Delayed Dreamliner Moves Towards First Flight
It's another small step towards certification for Boeing's 787
Dreamliner. Alenia Aeronautica announced Wednesday it recently
completed ultimate load testing of the Dreamliner's horizontal
stabilizer. The test was carried out at the Laboratory of
Structural Tests at Alenia's Pomigliano plant in Naples in the
presence of Boeing engineers.
The test is a fundamental step as part of Boeing's 787
certification efforts, and is key to clearing the Dreamliner for
first flight. During the test, the stabilizer is subjected to the
aerodynamic loads that could be experienced by the aircraft during
flight in the most severe circumstances.
Using a system of hydraulic jacks activated by specifically
developed software, the test proved the 787's horizontal stabilizer
is capable of withstanding 150 percent of the load it is expected
to see in its lifetime.
"Our entire 787 team is fully committed to safety and
reliability as demonstrated by this robust test program," said Mark
Jenks, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of Development
for the 787 Program. "The successful testing of the horizontal
stabilizer proves the capability of the composite material, design
and construction."
"Thanks to this test, the last of a series that has shown the
compliance with the project's parameters," commented Nazario
Cauceglia, Alenia Aeronautica's chief technical officer, "we have
once again verified the effectiveness of the innovative structural
and technological solution adopted for the 787 stabilizer. This is
a testament to our company's capability of managing the whole
process of design, development, production and testing of complex
composite material components."
Over the past three months, static tests in the laboratory at
Pomigliano have successfully bent the 787 stabilizer up and down
and asymmetrically at maximum load, simulating three critical
design conditions for the stabilizer.
Designed and manufactured by Alenia Aeronautica at its Foggia
facility, the horizontal stabilizer is made of two monolithic
co-cured side pieces and one central element, is 20 meters long
and, like the 787 fuselage and wings, is made of carbon fiber
materials.
The co-cured box of the 787's horizontal stabilizer is, to date,
one of the biggest composite monolithic structures ever built for a
commercial airplane; and is manufactured in a one-shot autoclave
cure cycle starting from 27 uncured components. This process was
developed from Alenia Aeronautica's proprietary technology and
represents an innovative production process, making the Foggia
facility one of the most important plants in the world for
composite material production.
The first production horizontal stabilizer was shipped to Boeing
in April 2007, as ANN reported (shown
above).