FlightBlogger Archive 2007-2012

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  • 787 Flight Test Update: Month Three (Plus 7)

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    Also See: 787 Flight Test Updates – Month One & Month Two

    With three months and seven days since the 787’s December’s first flight, four Dreamliners have taken flight, accumulating roughly 360hr of flight time. Boeing is moving into the heart of its flight test program after completing both flutter and ground effects testing, with Type Inspection Authorization (TIA) by the Federal Aviation Administration expected by month’s end. 

    There’s been much discussion about the rate of accumulation of flight hours and whether or not the 787 flight test fleet is flying enough to meet the pace for a fourth quarter entry into service. Flight test hours, while the gauge offered by Boeing on 787flighttest.com, may not be the most accurate representation of the progress of the program. Frank Rasor, director of flight test operations for Boeing, explained last year that simple division will not yield a proper measurement of progress:

    The other thing, if you did the math, when we talk about 7000 hours when you add up the ground test and flight test, and that adds up to longer than the flight test duration, if you just did testing. Well, there’s a tremendous amount of concurrency in the test, so one test flight might be checking off 5-6 hours of written test objective. You can’t take that math and divide by 24 and 31 because you’ll get the wrong answer.  

    Though month three of 787 flight test did provide a bit of clarity on the pace of hours being accumulated. Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, Jim Albaugh, said on March 9th that the program had used some margin built into the flight test program, but declined to specify how much. Albaugh traced the margin use to slower than expected turnaround time and a steeper learning curve.

    We did burn a little bit. And, really, what it was– It was really two things – getting the efficiency on the flight test program up. Right now, it’s above where we wanted it to be. And the other thing is getting the turnaround of the airplanes, so we can get the hours in the airplane each and every day. And I think we’ve been able to address that. Again, a little slow in getting up to the learning curve. I think we’re there right now. Last week, we had three airplanes up simultaneously. And I think, at the end of this month, we get our certificate, which will allow us to bring the flight engineers– to bring the FAA onto the airplane and to really get into a lot of testing. So that should happen by the end of this month. 

    When Boeing mapped out its 787 flight test plan, it originally targeted TIA – the official commencement of certification – about two months after first flight. Program sources say that TIA was planned for late February. Albaugh’s March 9 assessment places TIA at the end of the month, placing Boeing about a month off of its anticipated pace. Another source says that TIA continues to be paced by the completion of the Wedge V5.5 software testing.
    Month Three 787 Flight Test Update continued below

    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.

  • Movie Monday – March 22 – A Tale of Two Jumbos

    It is not without a touch of irony that today’s Movie Monday (planned severals weeks ago) falls during the British Airways cabin crew strike. The week’s edition, titled A Tale of Two Jumbos, tracks eight days in the life of two British Airways 747-200 (G-BDXG & G-BDXE). The film begins as XG is being towed into a maintenance hangar at Heathrow at the same time XE is being prepared for departure to Johannesburg via Nairobi. The Heathrow to Johannesburg route was the first in the world served with a jet aircraft in May 1952. The operations of the two aircraft takes you behind the scenes of British Airways in the 1980s both inside the hangar and on routes across the planet.

    On a personal note, a sistership of XG and XE, G-BDXO was the first 747 I ever photographed with a disposable camera as it sat at Dulles Airport, which ended its life with the airline in Paithani World Tail colors from India.
    A Tale of Two Jumbos is presented in three two parts totaling about 27min. Enjoy! 
    **The original files were removed from Youtube but were re-posted in two parts.

    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.

  • Boeing’s Albaugh on 737RE, 777EW and 787IGW, et al.

    I had an opportunity on Wednesday to participate in an hour-long media roundtable with Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO James Albaugh, that turned into a wide-ranging conversation about the future of the company’s commercial aircraft business. In addition to 737, 777 and 787, we discussed the future of the tanker and the potential for an ITAR line for the 767, production rates, China’s capability as an aircraft manufacturer, the future of the relationship with SPEEA and IAM, engine exclusivity and the future of Charleston.


    The complete recording is at the bottom of the page.
    737RE
    Somewhat unsurprisingly, the conversation was dominated by the on-going debate about re-engining the 737. While Boeing’s options remain unchanged – Re-engine the 737, keep the status quo or new build a new narrowbody – Albaugh offered an interesting insight into the methodology the advanced product development teams are going through right now.

    Albaugh called the decision a “complex algorithm” that required the right balance and understanding of the new engine/airframe capability and reliability when matched against existing Next Generation and Classic 737s, like in the case of Southwest Airlines. 
    Perhaps most notably, he discussed the Boeing tendency toward the “requirements creep“, which is to say, the addition of new capabilities that serve to drive up the development cost of the aircraft. (Full Story)

    “You’ve got to watch out for the requirement creep. Our engineers would love to put every bell and whistle on this airplane that they know of, we have to resist that,” says Albaugh.

    “I will do everything I can to reduce the requirements creep, so it doesn’t become an equivalent of a major change to the aircraft, and we certainly don’t want it to become a new airplane. When we do a new airplane we want to bring the right technologies to it, which will really give us a leap over what we’ve built today.”

    777EW
    Toward the end of the interview, I asked about the incremental improvements coming to the 777 over the next few years. Mr. Albaugh mentioned the increases in thrust for high altitude airports and the 5,000lb increase in the maximum zero fuel weight of the aircraft, the equivalent of 20-25 more passengers. In addition, he referenced “extending the wing” of the 777 as one option being shown to customers. Company sources say that the increased span, referred to as the 777EW (Extended Wing), could be in service with airlines as early as the fourth quarter of 2012. (Full Story)

    787IGW
    While it has not received a different designation beyond the 787-8, Airplane 20, the first major production blockpoint to incorporate weight savings and significant design changes is a few weeks away from beginning final assembly in Everett. Albaugh discussed the early flight test data coming out of flight test and the prospects for future performance of the aircraft:

    Based on everything that I’ve seen, I feel very confident that we’ll be able to meet the guarantees that we’ve given the airlines. Are the first few airplanes going to meet all the guarantees? No. We understand that. I think that’s pretty consistent with prior new airplanes we’ve delivered. 

    As we get into airplane 20 and beyond, and have further block changes, I think we’ll be able to meet the guarantees. At some point we’ll take all the things we’ve done to the -9 and roll them back into the -8. I think we can get this thing…below the weight guarantees that we’ve made to people.

    Airplane 20, which will be the first 787 for JAL, does have an increased maximum takeoff weight from 484,000lbs to 502,500lbs, which should restore some of the payload and range capabilities of the aircraft. Albaugh did not specify exactly what new features are part of the Airplane 20 blockpoint, but the Airbus Dossier asserts that the aircraft will have a revised airframe, strengthened outboard wing, center wing box, wing leading edges, main landing gear well and center fuselage, as well as enhanced maneuver load alleviation (MLA). 
    You can listen to Wednesday’s complete 61min-long interview with James Albaugh below. The recording starts just after I asked him if 787 and 747-8 are going to be visiting the Farnborough Air Show in July.

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    ▶ Video originally embedded here

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    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.

  • Video: Third and final 747-8F test aircraft takes to the sky

    RC521 (N5017Q), the second 747-8F test aircraft and third to fly, lifted off as Boeing 521 on its maiden flight from Paine Field at around 3:30 PM PDT. The aircraft will stop at Moses Lake before completing its first test flight and ferry to Boeing Field south of Seattle.
    Special thanks to the Future of Flight for the video.

    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.

  • Boeing set to bring 787 and 747-8 to #FARN10

    July’s Farnborough Air Show is likely to feature a pair of new Boeing aircraft, says a report by Andrew Doyle, Flightglobal’s head of content. Naturally, a visit by 787 and 747-8F is dependent on the state of the flight test programs, but there’s certainly a strong desire to bring one or both of the aircraft to this summer’s show.

    The 787, which had its long-delayed first flight in mid-December, could spend as long as a day and a half at the show, marking the all-composite twinjet’s first appearance at an international air show, say industry sources familiar with the plans.

    I would imagine that the two most likely 787 candidates to visit Farnborough would be ZA001 or ZA003. The fully branded ZA001 would be a good billboard, but as it is set to accumulate the most flight test hours of the fleet of six, it will likely be preoccupied with testing. ZA003 and its outfitted interior, however, would probably make for better marketing. That being said, this is pure speculation on my part and Boeing might bring ZA100 or ZA101 as to not interfere with the test fleet.

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    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.

  • A different view: Why 787 cancellations are a good thing

    Air-Berlin_560.jpgSince last summer, Air Berlin has been rumored to be a likely candidate for canceling part of its 787 order. Today, the German carrier announced it has canceled 10 of 25 firm 787s it had on order, as well as an additional 5 options.

    The cancellation reduces the backlog to 866 aircraft from 57 customers. Ten 787s for Iraqi Airways (Republic of Iraq), an unidentified 787-9 customer and United’s order for 25 787-8 were added to the 840 orders that Boeing held at the time of first flight.
    While never a good thing, let me suggest a different way of thinking about cancellations. 
    For 787, they might actually be a good thing.

    Jim Albaugh’s comments from JP Morgan Aviation, Transportation & Defense Conference on March 9th gives an interesting insight on why this might be the case:

    I think the last issue on the 787 and one we’re working very, very hard is profitability. We’ve made a significant investment in this airplane. And, while it’s profitable, it’s not profitable enough to justify the kind of investment that we made.

    If 787 profitability concerns are at the forefront of Mr. Albaugh’s thinking, a cancellation could provide an opportunity for Boeing to re-negotiate prices with existing customers that want to move up in the delivery stream, while making way in the backlog for better pricing with future customers. 

    Nearly 75% of today’s backlog was booked before the program announced its first delay in October 2007. All aircraft that were sold before that point worked under the assumption that production of all three 787 models would be leaving the factory at a rate of 10 aircraft per month by the end of 2010. That was a very different environment to evaluate the price of a 787 than it is today after two years of delays and major changes to the supply chain.
    With 787 production now underway, Boeing now has a much better sense of what it costs to build the composite jetliner in the context of its already “significant investment” than it did in July 2007 when the Air Berlin order was first placed. Despite a shrinking backlog, any relief from the weight of that investment in terms of pricing new aircraft orders should probably be seen as a net positive.

    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.

  • Movie Monday – March 15 – General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

    This week’s Movie Monday takes an early 90s look at the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. After watching the final public displays of the Royal Australian Air Force F-111s in Singapore in February, I was interested to delve into the history of this aircraft. 

    While not a perfect parallel, The F-111 Aardvark was derived from a similar philosophy that gave life to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: Create a single fighter platform that can leverage common capabilities across different military services. In this case, the F-111A was developed for the US Air Force and the F-111B was developed for the Navy. However, increased weight and design changes eventually caused the cancellation of the Naval variant.
    The five-part hour-long episode of Wings will give a solid history into the novel design features and operations of the Aardvark in Vietnam, Libya and the Gulf. Parts two through five are after the jump. Enjoy!
    In addition, this post was optimized with the new Apture 2.0 which you may have already noticed. The new features included the branded search bar at the top of this page. Try highlighting F-35 Joint Strike Fighter or any other text and click ‘search’ to see some of the new 2.0 features.

    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.

  • Better Know a Dreamliner – Part Four – ZA003

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    ▶ Video originally embedded here

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    ZA003 – Reg: N787BX – Serial No: 40692 – Final Assembly: April 29, 2008

    From the outside, ZA003 will be difficult to distinguish from the four flight test aircraft painted in the light flight test colors. What makes ZA003 recognizable is not its exterior, but its interior. As future passengers on the 787, ZA003 will spend the rest of the flight test program focusing on the most visible elements to the flying public. 
    The aircraft, powered by two Trent 1000 engines, made its first flight from Paine Field today, March 14th, with Capts. Ray Craig and Mike Bryan at the controls. The aircraft landed at Boeing Field at 2:01 PDT after a 3h and 6min spin in the skies around Washington State. 
    Its racks of instrumentation are sandwiched in between two sections of nine-abreast seating, totaling 135 unremarkable economy seats with teal and blue headrests, as well as overhead storage bins running the length of the cabin. While unremarkable, these are for Boeing’s test purposes, not the seats selected by each individual airline. 
    The third 787 flight test aircraft, which will accumulate the fewest number of test hours of the Rolls-Royce-powered test fleet will evaluate the passenger environment, including a complete survey of the interior noise generated by the aircraft’s systems and engines. Other tests will include tests of the aircraft’s flight deck avionics, as well as electromagnetic effects and high-intensity radio frequency response testing.
    ZA003 also includes lavatories, forward and aft crew rest areas, electro-chromatic windows and galleys, as well as galley and cargo cooling systems that are not installed on other test aircraft. The aircraft will also test the smoke penetration of the cabin and flight deck in the event of a fire.
    Additionally, the minimally instrumented ZA003 will take part in the roughly 300h of Extended Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS) testing with functionality and reliability testing (F&R) of the aircraft systems. 
    Included in every 787 cabin will be a standard zonal drying system to remove moisture that collects in the crown and cargo area of the fuselage as a normal part of flight operations. After each flight some of that moisture will be absorbed in the insulation blankets and may add as much as 500lbs to the weight of the aircraft, increasing fuel burn. 

    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.

  • ZA004 plays testbed for latest V5.5 787 software

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    I’ve received about a dozen emails this week asking me what ZA004 has been up to since its February 25th first flight. Here’s the latest:

    After its ferry flight to Boeing Field, the aircraft has had additional instrumentation installed and has spent this week acting as a testbed for the Wedge V5.5 “service-ready” software load, which includes updates to the flight control module (FCM) which holds the fly-by-wire software and control laws.

    Boeing has been doing “regression testing” to tease the last bugs out of the system since Wednesday, March 10. The software has been primary pacing item as the aircraft heads toward Type Inspection Authorization expected to occur by the end of the month. The aircraft should be flying again around Monday, followed by a stretch of ground testing then transition to Victorville for engine tests.
    Here’s my complete story on ZA004, first flight information on ZA003, and the latest V5.5 software being tested.

    Service-ready 787 software tested ahead of TIA
    Boeing is testing a service-ready 787 software load as part of its final steps toward the US FAA Type Inspection Authorisation (TIA), clearing the way for the commencement of the aircraft’s formal certification campaign.

    Boeing is using ZA004, the fourth flight test aircraft, as a testbed for its latest ‘service-ready’ software load to present a “conforming article” to the FAA to begin flight tests for certification, the company confirms.

    Also, I’ll have a complete month three 787 flight test update on (or around) March 15th, along with a “Better Know a Dreamliner” post about ZA003 before first flight on Sunday.

    Photo Credit Andrew Sieber

    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.

  • Flashback: Boeing’s 2012 737 Replacement Study

    737RS.jpgOnce upon a time, before a single 787 barrel had been wrapped, Boeing let itself dream big about the future of the 737. Not to say that the big dreaming stopped, but it was just over taken by the engineering need on 787 and a massively growing 737 backlog between 2006-2008 that pushed the need for a replacement to the early part of the next decade.

    Had Boeing gone ahead with the 737RS, today we would be just two to five years away from entry into service. The 737RS was part of Project 20XX, which spawned the Sonic Cruiser and 787 initial technology studies, and broke down Boeing’s future ambition into three categories: Y1, Y2 and Y3. Y1, the 100-200 seat market, was the 737 replacement. Y2, the 200-350 seat replacement, is what we know as the 787. Y3 at 350-450 seats covered the 777 market.
    Mike Cave, now president of Boeing Capital Corporation, was appointed as the study’s director in 2006. At the time, not much was known about Boeing’s 737RS plans, more than that the aircraft was set to be a mini-787:

    According to industrial sources, Boeing has accelerated the pace of the 737RS study effort and even plans to make its initial pass on prospective supplier teams by mid-2006. The RS/Y1 concept is based around an all-composite 787-like structure, fly-by-wire, more-electric system architecture, EVS-integrated avionics flightdeck, and a cabin cross-section “wider than A320”. Aerodynamic improvements include a longer span wing, single-slotted flaps, raked and blended-winglet wingtip options, blended fin root and 787-like Section 41 (nose and flightdeck).

    Airbus launched its own NSR (new single aisle replacement) study and reached similar conclusions about what a 2012 narrowbody replacement could provide for gains in efficiency.

    Initial results from both NSR and RS/Y1 studies have, apparently, been less than stellar. Acting completely independently, the two studies have come up with similar results for their individual concepts, which fall far short of the ideal targets set for the 2012 timeframe airliner.

    Airbus NSR Phase 1 results, for example, are believed to have indicated that if all the advanced technology (available and considered mature and sufficiently low-risk for entry into service in 2012) was poured into the aircraft, the best specific fuel consumption reduction would be 4%, the best operating cost reduction 3% and the best emissions reduction would be 5%. The numbers are also said to be within 0.5-1% for all parameters for the initial phases of Boeing’s RS/Y1.

    These results therefore mean the aggregate benefit of all the combined results indicates a maximum efficiency improvement of only around 9-10% over the current A320/737 models. Given the estimated $7 billion development pricetag (airframe, systems and engine technology) involved in the NSR, insiders say Airbus in particular is asking if the venture is “too much, too soon”.

    Then, like now, the engine technology was the driving factor in getting narrowbody efficiency gains of 20%. However, as Boeing and Airbus target 15% improvement with re-engined 737s and A320s, next generation engine technology found in the LEAP-X, PW1000G and RB285 has provided a 50% boost in efficiency expectations from the RS/Y1 & NSR original studies. 

    Though does this create a dilemma down the road for Airbus and Boeing? If 10-15% gains in efficiency can be yielded with a re-engining program on existing models for a mid-decade entry into service, is an additional 5% over today’s aircraft for a replacement 202X (a total gain of 20%) enough to justify the development of a completely new aircraft type? To really make mark, do the 202X replacements really need 30-35% improvement gains over today’s aircraft?
    A leap too far?

    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.