| Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly tommorrow |
Updated at: 2103 PST, Monday, December 14, 2009 NEW YORK: American aviation giant Boeing expects to overcome two years of embarrassing delays and test fly its new 787 Dreamliner for the first time as early as Tuesday. Despite a long running series of construction faults, the 787 is the biggest selling jetliner in history attracting more than 840 orders from 53 airlines. Qantas is buying 55 of the mid-size, twin jets which will be badged with both the flying kangaroo and the star used by Jetstar. Constructed largely of moulded carbon fibre sections locked together with titanium fasteners, the 787, with its super quiet jet engines, is expected to be far quieter and 24 per cent more fuel efficient than existing jets. But attempts by Boeing to deliver the jet in time to carry athletes and spectators to last year's Beijing Olympics ended in failure due to a raft of construction issues. They ranged from moulding problems that arose when workers began to lock the fuselage together and, still later, when composite fibres in a wing frayed and came apart - a process known as delamination. Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program, said the previously discovered weak points at the wing joints had since been reinforced. Last week, the plane cleared tests where the wings were bent with loads heavier than they would experience under the worst flight conditions. All systems, such as avionics, hydraulics and electrics, had also been checked out to ensure they were ready for flight, he said. |
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