Sun, Feb 18, 2007
Certification Of Three-Plane Fleet Expected In Next Few
Months
ANN has learned Boeing's second uberjumbo Dreamlifter, a
specially modified 747-400 used to transport major composite
structures of the upcoming 787 Dreamliner, completed its first
flight Friday in Taipei.
Piloted by Boeing Flight Test Pilots Jerry Whites and Gary
Meiser, the Dreamlifter took off from Taiwan Taoyuan International
Airport at 10:34 a.m. and flew for three hours and eight minutes.
Reports indicate the airplane -- already wearing its distinctive
white and blue livery of the Dreamlifter fleet -- handled well
during the routine flight.
This Dreamlifter is expected in Washington State within the next
few weeks. As Aero-News reported, the
first of the unique fleet arrived in Seattle last September.
Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp., part of Taiwan's
Evergreen Group, is modifying the fleet of three airplanes at its
facility at the airport. The first Dreamlifter delivered the first
787 major assemblies from Nagoya, Japan, to Charleston, SC last
month.
After several delays late last year, the Dreamlifter's flight
test program is proceeding well, with certification from the US
Federal Aviation Administration expected over the next few months.
Already, the Dreamlifter has completed more than 1,000 hours of
flight and ground testing combined.
"The delays we experienced earlier in the flight test program
will not impact our overall 787 schedule," said Scott Strode, vice
president of Airplane Definition and Production for the 787
program. "The entire global logistics system, including the
Dreamlifter's mobile tail support and cargo loader, is working
extremely well."
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