FAA Has Issued Type Inspection Authorization For The Larger Dreamliner

On his company blog, Boeing VP for commercial aircraft marketing Randy Tinseth says that the 787-9 has entered a new phase of flight testing after the company was granted type inspection authorization (TIA) for the airplane. The FAA will now bring its personnel to join the Boeing team on 787-9 test flights to gather the data required for certification.

The authorization applies to 787-9 test airplanes powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, which are ZB001 and ZB002, the first two members of the fleet. We expect to earn TIA soon for the third 787-9 test airplane, ZB021, which is powered by General-Electric GEnx engines, Tinseth said.

To earn TIA, Boeing Test & Evaluation test crews flew the 787-9 fleet at a variety of speeds, altitudes and configurations to demonstrate the capability of the airplane throughout the flight envelope. For example, Boeing successfully completed flutter testing for the 787-9 fleet, demonstrating structural integrity. Test crews also put the airplanes through various maneuvers at high speeds to try to induce vibration into the airframe and demonstrated it dampened out without problems.

Tinseth said the next step is to begin exploring extreme operations with the 787-9, including very hot and cold weather.

(Image provided by John Parker, Boeing)

FMI: www.boeing.com