BoeingCo.’s giant 747-8 freighter should make its first flight Monday after performing well on taxi tests and reaching a top speed of about 103.5 mph, the company said.
Boeing shows off their new passenger jetliner.
At 250 feet long, the plane is the largest Boeing has ever built and about 18 feet longer than the existing 747-400 jumbo jet. The company conducted taxi tests on the freighter Saturday at Paine Field in Everett, north of Seattle.
“Based on early indications, the airplane is ready to fly,” said Mo Yahyavi, the 747 program’s vice president and general manager.
Boeing also is developing a passenger version of the plane. It lists 76 orders for the freighter and 32 for the 747-8 passenger jet, with the vast majority from international customers.
The company says the jets will be much quieter, more fuel efficient and have lower emissions than current 747-400 models.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner completes flutter, ground effects tests
Boeing’s second 787 Dreamliner in Victorville, Calif., for ground effects testing. (Boeing)
Boeing has completed flutter and ground effects testing on its 787 Dreamliner, key steps in the airliners certification program.
Flutter is natural vibration that can amplify and damage the jet. Flutter tests verify that the airplane will dampen the effect even when an oscillation is introduced, ensuring it isn’t subject to flutter when flying within normal parameters, Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, noted on his blog Friday.
During flutter testing, the first flight-test 787 flew above 43,000 feet and, in dives, as fast as Mach 0.97, with calibrated airspeeds as high as 405 knots, Tinseth wrote. “The technical team has made an initial assessment of the data and we couldn’t be more pleased with the performance of the 787. The damping was as predicted and the pilots report that the airplane responded as expected.
“Based on this data, the 787 test fleet has now been cleared to fly throughout its full flight envelope.”
Ground effects testing looks at aerodynamic effects during low-altitude flight typical of takeoff and landing. This testing, which pilots conducted on the second flight-test 787 in Victorville, Calif., “also went very well and matched our expectations,” Tinseth wrote.
Once the Federal Aviation Administration validates this and other test items, it will send technical teams for certification testing, which looks at the extremes of the flight envelope, heat and cold, high altitude, over-speed conditions, hard landings and engine-out conditions, Tinseth wrote. “We also explore the details of performance from fuel burn to community noise.”
Such performance tests will indicate how close the 787 will come to meeting Boeing’s promises to customers.
After an excellent 10-day trip that was condensed into 6 hours of HD video, I am finally able to present to you this year’s highlight video from the International Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture event in OshKosh.
There are typically about 2,500 show aircraft that participate at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, including homebuilts, antiques, classics, warbirds, ultralights and rotorcraft.
The afternoon air show features unique aircraft, from early air racers to historical airplanes, along with the world’s finest air show performers.
To the tune of “The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done,” I’ve created a video montage of some of this year’s highlights.
