Final High-Speed Taxi Tests Completed Satisfactorily

Ready for flight... that's the feeling from many at Boeing as their 787 Dreamliner completed some of the final steps left before an actual test flight. Boeing completed high-speed taxi tests on the first 787 Dreamliner Saturday and confirmed that this is the last in a series of functional tests planned in preparation for first flight.

“Our pilots told me the airplane performed beautifully,” said Mike Delaney, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787. “We’re going through and analyzing the data to ensure we’re ready for first flight. From evaluations we’ve done so far, everything looks good.”

During the testing, the airplane reached a top speed of approximately 130 knots (150 mph, 240 kph), and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement. Earlier in the week Boeing confirmed that a review and analysis of a Nov. 30 static test to validate the side-of-body modifications on the 787 Dreamliner had been completed, and the airplane structure validated for first flight.

During the test on the 787 Dreamliner static test airframe, the wing and trailing edges of the airframe were subjected to their limit load – the highest loads expected to be seen in service. During the test, the wing successfully deflected 18 feet, some 105 percent of the limit load. Anything over 100 percent is considered a successful test.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.newairplane.com