Long-Anticipated Airliner Expected To Fly At 1300 EST Tuesday

So it all comes down to this. The low-speed and high-speed taxi tests are done. The repairs effected after some initial static testing caused delamination of some composite material have been checked, stressed, bent, and found to be acceptable. And at 1300 EST on Tuesday, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner is finally expected to fly ... weather permitting.

If you have an internet connection, and we're guessing since you're reading this you do, you can watch it live.

Boeing first approved the Dreamliner, then known as the 7E7, in 2003. It was originally scheduled to fly in the summer of 2007 but a series of setbacks have pushed the program two years behind schedule.  Most recently, during static testing of some of the fuselage and wing components, delamination of some of the composite material was discovered, and Boeing engineers have spent the last two months developing and implementing a repair for the 5 airframes already constructed, and which will be incorporated into future production aircraft.

But Tuesday, all of that may be forgotten at least for a little while if the weather cooperates and the Dreamliner finally lifts off the runway in Everett, Washington. Boeing has 840 orders for the Dreamliner, including 25 just last week from United Airlines. First deliveries are planned for sometime next year.

The link to the webcast site for the first flight is below. The Seattle weather for 1000 PST Tuesday is overcast, an 80 percent chance of showers, and a temperature of about 38 degrees. It's not likely to keep many people away from the festivities.

FMI: http://787firstflight.newairplane.com/ffindex.html