Update on BOEING 787s status

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    the747guy
    Participant

    Today, I read a very interesting blog with everything related to the Dreamliner, the BOEING 787.

    As we all know, the 787 DreamLiners have been grounded due to a battery technical problem, which is being addressed by BOEING with severe urgency. Totally understandable.

    Apparently, BOEING expects a couple of weeks to finish certification testing of 787 battery fix that could get the DREAMLINERS back in the air sometime soon.
    I quote:
    “Boeing is expecting a pretty short testing period for their proposed battery fix though the FAA could mandate more tests. Boeing needs to conduct only one test flight with the proposed fix on ZA272 (LN 86, SP-LRC)”, on the 86th airframe produced by BOEING at its plant in Everett, WA. “ZA005 (LN 5, N787FT)” the 5th BOEING 787-8 airframe produced, “will conduct ground tests of the fix. Both aircraft are in the process of being retrofitted with the battery fix. Boeing has told me that it takes about 4 to 5 days to remove the old lithium ion battery set up and install the new battery assembly for both the main and APU battery. Boeing has declined to reveal how many ground and flight test hours will be needed to finish testing though Ron Hinderberger, Boeing Vice President, 787-8 Engineering says the current plan calls for only one test flight of the upgrade system on ZA272. The total ground and flight tests should be no more than a couple of weeks though the FAA can mandate additional testing. It is the FAA who will (have) the final say in this matter. Boeing is pretty confident of the fix because of the testing and work performed in their integrated systems labs but many of these test will have to be re-performed under the oversight of the FAA. Boeing said that about 1/3 of the required FAA testing is already completed.

    Once the FAA has given it’s sign off then Boeing will act aggressively to get the fix installed on the 50 787s that currently in customer hands. I would expect that there will be multiple Boeing teams at different locations working concurrently to do the retrofit which, as mentioned earlier, will take 4 to 5 days per airplane.”

    I think this is good news for BOEING, for the major airlines flying the 50 B787-8s already delivered and in service, and to us passengers that like to fly in new airplanes with the most advanced technology, specially in BOEING planes.

    The article also mentions that the root cause of the battery incidents on the B787s has not been discovered yet and that BOEING and the FAA & NTSB are working hard on finding and approving, respectively, a “fix” to the problem.
    It is important to learn that the evidence pointing the root cause was probably destroyed on both B787s, as was the case of the TWA Flight 800 B747 which exploded off Long Island’s South Shore in New York, apparently due to fuel vapors in the center wing fuel tank that were ignited by a spark. Direct evidence was never found but as a result on their findings the FAA required BOEING to implement some improvements and retrofits in all B747s to make these planes safer. Based on such experience, and having some specific evidence on hand, I think BOEING and the FAA & NTSB will find a solution to make the 787s safer and get them back in the air in the very near future.

    I think this is the cost of implementing and improving new technologies, and thank God, in this case, no lives have been lost. BOEING and the authorities are acting responsively and committing to passengers and crews’ safety as their main objective.

    I hope to see the DreamLiners back in the air in a few more weeks and to have the chance to start flying in them soon. I hope you too as well.


    HarryMonk
    Participant

    Was the ‘blog’ from the Boeing PR department ?


    Edski777
    Participant

    It’s fun to read how they give a spin on something that must be one of the worst episodes in Boeing’s history. No matter when this is fixed and approved, people will keep reminding Boeing about this problem for years to come.
    The 787 will be under more scrutiny than any recently developed airplane, both by its operators, passengers and air safety agencies.

    If this isn’t straight from the Boeing PR department they should hire the guy that wrote it.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Good luck to them but I think I’ll give the 787 a wide berth for now until things settle down.


    the747guy
    Participant

    HarryMonk and all Forum readers,

    The blog I read is “ALL THINGS 787”. The information presented there is presented seriously and based on facts and real data.

    http://nyc787.blogspot.com/

    As you can see, all the information presented regarding the production of the DreamLiner, which is supported with up-to-date BOEING’s figures, is very informative and extremely interesting.
    You can see the 787 production and disposition status, airframe by airframe, from plane #1 built at BOEING’s Everett Plant to the current planes under production: airframe #114 (the fourth 787-8 being built for British Airways), airframe #115 (the fist 787-8 being built for AeroMexico, and airframe #119 being built for China Southern Airlines. It also shows very detailed and accurate info on Total deliveries by customer, 787s total deliveries broken down by B787-8s and B787-9s, etc.

    If you have a chance, and more importantly if you like to read about the most updated information on the BOEING 787 DreamLiner, I would recommend you to read the blog. I think it is very serious. Let me know what you think about it.

    I hope you agree with me that it is a serious and interesting source of information to find about the BOEING 787 status.


    BigDog.
    Participant
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