787 First Flight - Signs of Trouble Ahead?
While watching the 787 first flight yesterday I noticed that the outboard ailerons appeared to both be deflected negative to quite a noticeable extent.
Now it could just be an optical illusion because of the high deflection of the flaps, but is it possible that this is a load alleviation measure (shifting the lift distribution inboard to reduce wing root bending moment)? Am I being paranoid, or does that imply that the recent repairs haven't solved the wing root joint problems, and that they are having to keep the wing inboard loaded in order to satisfy the authorities?
I hate to be a conspiracy theorist (I really do) but given the recent problems and extensive delays already faced, I imagine there was huge pressure on Boeing to get it in the air before the end of the year, even if all the problems haven't been resolved.
My question is this - can anyone give me a more rational explanation for the aileron deflection at take-off? And if not, then do we really believe that Boeing will achieve a first delivery in 2010, especially given the extremely tight flight test programme?
For the sake of the industry I hope I am wrong....