FlightBlogger Archive 2007-2012

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  • The curious case of the missing 787-9 window

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    787-9missingwindow_560.jpgSINGAPORE — Boeing has brought a model of the 787-9 to the Singapore air show, the first time it has had the stretched Dreamliner on display at its stand. The size of the model caught my eye instantly, though the most notable part of the scale model is on the forward fuselage and an inexplicably missing window. 

    The 206ft 1in long 787-9 gets its additional length from elongations of Sections 43 and 46 in the center fuselage. The stretch of Section 43 adds five windows in front of door two. Just as on the 787-8, the 787-9 has a missing window at the point of the join between Section 41 and Section 43. However, the model on display here in Singapore has a second missing window on the 41 Section as you can see above.

    7879apcharwindow.jpg

    I checked the most recent rendering of the 787-9 which appears on the Etihad order announcement from July 2008 and it too is missing that second window on Section 41. The latest airplane characteristics document put out by Boeing in December shows only one window missing from the forward fuselage. 
    The latest airplane characteristics document put out by Boeing last December shows the window very much on the aircraft (right), which appears to have disappeared on the model here at the show. The plot thickens.

    It seems somewhat inefficient to go from a sectional stretch to a plug between Sections 41 and 43, turning one fuselage join into two. I thought it best to open this question up to everyone. Where has that second window gone?  Which is it: window or no window? 

    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.

  • Travel Night, Day, Night: Leg 2 – LHR-SIN

    I’ve found my way on board Singapore Airlines A380-800 (9V-SKA) for the second of my two flights to Asia. This particular airplane was the first production A380 (MSN003), which carried the maiden commercial superjumbo service in October 2007 between Singapore and Sydney. I’ll be airborne for about 12 hours then I’ll hit the ground for a busy, busy week. Catch you on the other side of the world (from the East Coast). Next stop Singapore!

    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.

  • Pre-flight and Layup: A 747 and 787 Round Up

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    Good morning from London Heathrow! I’m here on the ground during my layover and I thought I’d take this quiet moment to provide a brief update and good round up of all that is going on for Boeing’s two primary development programs.

    Let’s start with 747-8F
    While Boeing says it’s not officially a re-run of the final gauntlet testing of January 21-23rd, program sources say RC501 (N747EX) is running a second gauntlet which contains a subset of the steps run during the first. Phase two of the gauntlet is mostly “engineering retest and validation” to address some issues discovered during the first gauntlet. Mark Feuerstein and Tom Imrich took RC501 through a simulated take off and landing, as well as maneuvers between 10,000 and 12,000 feet. (Special thanks to Matt Cawby for the audio)

    FlightBlogger imageGround operations consisted of control sweeps of the flight control system. Perhaps the biggest advance on the -8 is the lateral flight controls (ailerons and spoilers), which are now driven by a fly-by-wire system, the first time such a flight control system has been flown on a 747. While “in flight”, Imrich cycled the flaps and landing gear and then “returned” to PAE via the JAWBN intersection with flaps to 25 and a Vref speed of 155 kts to land on runway 16R.

    On the flight line, RC522 has joined RC501 and RC521. This move, completed Wednesday night, signifies that the entire flight test fleet for 747-8F certification is now factory complete. RC522 which will eventually be delivered to Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) is currently unpainted.
    And on to 787
    ZA002 (N787EX) is back in flying condition once again as it rejoined the flight test fleet on Wednesday for a four hour flight that took the 787 out of Washington state for the first time south down the Pacific Coast to Oregon and Northern California. The flight also marked the first time flight test crews have flown on the aircraft. The aircraft is tentatively scheduled to fly again as early as Sunday, January 31. The aircraft is again stationed at BFI.
    ZA001 (N787BA) is still in the planned post-Initial Airworthiness layup at BFI as it prepares for the next phase of flight test heading toward the Type Inspection Authorization with the FAA. The aircraft is expected back in the sky around Groundhog Day.
    ZA004 (N7874) was spotted conducting gear swings last week while ZA003 (N787BX) continues its preparations for first flight currently set for late February. Additionally, the wings for Airplane 17 (ZA150), the first GEnx-powered produciton 787 (for Royal Air Maroc) arrived in Everett from Nagoya on Thursday, January 28.

    In other news, 850 Renton-based engineers are transferring to Everett to work on 787 and 747 derivatives, while ANA says it is planning to take delivery eight 787-8s between first delivery in the fourth quarter of this year and March 2011. Presumably, the aircraft would be registered JA801A through JA809A, Airplanes 7-9 and 11-15.

    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.

  • Travel Night, Day, Night: Leg 1 – IAD-LHR

    Sitting at seat 23J on 777-222ER (N216UA) I’m getting ready to depart
    on my first leg to Singapore. This T7 will take me across the Atlantic
    on United 918 by way of North Atlantic Track X to Heathrow. I’ll be in
    London for about five hours before transferring terminals to fly the
    A380 for the first time with Singapore Airlines. When it’s all said
    and done I’ll be in the air for about 22 hours crossing three
    continents and over 9000+ miles to Southeast Asia. I’ll see Singapore
    Sunday morning. Next you’ll hear from me it’ll be first thing in the
    morning in the UK and just after midnight on the East Coast. Catch you
    on the other side of the pond!

    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.

  • Thanks for an amazing 2009!

    annualtraffic.jpgI wanted to take this opportunity as we head into the first big show of the 2010 to say thank you to everyone for making 2009 an absolutely incredible and unprecedented year for Flightglobal.com and FlightBlogger. 

    Flightglobal.com recorded more than 74 million page views during 2009 (up from 52.6 million in 2008) and posting more than 1.2 million visitors each month making FG the largest aviation news website on the planet.

    FlightBlogger had a record year as well with just shy of 4 million page views and about 2.3 million visitors during 2009. 787 First Flight coverage here pushed this blog to a record month in December with 575,000 page views. Worth noting, in April 2007, this blog had just 315 visitors. We’ve come a long way.
    Thank you all so much for your support, encouragement and enthusiasm for this page and for aviation worldwide. 2010 is going to be a great year! Stay tuned. 

    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 launches 787 Flight Test web site

    787FTpatch.jpgBoeing has launched 787flighttest.com to track progress of the 787 flight test and certification program during this year. 

    The site will provide a resource for flight test milestones including video, aircraft profiles, flight test glossary, profiles on 787 team leaders.
    The site today features a piece on the recent ZA001 stall testing, including air-to-air video shot from chase planes at altitude.
    Additionally, Boeing will provide a flight test “scoreboard” of flight hours for the six flight test aircraft in the program that will be linked directly to flightaware.com, which many use to track 787 test flights currently. Boeing plans to fly roughly 3100 hours by the time first delivery to ANA rolls around between late September and December. 

    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.

  • Q: What do two pandas and I have in common?

    A: We’re all flying from Dulles on a 777 headed for Asia.
    Washington, DC’s fifth most famous resident (the first four are named Obama) is leaving the US after spending his first four years at the National Zoo. Tai Shan was born in 2005 and we’ve watched him grow from an adorable little ball of fluff to an adorably awkward adolescent. 
    Along with Mei Lan, a three year old panda from the Atlanta Zoo, Tai Shan will be heading moving to Chengdu, China as part of an agreement with the Chinese government which loaned the parents of each Panda to the United states.

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    Okay, I’ll concede some itinerary differences here. I’m only flying 1/3 of the way to Singapore on a 777-200ER with United (then switching in London to the A380). Whereas my furry DC compatriot and his friend from Georgia are flying direct for 14 and a half hours on a -200LRF to Chengdu. I’m flying economy, they’re flying in a specially designed cargo containers.
    On February 4th, a specially painted FedEx 777-200LRF (N850FD) designated “The Panda Express” will take the pair from Dulles to Chengdu on their 6,645nm ride to the land of their parents.
    Interestingly enough, Boeing’s Randy Tinseth predicted this entire turn of events almost exactly one year ago.

    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.

  • Flash: Boeing to launch Advanced 737 & 777 Product Development programs

    Here’s my story on the creation of the advanced development teams:

    Boeing forms advanced development teams for 737 and 777

    A day after Boeing CEO Jim McNerney announced additional research and development allocated for 777 and 737 upgrades, the company has announced the establishment of advanced product development teams to study the future of both aircraft. 

    Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO, Jim Albaugh, has appointed Mike Bair, current VP of business strategy and marketing for commercial airplanes, and original chief of the 787 programme to head the 737 team. Lars Anderson, former 777 programme VP and general manager will come out of retirement to lead the 777 team. 
    “Defining Boeing’s airplane product strategy is critical to our future growth. We need a clear vision and roadmap for both our single-aisle and twin-aisle offerings for the future,” says Albaugh. “Also, in the global environment in which we operate, we need a sharpened situational awareness of macro-economic and geopolitical realities.”

    3:49 PM: The appointment of Bair and Anderson comes as part of a broad changes at Boeing Commercial Airplanes that include new heads of BCA Business Development, Engineering, Manufacturing and Quality, 787 final assembly, Boeing Charleston site as well as the 737 and 767 programs. 


    3:25 PM: The creation of the 777 and 737 Advanced Product-Development teams comes a day after CEO Jim McNerney announced that additional research and development funds would be allocated in 2011 to study the future of both products.

    3:20 PM: Boeing has also created an 777 Advanced Product-Development team to study the future of the long-range twin-engine jetliner and will be headed by Lars Anderson, former head of the 777 program. Anderson has returned to Boeing after he retired in 2007.

    3:07 PM: Boeing is set to announce a new program called Advanced 737 Product-Development with former 787 vice president and general manager Mike Bair as its head. Formal announcement form Boeing is expected shortly. 

    2:46 PM: First Tweet.

    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.

  • ZA002 returns to flight test

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    ANA Boeing 787 N787EX, originally uploaded by moonm.

    ZA002, Boeing’s second 787 flight test aircraft, concluded a two week visit to Everett for an aqueous wash of its fuel tanks and departed Paine Field at 11:32 AM PT for a test flight that should have the aircraft flying for about six hours. The aircraft departed to the south, turned west, climbing to 25,000 feet then turned South down the Pacific Coast toward Oregon and on to Northern California.

    The aircraft will spend the day testing the twin Trent 1000 engines and the oxygen analysis system (OAS), which is intended to measure the oxygen content in the fuel tanks while the nitrogen generation system (NGS) is in use. Guy Norris has an excellent rundown of the system and its origins.

    The aircraft is expected to be back on the ground at Boeing Field, site of the company’s flight test center, around 5:30 PM PT.

    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 books 141 commercial orders, delivers 481 in 2009

    Boeing has reported its total orders and deliveries for 2008. This post added in March 2010 and was backdated for January 27, 2010 when the 2009 totals were reported. This post was created for reference and archive purposes.

     

    Deliveries 4th Quarter Full Year 2009 Orders
    737 Next Generation 92 372 174
    747 2 8 4
    767 3 13 2
    777 25 88 20
    787 — — -59
    Total 122 481 141

    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.