After Years of Delays, Boeing 787 Dreamliner gets FAA Certification

Seattle PI ^ | August 26, 2011 | Staff

[lbryce]

After years of setbacks and delays, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner was certified Friday by the U.S. government as safe and ready to fly passengers.

The official FAA certification was announced at a ceremony at the Boeing site in Everett, just a few weeks before the first scheduled delivery of the airliner to Japan's All Nippon Airways on Sept. 28. The aircraft was also certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

[lbryce]

Well, Boeing, thanks for nothing; much too little, too late. Airbus engorged on having eaten America's technological lunch in one fell swoop. Dreamliner, my *ss.

[rlmorel]

Gee, I am surprised nobody has swooped on your comment to say “Airbus is an American made product too!”

[Las Vegas Dave]

As someone once said,

"If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going.."

[Jack Hydrazine]

When the first 787 crashes that plastic plane will shatter into a zillion parts and burn up.

[lbryce]

Hey, you’re not nobody. Your swoop is as good as anyone’s.

[Texas Eagle]

I’m guessing most of the delay and cost overruns were government induced.

[AFreeBird]

>>> When the first 787 crashes that plastic plane will shatter into a zillion parts and burn up. <<<

As opposed to an aluminum plane that breaks up into a zillion pieces and burns up?

It doesn’t really matter what it’s made of; any aircraft auguring into the ground is going to ruin your day.

[lbryce]

The guy's making whoosh! whoosh! jet engine sounds as he runs across the room with the toy model.

[krb]

So? That’s basically what happens when all planes crash.

[ejonesie22]

Can you say “look for the union lible”...

[sillsfan]

This is great news and finally!

I’m a Boeing guy and a Southwest guy, so I can’t wait to fly on one.

[rlmorel]

LOL...not me. It seems like the common first comment.

[rlmorel]

Heh, that was my first thought as well.

[Atlas Sneezed]

The guy’s making whoosh! whoosh! jet engine sounds as he runs across the room with the toy model.

---

I thought the pictures was kind of goofy. Reminded me of the miniature Stonehenge from Spinal Tap.

I think they should have had a leggy model holding the plane.

[liberty_lvr]

A whole lot of nothing new is right. Another tube with wings stuck on it. Other than the structural material change and fully electric systems (no hydraulics, not even the brakes), it's just another wide body.

Boeing engineered the quality out of their products years ago to increase profits so this will be a piece of junk like all of their other new builds are.

And Albaugh is a flat-out admitted communist. One thing about Boeing, it never met a liberal cause or committed progressive it didn't love. He's the only CEO I know that can openly lose $4B in his first two years on the job and still stay employed.

[lbryce]

busty works, too.

[ml/nj]

I’m guessing most of the delay and cost overruns were government induced.

They were Boeing induced.

Beware of environmentally sensitive airplanes.

ML/NJ

[RayChuang88]

If you think this is bad, there are rumors that there are SERIOUS development problems at Airbus over the upcoming A350 competitor to the 787.

Indeed, these issues are forcing Rolls-Royce to uprate the Trent XWB engines. The original plan was 75,000 lb. thrust for the A350-800, 85,000 lb. thrust for the A350-900 and 95,000 lb thrust for the A350-1000; it now appears Rolls-Royce may have to uprate each of the Trent XWB designs about 8,000 to 10,000 lb. thrust with likely loss of fuel efficiency.

No wonder why airlines that can afford it are buying a lot of Boeing 777-300ER's.

[Steamburg]

It’s not that it’s safe, it’s that they threatened the unions with a new plant. Of course the two are not related.

[DuncanWaring]

Watching the story over the years, it appears most of the delay and overruns were due to outsourcing major structural parts to incompetent suppliers.