAA check ride and has already seen more than 100 Boeing staff participate to internally.
Ultimately Boeing hopes to be able transition 777 pilots in just five days to the 787, and eight days for 757/767 pilots and 11 days from the 737. The swiftness of the transition for 777 pilots is derived from Boeing’s desire to see pilots use their demonstrated 777 skill set to fly the 787. The checklists, for example, have 80% commonality with the 777 and the overhead panels panels are nearly identical to preserve procedural flows.
While the 777 was designed to fly like the 767 when it was first designed, Carriker says the operating procedures and cockpit displays differ too significantly to provide any meaningful commonality to the 787.
With the 787 into certification operations with approval of the type inspection authorization in April, Boeing established a conforming article to present to regulatory authorities. Boeing made small changes to the 787 including updating the flight control software to version 5.5. and “tweaked” the 787’s slats to bolster positive pitch recovery in certain aircraft conditions. The adjustment, which was first introduced with a software change, was made permanent with a mechanical modification. Carriker says jokingly that the Dreamliner’s stall characteristics put a certain widely flown single engine piston aircraft “to shame” and describes the 787’s stall performance as “sublime.”
Despite an early sluggishness in accumulating flight test hours early on as Boeing was getting acquainted with flying its new jetliner, Carriker says the 787 was able to complete 200 stalls under different conditions in about two hours, compared to ten times that amount on the Next Generation 737 family.
Currently, ZA001 has been in layup at Boeing Field since May 27 receiving a new set of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines after flight test crews abused the hardware during 374h and 45min of testing that included initial airworthiness, 180hr of flutter, as well as low and high speed stability and control testing and minimum ground control testing (Vmcg) and RAM air turbine testing. The aircraft will head into the summer performing artificial ice shapes testing, as well as the most abusive tests on the airframe that will see the aircraft drag its tail on the runway to find the minimum “unstick” speed at various weights.
Photo Credits Brandon Farris & Casey Vernath
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.