Boeing Dreamliner Begins Flight Testing

December 22, 2009 — Some things are worth waiting for. Even if it’s a three-year wait. After delaying its first flight five times due to ill-fitting parts and other problems, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner finally took to the skies last week. None of those delays mattered on December 15 when the 787 lifted off and marked the beginning of a flight test program that calls for the airplane’s first delivery in late 2010 to Japan’s All Nippon Airways. A second Boeing 787 took to the skies today to continue tests, the Seattle Times reported. Crowds estimated between 12,000 and 25,000 were on hand at Paine Field in Everett, Washington to watch the first take-off of the 787, the first commercial airplane made mostly of lightweight composite materials. It landed about three hours later at Seattle’s Boeing Field as deteriorating weather shortened the flight by about one hour. Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Capt. Randy Neville tested some of the airplane's systems and structures, as on-board equipment recorded and transmitted real-time data to a flight-test team at Boeing Field. After takeoff from Everett, the airplane followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Carriker and Neville took the airplane to an altitude of 13,200 feet and an air speed of 180 knots, or about 207 miles per hour, customary on a first flight. "The airplane responded just as we expected," Neville told the Associated Press. "It was a joy to fly." Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the first Boeing 787 will be joined in the flight test program in the coming weeks and months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines. According to a Boeing press release, the 787 will offer passengers a better flying experience and provide airline operators greater efficiency to better serve the point-to-point routes and additional frequencies passengers prefer. The technologically-advanced 787 will use 20 percent less fuel than today's airplanes of comparable size, provide airlines with up to 45 percent more cargo revenue capacity and present passengers with innovations that include a new interior environment with cleaner air, larger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting and other passenger-preferred conveniences. To date, 55 customers around the world have ordered 840 Dreamliners. Click here to view a YouTube video of the maiden flight, or here to send a first flight virtual postcard.

Crowds estimated between 12,000 and 25,000 line up to watch the Boeing 787 take off for its first flight on December 15. Plans call for the first delivery in late 2010. Photo credit: Boeing Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time on December 15. Photo credit: Boeing The 787 Dreamliner’s first flight lasted three hours and six minutes. Photo credit: Boeing

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