787 flight test fleet to expand

So many people forget that aircraft development and testing is a difficult thing to do. Aircraft manufacturers rely on a vast number of subcontractors to deliver what they say they will deliver. Any hiccup in the system, especially early on in the process of testing and manufacturing when things aren’t fully established as they will be later on, can result in things that occur such as we are seeing with the 787. I’m certain that ANA is feeling much the same pinch that Pan Am felt when it was the launch customer for the 747 and that UA felt when they were the launch customer for the 777. This is a whole new kind of aircraft with many new and revolutionary systems – truly a first. Boeing must get this right and to do that they are being thorough in their testing. When an airline signs up to be a launch customer they know there may, and probably will be, delays for which they are generally given favorable pricing considerations. This does not dampen ANA’s disappointment that they will have to wait a little longer for their new airplanes, but at the end of the day, they do understand that this is a totally new type and with that will come inevitable glitches and hold-ups. Once deliveries of this aircraft start however, much of the nay-saying will be long forgotten when the 787 will display to the world the true potential of this aircraft. I suspect that many more airlines will line up to purchase 787’s and those that cancelled them will either be sorry they did or re-order. Good luck Boeing! You make the moniker, “Made in America,” a proud one!

If I remember correctly, the original design to production launch was planned for a 5 year period which was extremely aggressive. Past experience historically shows that new aircraft development takes about 7 to 8 years which coincides with the current B-787 program.

Boeing probably assumed a similar success like the B-777 development but most likely underestimated the problems due to a global supply chain.

It was planned that ZA006, with a full airline interior, woould conduct "service ready" testing. As ZA006 will be more than six months late by the time of its first flight later this month (hopefully), another aiplane with full interior had to be found...