Updates On The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Including United's Love For It

March 1, 2010 at 10:39 AM | by kjb | Comments (0)

As March rolls in, we are all now a little closer to finally boarding the first flight aboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. We�re always eager to see what�s going on with the newest bird in the sky, and we�ve rounded up some of its updates below.

· Two Engines Are Better Than One
We learned why it�s important to test airplanes, as one of the new 787s had to make an unscheduled landing late last month. One of the engines lost thrust, and the pilots had to bring it back down to earth to figure things out. The plane is able to fly with just one engine, but two is always better than one. Overall, it doesn�t seem to be a big deal and things should be back to normal testing shortly.

· United Does A Little Airplane Shopping
United Airlines is pretty anxious about the new airplane as well, and they have just finalized an order for 25 of the new jets. Their paperwork will even allow for an increase to 50 planes if they want them. We�re not sure when United will actually take delivery of their first planes, but it�s probably going to be quite some time as Boeing owes a lot of planes to other airlines first. The order cost just north of $4 billion, but that�s at like full retail price and we�re thinking United had a coupon or something.

· Another Month, Another Plane In The Sky
A few different 787s have been flying in circles over Washington over the last few months, but the third airplane built�ZA003�will finally take to the skies this month. The plane was supposed to go up last month, but they decided to install some fancy testing equipment before its first flight�the original plan had the equipment going in after the first test flight. Boeing hasn�t set a date for the latest test flight, but we�re thinking sooner than later.

[Photo: Dave Sizer]

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