The First Flight of the 787 Dreamliner

[pair8head]

FAA has grounded them all until a battery issue is taken care of. Hope they figure out the fix and get them back in the air.

FAA has only grounded six of them (the ones United owns) they can't ground planes that are operated by foreign companies
if they don't fly to the US. They did however recommend that all governments follow suit.

[Marnin Grita Guy]

Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

Boeing plans a test flight shortly for one of its 787 Dreamliners built for LOT Polish Airlines to check whether its redesigned lithium-ion batteries work.

The Monday afternoon flight is intended to confirm that the batteries work as intended for the plane's electrical system, including all backup systems and landing gear, according to Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel.

The flight plan can be viewed at FlightAware.com, which also can will track the airplane's route, location and progress throughout the flight.

The two-hour flight will take off at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., at 2 p.m. ET. Boeing isn't providing access to the plane or its facilities before or after the flight

"Following the completion of the functional check flight, we will analyze the data from the flight and prepare for certification ground and flight demonstration in the coming days," Birtel said. "The plan is to conduct one certification demonstration flight."

Boeing is working to return the innovative 787 to the sky after the Federal Aviation Administration and other safety regulators worldwide grounded the fleet Jan. 16. The grounding came the same day a smoldering battery aboard an All Nippon Airways flight forced an emergency landing in Japan, and a battery fire occurred Jan. 7 in a Japan Airlines plane parked in Boston.

Boeing executives have acknowledged they may never figure out what caused those problems.

Still, Boeing redesigned the batteries with more glass insulation between the cells to prevent overheating, and a fireproof steel shell around the batteries to prevent a fire from erupting and a titanium tube to carry flammable electrolytes and smoke off the plane.

The FAA approved those plans March 12, pending testing and certification.

[SeattleParrotHead]

Let's go flying!

[Bicycle Bill]

Is the little dashboard hula girl (first seen clearly around the 0:40 mark) coming as standard equipment on these birds, or can the airlines spec fuzzy dice if they'd prefer?

-"BB"-

[SeattleParrotHead]

787 at the Paris Airshow last week (those wings are so damn purty!):


And the new 737 MAX:

[SeattleParrotHead]

The first flight of the 787-9 is today at 9:40 am PDT and Boeing is going to show it via a live webcast at http://www.newairplane.com/787/787-9/?v=2

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

SP, what are the changes to the 787-9?

[SeattleParrotHead]

It's a 787-8 "stretched" 20 feet longer....

Here's the scorecard, 787-8 vs 787-9
Length (feet) = 186 vs 206
Pax = 210-250 vs 250-300
Range (naut miles) = 8,200 vs. 8,500
MTO (lbs)= 502,500 vs 553,000
Cargo vol (cubic feet)= 4,400 vs 5,400

"While the wing size and overall systems design are unchanged from the first model, the 787-9 includes some subtle technological improvements that are almost invisible.
Structural and configuration changes have reduced weight and improved performance and fuel efficiency.
And the 787-9 tail has a proprietary aerodynamic enhancement that hasn’t been used in commercial aircraft before: Both the horizontal and vertical leading edges of the tail are dotted with pinprick holes that provide what’s called Hybrid Laminar Flow Control.
As the tail moves forward in flight, the tiny holes s*** air into the interior of the tail structure, which then exits through a vent. This smooths the flow of air over the tail surfaces, greatly reducing turbulence and drag." http://seattletimes.com/html/businesste ... htxml.html

[Crazy Navy Flyer]

Nice airplane, thanks.

[Bicycle Bill]

And the 787-9 tail has a proprietary aerodynamic enhancement that hasn’t been used in commercial aircraft before: Both the horizontal and vertical leading edges of the tail are dotted with pinprick holes that provide what’s called Hybrid Laminar Flow Control.
As the tail moves forward in flight, the tiny holes s*** air into the interior of the tail structure, which then exits through a vent. This smooths the flow of air over the tail surfaces, greatly reducing turbulence and drag." http://seattletimes.com/html/businesste ... htxml.html

I'm sure they have researched and tested it to a fare-thee-well and back, but anytime you start poking holes in an aircraft's skin it just sounds to me like an accident waiting for a place to happen.  Sure the holes may be pinpricks, but who's to say that over time (and as the materials age - remember the De Havilland 'Comets' back in the early 1950s?) these holes won't expand or develop cracks running between them like a line on a child's dot-to-dot puzzle?  And if that happens and airflow >500 mph gets underneath the skin, I can visualize it lifting away like the shell of a hard-boiled egg – and from a pilot's or passenger's viewpoint, that's a sure-fire, guaranteed way to ruin your day.  

-"BB"-

[SeattleParrotHead]

This is what happens when you put a couple of ex-fighter pilots behind the controls of the newest passenger jet.....



That bird is 206' long with a 197' wingspan!

[Marnin Grita Guy]

http://www.wltx.com/story/money/2014/07 ... /13367271/

[lime rickie]

http://www.wltx.com/story/money/2014/07 ... /13367271/

Love your new avatar, Barry.

[SeattleParrotHead]

[SeattleParrotHead]

Anyone up for a little joy ride?

[Bicycle Bill]

If think that video was impressive, try the one at this link. (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to embed it)
It's a little longer, and you can select from an exterior view similar to the one above, as well as a pilot's-eye point-of-view and a shot using several cameras on the flight deck to show the entire cockpit ... or toggle in between them during the course of the video.

And somehow, lost in all the on-line hype is the fact that they already flew this same mission, if you will, in 2014 at the Farnborough Air Show in England — as shown by the video clip Seattle Parrothead put up here back in July last year.

-"BB"-

[SeattleParrotHead]

This gives you an idea as to how big the Dreamliner is...

[lime rickie]

[SeattleParrotHead]

Anyone up for a little joy ride?

How they filmed it:

[SeattleParrotHead]