Boeing has announced that its fleet of five Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight test aircraft has amassed more than 1000 flying hours.
The airframer said that the 787 is now about 40 per cent through the test conditions required for certification. “More work remains but we are seeing excellent progress in flight test,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “Even more important than the hours we’ve logged are the test conditions we have completed. The team is being very efficient in getting the data we need.”
According to Boeing the now five aircraft strong 787 flight test fleet has completed 311 flights and 1001 hours, 25 minutes of flight test. Aircraft ZA001 has completed 139 flights and over 384 hours, followed by ZA002’s 96 flights and 330 hours, ZA004 has flown 42 flights and 193 hours, ZA003 33 flights and 89 hours, and ZA005 (the first GEnx aircraft) was airborne for 3 hours, 50 minutes on its June 16 first flight.
Boeing is planning to have the 787 certified in time for the first customer delivery to All Nippon Airlines (ANA) in the fourth quarter of this year. ANA is said to have already started scheduling 787 services to commence in January, although it has not yet identified which routes will be the first to receive the new aircraft.
