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Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First Engine Runs
First flight expected at the end of June
Jennifer Roy, Contributing Editor -- Design News, June 1, 2009
Visit DN's Boeing 787 Dreamliner coverage page for continuing 787 updates as we count down to first flight.
The plan to get Boeing's first 787 Dreamliner off the ground by the end of June is one step closer to fruition, after the company last week completed the first engine runs on the commercial jetliner, a Boeing spokeswoman says.
Spokeswoman Lori Gunter says the first engine tests ran about 40 minutes and will continue to last longer as the airplane "is put through its paces."
During initial engine runs, the engines are started electronically in test facilities and operated at various power settings. "We fool the airplane into thinking it's flying," Gunter says. Now, she says, the Dreamliner is out on the field and will undergo intermediate and final gauntlet tests, which is the full simulation of the first flight utilizing the airplane's own power.
"Each time, the plane and its engines are pushed a little farther," she says. "It is an exhaustive testing of the systems to make sure the plane is ready for its flight test program."
She says the plane is operated under several different scenarios, including if an engine or any of its components fail. The engines are also started, powered down and restarted following technical reviews.
The 787 Dreamliner is expected to fly for the first time at the end of June. A specific date has not been set, Gunter says.
Earlier this month, the first 787, designated ZA001, completed a series of tests including build verification tests, structures and systems integration tests, landing gear swings and factory gauntlet. The simulation tests all flight controls, hardware and software and also included manual and automatic landings and several subsequent ground tests. It will undergo additional power and systems tests, engine runs and high-speed taxi tests prior to its first flight.
