The Seattle Times reports that the structural flaw that delayed the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner may be more complex than originally described by the company, with the plane’s first flight ‘at least four to six months away’.
July 23: The Seattle Times reports that the structural flaw that delayed the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner may be more complex than originally described by the company, with the plane’s first flight ‘at least four to six months away’.
The paper says it has spoken to engineers at Boeing who say that it will take at least three to four months to install the necessary fix to the wing-to-body join, where de-lamination of the structure was experienced during static wing-bending testing.
The news comes as Boeing rolled out the fifth 787 Dreamliner flight test aircraft in a special Boeing livery, painted white with blue accents. The simplified paint scheme will be applied to the three remaining unpainted flight test aircraft (Nos. 3, 4 and 6). The modified livery, which saves time and expense compared to the full Boeing version, will remain on the aircraft until the flight test programme is completed and they are refurbished and delivered to customers. Boeing says it will release a new flight test programme for the test aircraft by the end of September.
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