Putting the 787 on the map

[areobat]

As an engineer and SLF, I thought this was a was a pretty creative way to perform some ETOPS flight testing.

Putting the 787 on the map (http://boeingblogs.com/randy/archives/2012/02/putting_the_787_on_the_map.html)

http://boeingblogs.com/randy/images/pp787skywrite.JPG

[Rollingthunder]

It looks like a drawing produced by a child using an etch-a-sketch.
But this scrawl appearing over a map of the U.S. is in fact the flight path taken by Boeing's 787 Dreamliner during a test-flight.
The 18-hour flight saw the aircraft - said to be Boeing's most fuel-efficient - travelling more than 10,000 miles from Washington State to Iowa as it traced out 787 and the Boeing logo in the skies above the U.S.
The real-time geographic tracking information of flight ZA236 as it was coming back to its home base in Washington state, having drawn a '787' and the Boeing logo
The Boeing company logo which was reproduced

Using satellite tracking information, the flightpath of flight ZA236 reveals the sky art which took place on February 9.
Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing at Boeing, told wired.co.uk: 'This wasn't a joy ride. It was an 18-hour Maximum ETOPS duration flight test for a 787-8 with GE engines.'
He added that the flight path had been checked with air traffic control centres and the route avoided restricted airspace.
Made from lighter materials, the 787 is the first mid-size passenger aircraft capable of flying non-stop without the need to stop off at a hub airport.
Last week, a 787 Dreamliner flew non-stop from Seattle's Boeing Field to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport - some 7,679 miles.
It isn't the first time that Boeing has tried sky writing. In August last year, a Boeing 747-8 freighter drew an enormous 747 symbol over 15 states in the U.S.
Fuel-efficient: The 787 Dreamliner cuts down on the need for airliners to stop off on longer flights, meaning smaller planes could be used on long-haul journeys

Cabin: The economy section on a 787 Dreamliner at the Singapore Airshow last week
The 787 Dreamliner has been hit by a series of production glitches that have delayed output.
Earlier this month, a shimming problem was discovered on some of the aircrafts' fuselages and others had to be inspected. Shims are used to close tiny gaps in joints.
Boeing plans to boost production from the current two to three 787s a month to ten per month by the end of next year.
THE VITAL STATISTICS
Only 15 787 Dreamliners have so far been built, with five delivered.
The 787-8 is 186ft long, while the 787-9 is 206ft and the two version can carry between 200 and 300 passengers between them.
The plane is capable of a maximum speed of 593mph and has a maximum range while fully loaded of up to 9,440 miles - the equivalent of flying from Florida Keys in the U.S. to Hainan Island in China.
Dreamliners are powered by two General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1,000 engines and are made from 50 per cent composite material.
The first Dreamliners were delivered to All Nippon Airways last year after a parts shortage, labour strike and a fire during a test flight pushed back delivery by three years.
Vice president of 787 development, Mark Jenks, said: 'Clearly it's frustrating, and we'd rather it not happen.
'We've really moved from some things that early on hit us that really were sort of unusual with the new technology, now to these kinds of things which really aren't that different from the problems we always have to face when we ramp up production.'
Boeing says the new plane cuts fuel consumption by 20 per cent, and lowers operating costs by 30 per cent.

The first Dreamliner version, the 787-8, carries between 210 and 250 passengers. Boeing plans to deliver the 787-9, which could carry 290 passengers, by early 2014.
59 airlines have so far placed orders for 870 of the aircraft.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/02/13/article-2100489-11B851F8000005DC-765_634x356.jpg

[Groundloop]

The Boeing company logo which was reproduced

That "Boeing company logo" that they use these days is actually the old Douglas Aircraft logo that Boeing acquired rights to when they took over McDonnell Douglas. So maybe they should call the aircraft a DC-787:ok: