During the test, Mike and Mike demonstrated most of the operational procedures required by a flight crew - pushback and engine start at Sea-Tac airport near Seattle, taxi and takeoff, climb, cruise, simulated engine failure, descent, approach, single-engine go-around, landing, taxi and arrival at the gate at the Portland, Oregon airport.
Boeing also performed a serie of test on the composite fuselage of the B787 including "limit load", "ultimate load", and beyond 2.5 times the normal force of gravity (2.5 G). According to a Boeing press release dated 02/28/2008:
Testers observed audible indications of damage as the test progressed but the piece did not reach the level of destruction that had been anticipated.
This is a significant development because last September, Boeing announced the delay of the maiden flight of the first 787 due to flight control software issues, fastener shortage, and supply chain bottleneck. Also last year, a former Boeing engineer went public with concerns about the survivability of the 787 composite structure in case of a crash.
The maiden flight has been postponed again to June this year. First delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways is scheduled for early 2009.
UPDATE: On April 9, 2008, Boeing has announced that 787 maiden flight has been postponed to the 4th quarter of 2008 and the first delivery for the 3rd quarter of 2009.
Speaking about the 787 globally distributed aircraft manufacturing model in an internal memo send to Boeing employees on April 21, 2008, (and obtained by the Seattle Times) Boeing CEO Jim McNerney noted:
I expect we’ll modify our approach somewhat on future programs—possibly drawing the lines in different places with regard to what we ask our partners to do, but also sharpening our tools for overseeing overall supply chain activities.
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