I see the 787 completed taxi testing this morning NZ time, so I guess its not sitting idle waiting for the repairs to be made.

FlightBlogger - Aviation News, Commentary and Analysis

While the 787 starts its taxi tests, it seems the 747-8F may fly first. :}

Apart from things weighing a bit more than the old overhead cranes were meant to lift....:ooh:, the 748 has been progressing well.

This is first hand info from the line, well one large section of it anyway, and more reliable than the 787 info, but apart from some draing and fastener issues and one set of drawings that were "forgotten", its going pretty well and some sections ahead of their BAR LINE or not far from it.:D

The way its going it will be a race to the finish!:ok:

787 Dreamliner Flight Test Airplane Painted in Special Boeing Livery
 

http://www.asd-network.com/data_news/ID21990_600.jpg

(Everett, Wash., July 21, 2009) -- The fifth Boeing [NYSE:BA] 787 Dreamliner flight test airplane has been unveiled sporting a special Boeing livery.

Painted white with blue accents, the new livery incorporates visual and color elements from the distinctive blue-and-white Boeing Commercial Airplanes livery seen on the first 787 flight test airplane and other new commercial models. The simplified paint scheme will be applied to the three remaining unpainted flight test airplanes (Nos. 3, 4 and 6). Airplane No. 2 has been painted in the colors of launch customer ANA of Japan.

The modified livery, which saves time and expense compared to the full Boeing livery, will remain on the airplane until the flight test program is completed and it is refurbished and delivered to a customer.

The airplane's two GEnx engines have been temporarily removed and returned to GE Aviation so that planned minor improvements can be made.

Company Center : The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)

Not sure what sounds worse....the fact that the fault is bigger than first thought or the fact that the manufacturer doesn't really know what its different departments are doing!!!

Boeing news | Boeing 787 may not fly this year | Seattle Times Newspaper

First Boeing 747-8 Freighter Takes Shape
 

http://www.asd-network.com/data_news/ID21981_600.jpg

(Everett, Wash., July 21, 2009) -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) took a major step closer this week toward completing the assembly of the first 747-8 Freighter as mechanics at the factory in Everett, Wash. loaded the forward and aft fuselage sections to join with the wing and center section.

"It is exciting to see this airplane taking shape," said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager of the 747 Program. "The 747-8 is the largest commercial jet airplane we have assembled. This final body join provides us the first real look at the size of the 747-8 Freighter."

The 747-8 Freighter is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18 feet and 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume compared to its predecessor. That translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets.

The 747-8 Freighter is the new high-capacity 747 that will give cargo operators the lowest operating costs and best economics of any freighter airplane while providing enhanced environmental performance. Boeing has secured 78 orders from leading cargo operators for the new 747-8 Freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have placed orders for the airplane.

Company Center : The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA)

A summary of the earnings call can be found here for those who are interested. :)

Great Vid.

Except it's an imitation, of an imitation.

I think I first saw it concerning Man United and Ronaldo, a few years ago, and I'm not sure if that was the first case. Next, I think, it was a beer ad.

Certainly not new.

There is another one where hew loses his Xbox online access too.

They reckon she'll be aloft by Mo-vember :ok:

I don't know whether this has been posted before, but here are photos from a media tour of the 787 Assembly plant.

Media tour of Boeing 787 control center | Photos from seattlepi.com

The 787 is certainly much nicer on the eyes than the A380. Also in the series of photos is the 747-8.

BTW, I read somewhere that the delay in the 787's first flight is due to a problem with where the wing joins the body. Can anyone elaborate on this? It sounds like a pretty major issue.

Training Wheels
 

Read link in post #84

The problem with the wing section is evident in the pic #2, it is only held on with plastic tape!;)

Fuselage has got ripples in it in 7 of the early aircraft. Unsure of the fix. There is no delay to the program any more as Boeing say they have no idea when it will ever fly. Have a look at the latest on Bloomberg, Boeing decided the markets didn't need to know about the fuselage problems as the first flight was put on hold indefinately anyway, from other issues. The US stockmarket regulator didn't agree. I'll find the link, they are possibly about to be fined for not informing the market what a mess the 787 program is in.

The fix is build it out of metal and rivets - oh then it would be a 777:ok:

Or build the fuse out of metal and the performance bit, the wing, out of composite!:ok:

Then it would be an A350!:E

Seems there is movement at the station Boeing Sets New 787 Schedule : AIN Online

Boeing Sets New 787 Schedule

By: Gregory Polek
August 27, 2009

Boeing announced today that it expects the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner to occur by the end of this year and first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010.

The new schedule reflects the previously announced need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft, along with the addition of several weeks of schedule margin to reduce flight test and certification risk, according to the company. Original plans called for an eight- to nine-month flight test schedule. If Boeing meets this latest projection, the airplane will reach the market some two and a half years later than first planned.

Boeing now projects achieving a production rate of 10 airplanes per month in late 2013.

“This new schedule provides us the time needed to complete the remaining work necessary to put the 787’s game-changing capability in the hands of our customers,” said Boeing chairman, president and CEO Jim McNerney. “The design details and implementation plan are nearly complete, and the team is preparing airplanes for modification and testing.”

The 787 team working the side-of-body reinforcement has completed initial testing and is finalizing design details of new fittings expected to ensure full structural integrity of the joint. Engineers will repeat the static test procedure that uncovered the weakness and fully analyze the results before first flight. Boeing will also perform fatigue testing on stringer components to validate the long-term durability of the modification.

Workers have prepared the first 787 test airplane and static test unit for the new fittings. The company said it expects to begin installation “within the next few weeks.”

Boeing has concluded that the initial flight-test airplanes carry no commercial market value beyond the development effort, because of the inordinate amount of rework and unique and extensive modifications made to those aircraft. Therefore, it will reclassify costs previously recorded for the first three flight-test airplanes from program inventory to research and development, resulting in an estimated non-cash, pre-tax charge of $2.5 billion, or $2.21 per share, against third-quarter results. The company said the charge will not affect its future cash outlook.

Except the shares have gone from $100 to under $30 and most analysts have changed to a neutral or sell and they just fired the head of the Commercial division and thats the 5th change to the delivery date. There are still a mountain of problems to overcome.

The A350 will more likely get delivered first.