Boeing performed a key crash test Thursday on its new 787 Dreamliner, dropping a 10-foot-long (3-meter) fuselage section from a height of about two stories to see how the carbon-fiber composites would hold up on impact…. The top of the fuselage section tested Thursday was taken off to make it easier to lift and drop from a height of 15 feet (4.57 meters) onto an inch-thick steel plate.
The Boeing Company today delivered its 3,000th widebody airplane from its Everett, Wash., site. The airplane was a 777-200ER (Extended Range) model that was delivered to Korean Air.
The 3,000 airplanes built and delivered from the Boeing Everett factory include 747, 767 and 777 models. The site is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
“We are honored [...]
Boeing is studying contingency plans to maintain its May 2008 delivery target for the first 787-8 in the face of mounting software and systems delays that could push first flight back into October.
The occasion was marked today by a special ceremony at Rolls-Royce in Derby, UK, at which the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) handed over the engine’s airworthiness certificate, which clears the Trent 1000 to power the Dreamliner’s first flight later this year. … Including business yet to be announced, orders have been placed for over 500 Trent 1000 engines by 15 operators and five leasing companies – approximately half the Boeing 787 customers who have made an engine decision.
First flight of the 787 has potentially been delayed until October.
This is likely to raise more doubts whether Boeing will have enough time left to complete the 787 flight test program and get the first 787 to All Nippon Airways next May.
One should note that the R&D issues for the 787 are more challenging than [...]
Singapore Airlines – the first airline in the world to fly the new Airbus A380 – is preparing for the first commercial flight of the new double-decker jumbo jet, from Singapore to Sydney and return. … In response to requests from people all over the world to be passengers on the first flight, Singapore Airlines will auction the seats on global online marketplace, eBay.
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Airbus’ A380 has received approval from both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be operated on runways with a width of 45 metres (150 feet) or more. … “Since the very beginning of the A3XX concept phase in 1996 Airbus has established a sustainable dialogue with regulators, airports, airlines, ground handlers and pilots as well as trade-associations, with the objective to make it fully compliant with the average airport environments.
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The first scrapping of a new-generation Airbus widebody is looming, with a 13-year-old ex-Virgin Atlantic A340-300 expected to be broken for spares.
The A340 (MSN 0016), which is managed by lessor AerCap, was ferried from Hamburg to the company’s storage facility at Phoenix Goodyear airport in July. Although AerCap says that “the decision hasn’t been made” [...]
