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As Boeing announces it has cleared all 787 equipment for first flight, the airframer plans changes to landing gear components on later production 787-8 aircraft to improve gate turnaround operations by improving the thermal performance of part of the braking system.

Early 787s will be constrained in some quick turnaround operations if the gate arrival follows a high-energy landing that raises the brake temperature past a certain threshold. Boeing emphasized that the issue lies not with the brakes themselves, but the remote data concentrator (RDC) units on the four 787 main landing gear axles.

Remote data concentrators (RDCs) are used to flow digital and analog data from remote sensors into the 787’s Common Core System and replace traditional, dedicated signal wiring, saving weight and allowing increased operator flexibility.

The landing gear based RDCs were intended to accommodate the extreme heat but “did not meet expectations,” said Boeing.

Adding that, “Until the new units are installed, airplane dispatch based on a lower brake temperature will be implemented.”

Boeing says cooling fans can be used at the gate following a high-energy braking landing to reduce the park time necessitated by brake heat generated during landing.

Boeing has estimated that a 787-8 with 275 passengers can be turned around and prepared for departure in as little 45 minutes, though the definition of a “quick turnaround” varies depending on the needs of the airline and its operations.

Airlines often leave landing gear down for an extended time after takeoff to allow for additional brake cooling before stowage, though Boeing “has no plans to require the airlines to leave the gear down after takeoff.” Adding that “dispatch procedures,” which require additional cooling time at the gate, “will facilitate normal gear retraction.”

Brake cooling time would vary based on airport conditions and a specific duration of time would not be specified, though brake temperature would have to return to acceptable levels prior to pushback.

A high-energy landing would, for example, be undertaken if a higher autobrake setting were selected to reduce stopping distance on a shorter runway.

To improve turnaround time following high-energy landings that would significantly raise brake temperature, Boeing along with partner GE Aviation, who supplies the RDCs, is developing a more robust installation that will relocate the unit and improve thermal performance.

The design change will maintain the functionality of the landing gear RDCs, however Boeing will have to revise the brake control monitoring system (BCMS) software to maintain compatibility with the new component package.

The BCMS software, which is developed by Crane Co. and was previously cited as a key pacing item for the 787 program has been delivered to Boeing and installed on Dreamliner One.

Boeing expects production incorporation to tentatively occur in late 2010, which when matched up against the airframer’s proposed production ramp up, could be part of the blockpoint changes expected for Airplane 20.

Though, Boeing adds that the fix will be implemented as soon as it is available and the company is still working out the exact timing of the change.

Image courtesy of Boeing

In what is the largest commercial aircraft order of 2009, Lufthansa firmed up an order for 30 CSeries aircraft plus 30 additional options for subsidiary Swiss International Air Lines.

Bombardier’s first firm CSeries order comes after Lufthansa signed a letter of interest in July 2008 (live blog) at the Farnborough Air Show. Even though Lufthansa is the first airline to place a firm order for the CSeries, Swiss will not serve as the aircraft type’s first operator.

The 110-seat CS100 aircraft will replace 20 Swiss BAe Avro RJ-100ER aircraft beginning in 2014 and configured with 115 seats. Entry into service of the CS100, which is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1000G engines, is scheduled for 2013. The engine selection was first announced on this blog at the Dubai Air Show in November 2007.

The order marks a bright spot in an otherwise troubled 2009 commercial
aerospace market that has seen continued cuts in capacity, falling
passenger and cargo traffic, as well as numerous aircraft order
cancellations and deferrals.

The boost for the program comes a day after Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker said, “[A CSeries order is in the freezer because we require certain conditions from Bombardier
for us to consider the aircraft, for which they are not capitulating.
So I think we’ll have to forget about it if [Bombardier does] not respond.”

Al Baker adds that his concerns cover “the whole deal”, including both price
and specifications of the aircraft. “If they oblige, maybe we will
reconsider our decision,” he adds.

Qatar Airways is interested in purchasing the 130-seat CS300 aircraft, the second CSeries variant, for regional operations out of its Doha hub.

The next step for Bombardier will be to sign a firm 2013 launch customer. Mongolian regional airline Eznis is currently the only other customer to have signed a letter of interest with Bombardier for seven CSeries aircraft.

The carrier has said it plans to firm the order in 2010.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Bombardier announced the re-designation of the twin CSeries variants. The 110-seat C110 has been re-branded the CS100 and the 130-seat C130 is now the CS300. The change is likely geared toward avoiding confusion with the C-130 Hercules, a multi-role military cargo aircraft.

Boeing 787 Aircraft 0001 Moved To Paint Shop 3-10-09, originally uploaded by moonm.

Around 9:30 pm on Tuesday evening in Everett, Dreamliner One departed Building 40-24 for its return appointment to the paint shop. The aircraft will receive its second coat of paint since June 25, 2007 when ZA001 rolled for the first time.

While in the paint hangar, N787BA will also receive its aqueous wash to clean the fuel tanks and remove any debris that accumulated during assembly over the last twenty-two months.

Dreamliner One should be out of the paint hangar in about ten days.

Special thanks to Tony for the photo.

As someone who grew up in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, I came to appreciate how valuable high-speed rail was as a good alternative for flying between Boston, Washington and New York City. The trip from Washington to NYC is arguably more convenient at only three hours and reasonably priced to be competitive with the shuttle.

Though, potentially on the docket for high-speed rail projects is a proposal to connect New York to Buffalo along the existing Empire Service route as part of the economic stimulus package. At first glance, the plan makes perfect sense: A 110 mph train cutting the trip between the cities from 8-hours down to just 5-hours.

I took a closer look at what this actually means when matched up against flying. Using two arbitrary travel dates (Monday, May 11 to Friday, May 15) the price to take the train (traditional-speed rail) is between $55 and $78 each way on a service offered three times per day. The trip on JetBlue (JFK-BUF) yields $69 each way with a 12 flights a day. The flight is about 80-minutes total vs. 300-minutes by high-speed train.

There is a fair point to be made when discussing a stress cost of not
having to deal with airports and security. Though, the whole trip including the time it would
take to go from the Financial District to Penn Station arriving 20
minutes before your train departs, still takes longer overall than if you went to JFK,
arriving 60 minutes early from the Financial District and hopped a flight.

Price, in time and money, matters. A recent poll by travelzoo.com found that 40% of travelers
would forgo using the bathroom free of charge if it meant a 50% cheaper plane
ticket. Price, not stress, was the deciding factor.

Where the high-speed rail system finds its justification is in the intermediate stops between New York City and Buffalo that would
otherwise be hard to reach by any other means than a car. The line would connect cities and moves goods and people between these intermediate points. This alone may serve as a good reason to build the line, though if the price is prohibitive compared to flying between the origin and end point along the line, then a high-speed rail system is only as good as it’s utilized.

If the US is going to have a viable high-speed regional rail system then the proposition has to be competitive for consumers. High-speed rail for the sake of high-speed rail is no virtue.

Image credit Railfan and Railroad Magazine

Boeing reaffirmed its 787 schedule today, saying that the company has “cleared all equipment for first flight” as it prepares for its maiden flight in the 2nd quarter.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson called Airplane One “essentially factory complete.”

Carson added that Airplane One, which has been delayed by fastener problems and design changes, is currently undergoing integrated hardware and software testing at the company’s Everett, WA factory.

Carson cited several visible “mini-milestones” to look for in the weeks
to come, including a trip to the paint shop and commencement of
gauntlet tests to verify and validate systems integration, as well as
flight line ground and ship power testing to ensure the aircraft’s
self-sufficiency.

Carson was speaking at a JP Morgan Conference and said that “job one” for his company is flying, certifying and delivering on the 787 and 747-8 programs for customers.

The first 787-8, ship seven, is scheduled to enter service in the 1st quarter of 2010 with Japan’s All Nippon Airways. 

What a difference a week makes!
Last week’s open thread had a much different theme as I was writing from under 12-inches of snow in Boston. This week, in stark contrast, is a beautiful sunny springtime kickoff here in Washington (67F, 19C). Take that Groundhog.

767-323ER(WL)
Yesterday, American Airlines Flight 78 departed Dallas Fort Worth enroute to London Heathrow Airport. This was a perfectly routine trans-Atlantic flight save for the fact that there was an eleven foot tall winglet affixed to each wingtip. N389AA, which took flight with its new Aviation Partners Boeing winglets back in July, entered revenue service yesterday touching down at Heathrow at 10:26 local time this morning. The 767-300ER now boasts a range of 6,335 nm up from 5,975 nm.

With American, Delta, Air New Zealand, Condor, LAN, Hawaiian and Austrian (to name a few) all buying winglets like they’re going out of style, it begs the question: Are winglets recession proof?

British Airways A318 Interior
BA let their premium A318 interior configuration slip yesterday and Flightglobal.com nailed the scoop. The 2-2 lie flat configuration for 32 passengers that will hop from London City Airport to Shannon to JFK.

Thought No. 1: Keep an eye on these load factors when this service begins. The A318 order came out of competition with EOS, MAXjet, L’Avion and Silverjet all of which are no longer in operation. Is there a still a market for this type of premium service in this economy?

Thought No. 2: Looking over those pictures yesterday, I stopped and did a comparison of the original and new A320 family interior. Worth taking a peek at these side-by-side A320 cabin shots. ORIGINAL (MSN2539) v. NEW (MSN3404)

A380 Convoy
Emirates A380 (MSN028) is on its way to Toulouse and will be winding around the French countryside beginning on March 9th. The aircraft will eventually wear A6-EDH as the 8th A380 for the Dubai-based carrier late this year or early next year. Just fifty more to go.

Looking to get away?
NBC Nightly News (highly recommended podcast) had a little piece on falling travel prices. I got the itch just watching this.
 

As one of the most famous squadrons of World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen helped moved both America and the war effort forward. The History Channel recently took famous air battles and combined their historic retelling with computer animation to bring the history to life in a program called Dogfights. What follows is a retelling of some of the most famous dogfights of World War II as told by the men who sat in the cockpit of the North American P-51 Mustang. The Tuskegee Airmen recount their time flying against the Luftwaffe.

The following is the second in a two part report detailing the status of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program. Part one, which examined the progress of the six flight test aircraft was posted on Thursday.

After incurring two years of costly delays to its flagship program, Boeing is set to begin final assembly of the sixth and final flight test aircraft, paving the way for the first production 787 Dreamliner.

Major supplier partners have delivered the majority key structural components and systems components to final assembly for Dreamliner Six. With these parts delivered, structural partners are, for the first time, able to focus resources solely on preparing production aircraft.

Center fuselage integrator Global Aeronautica, for example, will have the first six production ship sets in its Charleston, SC facility by mid-March.  

Airplane seven, which is slated for delivery to All Nippon Airways as JA801A in February 2010, will be the first major engineering blockpoint for the 787 program adding significant weight savings for overall performance enhancement, though the first block one production aircraft are expected to be delivered over the target weight.

Block one production aircraft are expected to be delivered to a mix of Chinese and Japanese airlines.

The second blockpoint for additional design changes and weight savings are expected for Airplane 20. It is believed that Boeing will gain significant weight savings by introducing structural changes to the wing and a revised electric architecture.

Suppliers have described the preparations of airplane seven for delivery to Boeing as more challenging because of the significant design revisions expected to be incorporated for the production standard 787s.

Much of the additional work stems from revisions in the original engineering as a result late design changes for production aircraft that will be incorporated at the first-tier supplier level rather than farther down the supply chain where they otherwise would originate.

For example, a program source tells FlightBlogger that the production aft fuselage sections fabricated by Vought Aircraft Industries is as much 30% different from the first six flight test aircraft delivered.

Several such changes will originate in the center wing box and wing tank fabricated by Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan. In March 2008, Boeing revealed it would have to strengthen internal structural spars due to premature buckling.

Boeing announced at the time that Airplane seven would be the first aircraft to have that change incorporated at the supplier level, whereas the first six test flight aircraft required a retrofit to be added on the final assembly line in Everett.

In addition, to better enable the coming production ramp up and speed final assembly time, a terminal fitting was relocated from the wings to the integrated center fuselage section, though this change presented a unique challenge to the 787 supply chain.

By relocating the fitting for its first incorporation with airplane seven, Boeing found that the width of the center fuselage had increased causing a “slight interference” with a damage indicator panel within the 747 Dreamlifter’s cargo bay, preventing optimal loading.

The interference was enough to warrant a simple retrofit to the Dreamlifter that will be prepared in time for the first delivery expected in the second quarter. Boeing plans a service bulletin to address this issue across the LCF fleet.

As the program moves into production phase, FAA audits are being conducted to ensure standardization for type conformity of assembly and integration procedures. The aft fuselage for airplane seven, for example, will undergo a wiring conformity audit prior to delivery to final assembly.

Final assembly for airplane seven should begin later this spring.

Image courtesy of Boeing

The following is the first in a two part report detailing the status of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner program. Part two, which examines preparations for formally commencing production, will be posted on Friday.

Inside its cavernous Everett facility, Boeing is busily preparing Dreamliner One for its first flight before the end of June as the company prepares for assembly of the sixth and final flight test aircraft.

First flight, which was originally intended for late April still remains designated internally as “To Be Determined.” However, key systems testing has shifted roughly two months, potentially pushing the expectation of 787 first flight to the June time frame according to several program sources. Late June still falls within Boeing’s 2nd quarter target for flying the 787, though it appears the remaining margin is shrinking before potentially eating into the flight test certification program.

Factory gauntlet testing, the first of three extensive systems testing phases, is now designated for early April. Initially, the factory gauntlet was targeted for early February.

Boeing’s first 787, ZA001, remains on a slant assembly position on the 767 line until the second week of March when it will make its second trip over the Boeing Freeway to the paint hangars.

The trip to the paint hangar will follow the medium blow pressure test, which is planned for later this week. The test will see the differential cabin pressure raised to 9.43 PSIg.

During the middle of this month, Boeing will make way for the sixth 787 flight test aircraft to begin final assembly. To do so, this requires relocating Dreamliner Three to a slant position on the 747 line which is currently in a lull as it transitions to 747-8F production.

ZA003, which recently received its twin Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines is regarded as the lowest priority of the six flight test aircraft. The eventual ownership of the aircraft has publicly become an open question with Delta Air Lines having appeared to abandon the early build 787s and its place as the North American launch customer for the 787.

When it enters the flight test campaign, Dreamliner Three will demonstrate the passenger environment by testing features like the cabin air system, passenger noise levels and the behavior of the interior structure.

The shift in priority away from Dreamliner Three to Airplanes One, Two and Five, the first General Electric GEnx powered 787, has opened the door for the reshuffling of its flight test aircraft sequence.

“We are approaching the flight test program with flexibility in mind,” said Boeing. “We will share more about that sequence at the appropriate time.”

The airframer originally intended to have the six flight test aircraft enter the test campaign in the order they were assembled, though a higher level of completion of later shipsets arriving to Everett could see later flight test aircraft flying out of the original sequence.

Boeing added that flexibility encompasses all six of the flight test aircraft, including Dreamliner One.

Following the line move of ZA003-ZA005, Dreamliner Two, which will remain at the fourth assembly position inside the 787 Final Assembly Line, is expected to undergo first power-on.

In addition, the forward and center fuselage for Dreamliner Six will arrive in Everett as the last structural sections for flight test aircraft are delivered.

Those parts will join the wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, as well as the aft fuselage which departed Charleston on Feb 15. According to program sources, the aft fuselage took place in a planned FAA audit to sign off on the current return network giving a green-light for future standardized type conformity on this feature.

The delivered barrel section also sports an already painted blue and white passenger door in The Boeing Company colors. The door, an Everett-based source says, was originally used in the July 2007 rollout but returned to Latecoere for completion and then reinstalled completed for Dreamliner Six.

For the two static and fatigue test airframes work continues to progress as ZY997 was handed back over to the Boeing test lab in mid-February. The fatigue airframe, ZY998, which occupies a spot on the Everett flight line, is currently undergoing airframe rework stemming from improperly installed fasteners. According to one source familiar with the rework, more than one hundred staff are tackling the fastener replacement before full-scale fatigue testing can get underway.

Photo Credit Tolga Ozbek