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Boeing 787 Sharpening Number 2 Pencils For Its Final Tests

Update 06/23: Boeing has postponed the test flight of the Dreamliner on account of the need to reinforce an area. Uh oh.

June 28 is going to be a huge day for Boeing and its network of suppliers, not to mention for air travelers hoping for more pleasant flights. After loads of testing this week, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will hopefully take to the skies for its first test flight. Even if everything goes well, it will still be a while before we ride in the back with our iPhones set to airplane mode—but this is still pretty exciting.

Before the flight test, the plane will go through a final phase of ground testing known as the final gauntlet. For 48 hours, the plane will be pushed to its limits to further address issues that were found during factory testing and the intermediate gauntlet. This should start sometime today, and will be followed by a couple days of analysis. Sounds like the break room coffee pot will be working overtime as the engineers try to figure everything out.

If the plane does well on the ground, it will soon be taxiing under its own power as it takes its Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines for a spin. Tempting as it might be to just rip it down the runway, Boeing still has to be extra careful before putting the pedal to the medal. If everything goes according to plan, then a five-and-a-half hour test flight will take place on Sunday.

We’ll go ahead and assume that a successful test flight will be followed by a celebratory kegger on the assembly line.

Related Stories:
· Boeing Has Another Full Week Of 787 Tests [Aviation Week]
· Delta Dumps Dreamliner Because It's Sick Of Waiting [Jaunted]
· Airline News coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]