What have they been saying about the risks of concurrent production........
First flight of Air Force tanker test plane delayed about a month
......The flight-test schedule is already very compressed due to earlier delays.
A key program milestone previously scheduled for this month was already pushed out to next spring, as late as April. It’s the Pentagon’s formal go-ahead for Boeing to build production tankers, which comes only after the company has successfully demonstrated the required refueling capabilities during flight tests. Now Boeing will have one less month to get the flight-test results it needs for that formal approval.
In the meantime, because it cannot meet the end delivery target any other way, Boeing has begun building the first production tankers even before the first KC-46 test flight, much less the formal Air Force go-ahead.bThat, of course, introduces risk.
If flight tests turn up issues that require design adjustments, any already built tankers will have to be retrofitted, which is much slower and more costly than doing modifications during the initial assembly process................
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On the upside, they see to have avoided any flutter issues.
Boeing completes KC-46 flight flutter tests
The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aerial refuelling aircraft test programme has successfully completed flight flutter tests on EMD 1 aircraft, marking the conclusion of an integral part of the certification process. Flutter testing is a prime requisite for aircraft capabilities testing that ensures the design of the new aircraft is structurally sound.
The completion of this testing will result in an expanded flight envelope and the ability to safely put more crew on board for further testing. In addition, the testing included the wing aerial refuelling pods (WARP) and a stowed refuelling boom.......