It looks like the long wait for the first flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner may finally be over, with the manufacturer confirming that the first flight window opens on December 15.
In a statement Boeing said that it had completed static testing of the modifications made to the side-of-body of the aircraft, which led to the latest delay of the first flight (see online news June 23).
The manufacturer said that the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner will occur “after final flight readiness reviews, receipt of documentation from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and taxi testing”.
Boeing added that “both taxi testing and first flight are subject to weather conditions”, and the homepage of its website urges visitors to “keep checking back for updates”. A web cast of the event will go live at newairplane.com 24 hours prior to the first flight.
Japanese carrier ANA is the launch customer of the Dreamliner – for images of the aircraft in ANA livery see online news June 16.
Visit boeing.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
