Defense/Aerospace Industries

[DewDiligence]

Dreamliner Still Lags Testing Schedule

[Am I the only one who found BA’s assurances vis-à-vis the “ultimate-load” test to be less than reassuring?]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052702303410404575152123922009294.html

›Months-Long FAA Certification Process Still Needs to Begin, Posing Risk for Expected Year-End Delivery of First Planes

MARCH 30, 2010
By PETER SANDERS

Boeing Co.'s flight-test program for its new 787 Dreamliner jetliner is running behind schedule, though the company insists it will still deliver the first of the planes by year end.

The company was finally able to get the long-delayed Dreamliner aloft last December, but it has yet to begin a crucial in-flight certification process with the Federal Aviation Administration. That process is expected to take months, and major glitches could again knock back Boeing's ability to deliver the first Dreamliners as promised.

Top Boeing executives have acknowledged minor delays and unexpected issues, which they say is normal for a test program of this complexity and magnitude. They insist that launch customer All Nippon Airways Co. will have its first jet by Dec. 31. The plane is already two and a half years behind schedule and has cost Boeing billions of dollars in penalties. Any further delay would result in additional financial consequences.

"Some people said that when the first plane actually flew we could breathe a sigh of relief because we had retired the technical risk," Jim Albaugh, chief executive of Boeing's commercial-airplanes unit, said in an interview earlier this month. "Nothing could be further from the truth."

Mr. Albaugh said the company had built in some cushion to its test-flight certification schedule, but that some early snags have eaten into some of that buffer.

He said that some issues, including an in-flight engine shutdown that happened in late February on one of the test planes, have required extra time to resolve. Most of the tests have been conducted in Washington state, though one plane flew to northern Montana on Monday and another jet spent a few weeks undergoing tests in Southern California.

The planes are expected to test conditions at high-elevation airports, as well as in extreme temperatures and high winds. Four of the six test planes are now flying and have flown for just under 400 hours. Boeing expects the fleet will need more than 2,000 flight hours before certification is complete.

Boeing had hoped the FAA's portion of the certification testing on board the aircraft would have started in mid-February, but then revised the date to the end of March. A spokeswoman for Boeing said Monday there was no "firm date yet, but we are getting close." The FAA has been expecting to start the process in April, according to people familiar with the matter.

The FAA's onboard-testing program typically begins after a plane completes its initial airworthiness tests. Boeing put one of the planes through its paces to test its altitude-ceiling and maximum-speed characteristics. In the successful tests, one of the jets climbed above 43,000 feet and reached nearly the speed of sound during a dive.

On Sunday, Boeing said it completed a milestone after a test Dreamliner was subjected to the so-called ultimate-load test. During the test, the plane's wings were flexed upward about 25 feet and the air frame was subjected to 150% of the forces it would encounter during even the most severe conditions.

Officials said the initial results were positive but that "more extensive analysis and review are required before the test can be deemed a success." The wide-body Dreamliner is made of about 50% composite material and boasts a variety of technical innovations never before used on a commercial jet.

Issues have also cropped up with Boeing's other test program, the revamp of its iconic 747 jumbo jet. Three new 747-8's, configured as cargo planes, have been test flown since the first jet flew in late February.

Last week, Boeing said the landing-gear doors and wing flaps were causing an aerodynamic problem during landing. Boeing has yet to disclose a solution to the problem and a redesign could further delay that program, which is running more than a year behind schedule.‹