It's a headline we've read before, but Boeing says the oft-delayed 787 Dreamliner will fly before the end of the year and the first of them will be delivered to customers by the end of 2010.
Boeing claims this timeline will allow it to reinforce the area where the wing joins the fuselage. A structural problem was uncovered earlier this year during stress tests of the composite airframe, and it looked like it might delay test flights until next year. But Pat Shanahan, general manager of Boeing's commercial airplanes business, says the problem has been solved, according to the Wall Street Journal. Boeing says the new timeline also adds "several weeks of schedule margin" to the testing and certification margin.
"This new schedule provides us the time needed to complete the remaining work," Jim McNerney, the company's chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "The design details and implementation plan are nearly complete, and the team is preparing airplanes for modification and testing."
Boeing says the static test that uncovered the problem will be repeated to ensure the fix works, and fatigue testing will be conducted to ensure the long-term durability of the solution. Installation of the modification is expected to begin "within the next few weeks," the company said.
The 787 has continued ground tests at Boeing's Paine Field facility in Everett, Washington. One of test planes (Serial No. 2) seen taxiing around the field is painted in the livery of All Nippon Airways, Boeing's first customer for the plane. But because of extensive testing and an "inordinate amount of rework and unique and extensive modifications," Boeing says the first three aircraft off the assembly line will have no commercial value. Those airplanes must therefore be written off as an R&D expense.
*Photo a 787 under construction: Boeing
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