Three Boeing 787s Take Off on Test Flights Far from Home
As the Boeing 787 Dreamliner gets closer and closer to its first commercial flight—which unfortunately is now scheduled for 2011—the new bird has started to venture outside of the nest.
This week, five of the 787 test planes are all over the globe doing their best to test out every bell and whistle, while making sure things work just as well abroad as they do at home in Washington. One of the planes is off to Iceland to see how it does in chilly conditions, and how it can handle those pesky crosswinds. Another plane is in Montana also doing some cold weather tests, as engineers are attaching artificial ice formations to the wings and tail.
There’s yet a third plane leaving home base for a bit, this time only to Roswell, New Mexico to practice its abilities to fend off UFO encounters. Well not really, but it is there to practice aborted takeoffs. One of the planes remains in the Seattle area this week, as Boeing must realize that for these planes, there’s no place like home.
No additional delays reported this week, so it looks like early next year is still on the calendar. However, there still are plenty of test flights left to complete, even though the fleet has completed well over 500. We’ll be sure to keep our eyes on the skies in case one ends up flying overhead.
[Photo: aga "HUNG" A'xeron]]
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