Blog

Last we left N7771, it had just completed its high speed taxi test. Boeing could no longer test on the ground and it was time to take flight. On June 12, 1994, the 777-200 took to the cloudy skies of the Pacific Northwest for the first time. Once it departed the Everett concrete, the 777 began the most rigorous testing regime for a Boeing commercial aircraft in the company’s history.

On Board British Airways 777-236 G-VIIK, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

Light load on this run across the pond to London as BA264. This 777
was delivered in 1998 (cn 117) to British Airways and was amongst the
last -200s delivered.

Say hello to Delta’s first 747-400, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

Delta’s first 747-400 from Northwest being Repainted. Currently away
from my desk, more shots are coming and wanted to get this one up
asap. Special thanks to the friend who sent these to me.

Boeing has surpassed the 900 order mark for its Boeing 787 Dreamliner program, the company says.

Major news on top of the revised 787 schedule announcement today: 

Boeing Announces Leadership Moves; Restructures Commercial Airplanes Organizations
SEATTLE, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) today announced a series of executive leadership changes and a restructuring within Boeing Commercial Airplanes to better align resources across its development and production programs and strengthen oversight of its global supply chain.

Boeing Schedules 787 Dreamliner First Flight for Second Quarter 2009; First Delivery for First Quarter 2010
EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 11, 2008 —
Boeing [NYSE: BA] today announced an updated schedule for its all-new
787 Dreamliner program that moves the commercial jet’s first flight
into the second quarter of 2009 and first delivery into the first
quarter of 2010. The new schedule reflects the impact of disruption
caused by the recent Machinists’ strike along with the requirement to
replace certain fasteners in early production airplanes.

There’s speculation abound about the timing of the announcement of the latest 787 delay. Looks like it’s likely to come before the week is out. I’ve been hearing similar buzz as well.

James Wallace – Seattle PI:

Meanwhile, I’m hearing from airline and industry sources that Boeing
may announce as soon as Thursday the expected latest delay for the 787
program, which could be another six months.

Glenn Farley – KING5

The company
won’t confirm the delay, but the buzz with the airlines is that an
official announcement will come by Friday, if not sooner.

Sources close to some of the airlines who are buying the new 787
Dreamliner have been getting warnings since Monday that Boeing is close
to announcing a delay of possibly six months.

Late last week, Cirrus Design held a press conference on its new Vision personal jet aircraft. I first began covering “The Jet” over the summer at EAA when I met Mike Van Staagen, Vice President of Advanced Design Development Group for Cirrus. Flight testing was just getting underway and the N280CJ had made its first trip out of state to Oshkosh. We discussed the challenges ahead for the program, as well as potential design changes that were in the pipeline.

Back in October, I spoke with Mike again at NBAA in Orlando and he took me around the Vision mock up on the hall floor. I put together this video and with FAA certification getting underway in the next two weeks, this clip provides a good guide for what to expect out of the Vision.

Van Staagen discusses the changes in the vectored thrust angle, the ruddervator structure, the wing positioning, flap deflection size and angles, as well as the single door configuration. Over at Cirrus Design’s website, Mike takes an even more detailed look at all of the Vision’s design features.

Adding to that, Jeff Decker scooped the Vision fuselage changes in November:

“We’ve smoothed the wing-to-fuselage joint, changed the cross-section slightly and improved the wing root fairing.” Ventral fins on the second prototype have been enlarged and the V-tail has been moved further aft. The SJ-50 has logged more than 100 flight hours since July. “The target stall speed of 61kt [113km/h],” Klapmeier says, “will probably end up being 65kt because we have increased the gross weight.” That weight increase will provide more utility with 860kg [1,900lb] of fuel and 180kg of payload”.

As of last week, the MTOW of “The Jet” was raised to 6000 lbs. to accommodate more fuel for additional range. Also, V-1 Vision prototype was flown to 319 kts, indicating that the production standard will easily be able to deliver a 300 kt cruising speed.

Word on the street is that the designation of the aircraft is under review. It will definitely be known as the Vision, but “SJ50” is up in the air. Also, a battle is underway between L3 and Garmin to provide the glass avionics for the Vision. The L3 Smart Deck flies on V1, but the Garmin Perspective is a major part of the smaller Cirrus product line.

Dreamliner Dossier hits the cover of Flight
After last week’s publication of Airbus’ Lessons Learnt, Flight has devoted its cover to the document this week. The issue provides an expanded look at the dossier, as well as an additional story I wrote about the potential for political fallout as we approach the tanker rebid next year. The issue will be on newsstands tomorrow.

787 Update Watch
Keeping an ear to the ground for when it’ll be.

Question for discussion: If first flight is targeted for June, should 787 fly at or just before the Paris Air Show? And how does one be in two places at once? (Historical note: 15th anniversary of 777 first flight)

Also…
The 77th 777 for Singapore is now in final assembly in Everett. One in ten 777s wear a 9V- registration.

More QANTAS A380s coming
After last week’s twin peek at the QANTAS A380s in Hamburg, news comes that VH-OQB, number two for QF, has been ferried back to Toulouse for delivery sometime in the next seven days. MSN015 should find its way to Sydney sometime around December 17. If all goes as planned, VH-OQC should be in QANTAS’ hands before 2009 as well.

A350 Galley Controversy
My colleague Max Kingsley-Jones pens a interesting story about the controversy being generated around a potential redesign of the aft galley of the Airbus A350 XWB. Just by the looks of it, having to make a 90-degree turn with a galley cart could cause a world of trouble. Could this be slowing down firm configuration?

Continental’s Twin-Engine Bio Fuel Test
It’s not until January 7th, but Continental Airlines will take a 737-800 into the sky with Jatropha/Algae derived bio-fuel. We’ve seen bio-fuel tests before, but what makes this notable is that it’s the first time we’ve seen the test on a twin-engine commercial aircraft. It’s a pretty big step forward for the sense of operational confidence in the technology. Going from 25% to 50% of your engines is nothing to be scoffed at.

And speaking of Continental, how about 80 channels of LiveTV on its domestic narrow-body fleet?

With a good portion of final assembly completed, work now focuses on preparing WA001, the first 777-200, for its first flight. The Pratt & Whitney 4000 development features prominently in this episode and really takes you inside the challenges of developing a new engine. The PW4000 was actually flown under the wing of RA001, the first 747. Keep an eye out for the frozen chicken test as well.

WA001 also gets its roll out celebration in this episode on April 9, 1994. Following the roll out final preparations were made for first flight, including the high speed taxi tests. Another interesting thing to notice is that the high-blow test takes place on WA001 itself, not the static test airframe like on the 787 program. This episode also marks the point where 777 progress loses a contemporary 787 comparison, but does provide a frame for what is ahead for the Dreamliner.

Episode III: A Plane Takes Shape