Boeing has publicly said that static testing on ZY997 to validate the 787 wing fix would begin in late November. Well, it’s late November and Matt Cawby’s KPAE blog that closely tracks the goings-on at the company’s Everett facility posted a small item that has attracted quite a bit of attention:
A wing load test on the static test 787 in the 40-23 began at 4:30 PM
today and was completed at 7:20 PM. Second test scheduled to begin at
8:00 PM.
In this case, “today” referred to Friday, November 27th. Static testing will(is) take(taking) place inside Building 40-23 at the Everett factory, where the static airframe has been parked since April 2008. The static tests will validate Boeing’s side-of-body reinforcement and clear ZA001, the first 787, for flight in Decemeber.
There are a few other indications that the static tests are underway, but direct (official) confirmation eludes me. Boeing says that they will be making a comment at the conclusion of the static tests, not the commencement, so official word one way or another isn’t coming right now.
Anyone know what’s up? Is your strain gauge “spidey sense” tingling too?
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.