Posted on 12/15/2009 6:09:23 AM PST by Sub-Driver
Boeing set for first flight of 787 Photo 8:13am EST
By Bill Rigby
SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co is set to make the first test flight of its 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday, almost two and a half years after the new, fuel-efficient plane, which is key to the company's financial future, was supposed to leave the ground.
The lightweight carbon and titanium plane, promising to save airlines million of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs, has been hampered by a shortage of bolts, faulty design and a two-month strike, and it still has a long way to go before it proves to be a success.
"It (the first flight) will provide a badly needed perception that the program is on some kind of schedule again," said Richard Aboulafia, aerospace analyst at research firm Teal Group. "But it's still a long way from the ultimate result."
Airlines like the concept of the mid-sized plane, which promises to excel at carrying 250 or so people very long distances. They have ordered 840 of the aircraft, worth about $140 billion, since the paper launch of the plane in 2004.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Don’t forget the bolts!
How did they fix the wing-attachment problem so quickly? I thought that was a major structural design flaw that was going to take a long time to re-engineer and fix.
Duct tape.
Test flight is delayed 2.5 years, so it would seem the first test flight was originally scheduled for mid 2007. The “Paper design” began in 2004. So it would appear that Boeing projected only 3.5 years to design and build a prototype of a brand new plane with brand new materials (at least to Boeing commercial aircraft). Can that be right?
“Plane porn”
LOL!
Thanks for the “porn”!
Carbon-Impregnated Duct Tape. It costs $500 a look!
Ooooh Baby! That’s the stuff!
The picture of the passengers is not sufficiently diverse. There must be one person of every race and at least one guy with a head robe thing on. Rules.
I’ve examined those photos and diagrams thoroughly.
Perhaps I missed it, but where is the gun rack in the cockpit?
Doesn't matter. Since that's not what the final seating configuration will look like anyway. They look waaay too comfortable.
Actually my first thought was that they were too well dressed. Whenever I fly my fellow passengers always seem to be dressed like carnies.
“How did they fix the wing-attachment problem so quickly?”
Dedicated engineers, techs, and mechanics working 24/7. Testing the “Fix” in all it’s permutations, both in component testing and in the static airframe, took longer than the design.
I am sure it will be an “uneventful” flight. I always liked uneventful flights. But it is a little bit of a stressful day for Boeing stockholders.
I am impressed with the pilots who sit at the end of a runway and push the throttles forward on a plane that has never flown before. (If the plane even has throttles. For all I know it just has a ‘TAKE OFF’ button.)
Obviously this was back in the old slide rule days, but...engineers at Boeing redesigned the wing of the 707 over a weekend, and the wing was so efficient no one made a more efficient one before the end of the Sixties.
The question is, would computer design tools help you rework a wing faster? Probably.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.