Boeing 787 Test Programme Progress

At the end of January, Boeing moved the 787 Dreamliner fatigue test airframe to its structural test rig in the northwest corner of the Everett, Washington site. The company says that test set up is expected to begin immediately, with tests commencing midyear.

“Unlike static tests, where loads are applied to the aeroplane structure to simulate both normal operation and extreme flight conditions, fatigue testing is a much longer process that simulates up to three times the number of flight cycles an aeroplane is likely to experience during a lifetime of service,” said Scott Fancher, 787 Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Airplanes. “This testing is instrumental in confirming the longevity of the airplane.”

Subsequently, in late February, a third aircraft joined the 787 Dreamliner flight-test programme. ZA004 (pictured) is the fourth flight-test aircraft to be built, but the programme plan called for it to fly before ZA003 because the data ZA004 is collecting is needed more quickly both for certification and development of the 787-9.

ZA004’s first flight lasted for three hours and-two-minutes, during which it reached an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,144 m) and an airspeed of 255 knots, or about 293 miles (472 km) per hour. As testing of the 787 fleet progresses, the aircraft will fly at its expected in-service maximum altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 m) and speed of Mach 0.85.

Heather Ross, the chief pilot for ZA004, said after the aircraft’s first test flight, “Airplane No. 4 operated flawlessly today. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us but I can’t imagine a better start to the flight test programme for this airplane.”

ZA004 will be used to test aerodynamics, high-speed performance, propulsion performance, flight loads, community noise and extended operations (ETOPS) and other test conditions.