Yes!, wishful thinking...
Aviation Week And Space Technology had recently (just about 2 weeks ago) an article on the subject, they said that repair method was 'confidential', and if this very influential and otherwise extremely well informed weekly doesn't know there is a fat chance someone on this forum will ...

So you think it's highly unlikely that a PPrUner has worked on it , then?
You think it's highly unlikely that a PPruner will know somebody who worked on the repair and wheedle some info?

IT ISN'T A STATE SECRET....Maybe a confidential industrial one, but as with virtually all industrial secrets, it will eventually out.
Also, some of those involved are likely to set up their own Composite repair business in this niche market where they'd be able to virtually name their own price.
let's sit and wait....who knows, Boeing may, just may want to trumpet their success!

I personally think that it is very unlikely that a PPruner would tell us something that simultaneously 1. would be 100% accurate and 2. not available at the same time from other sources.

and 3. extremely career limiting !!!!
quick RDC inspection and QCR and on to main base !!!!!
and yes i am jesting .

Flight International saying the aircraft will fly around 22 December and was repaired using ` a composite section bolted to the airframe`. This information coming from the CE of the operator....

I really hope "bolted" can mean something like "carefully glued together" or I will really question the validity of that source... LOL!

It would be a sad sad moment if composites were "bolted" in the meaning I am used to hear the word... again, the reservation for being non-native English speaker.

But a nice piece of gossip, I acknowledge that!

It will be very interesting to see where it flies to, whether it be a Boeing plant to have a 'temporary fix made good' or it would be back into service...

ET-AOP off to Manston. Departed LHR 10:35 ish

May well be headed to Manston, but it left LHR went up over East Anglia, headed north up the morth sea climbing to FL390 before turning south - presumably to Manston.

I had a feeling it would be off today, before the stated date! Are there service/inspection facilities at Manston to see how all is shaping up before returning home?

Once arrived at Manston, expected to leave again at 14-15:00.

Has the cabin interior been fixed? Would expect that to be done somewhere other that LHR, Cardiff ?

On FR24 as BOE787, currently heading NW

Looks like a test flight ?

It looks like it is doing some manoeuvres over the North Sea at FL150...


BOE787 live flight tracking - Plane Finder

That would be my guess! Circling at various altitudes to keep an eye on pressure and electrical functions, then perhaps re-fuelling at Manston, then possibly home or to Boeing. Ethiopean will be VERY pleased to get it back into service and return the leased "wrong airport" 767!

Also notice that they are squalking 6060, which is a Malmo code... but could be pronounced 'Sick Oh Sick Oh'.


Looks like they have just done a minimum radius turn at constant height...
Can't wait to see if Wing-Overs and Hammer-Heads are in their repertoire...

Seems to be heading to Manston now. Is it my imagination or does their flight path from top left to bottom right read "AOK" ?!

Anyone seeing what they are doing now over Norwich? It seems they are hovering at altitude... strange...

Missed that, but now appears to be heading back to Heathrow. Just flew over, too much Yuletide murkiness to see it, but heard it, making an unusual blaring sound, odd.

I'd love for someone to meet it at gateway (or whatever) with a camera to take pics of the repair!

Well after two holds at 8000ft it landed back Ok at Heathrow at 14:38.
The following IB A320 landed 5 minutes later, having allowed some time for the runway inspection perhaps.


So it wasn't Manston... most likely the pilots wanted to return to their cars after a successful flight.

Perhaps they have to sign off the repair work as acceptable.

Due diligence would surely require that the whole area of the repair is instrumented with strain gauges to check for load, stress and vibration over a range of flight configurations, speeds, altitudes,.....and then analysed in the lab with design engineering scrutiny leading to certification. Could be flown back stateside under a special cat CofA, tho'.

If the test flight was successful I think the plan was to go into revenue service.:8

Leaving my derrière in Blighty.

Both glued and bolted.

Yes, the plan was to completely replace it due to smoke damage.

Its back in operation, been flying since the 23rd.
It ferried to Frankfurt and did ET707. Been flying pretty much every day since.

So i would consider Boeing's repair as the permanent repair.

Pretty impressive

It appears that it's back in service Flightradar24.com - Live flight tracker!

Some keen plane spotter who can take pictures of our flying friend? I would LOOVE to see a close up on the repaired part.

Quote... I would LOOVE to see a close up on the repaired part.


My bet is that it will not be painted blue, with yellow dots around the outside edge of it...

Have a look in !!!!!!!!!!!!!! photo Id 2362630, it's taken after the tail was put back on. Looks like a nice flush repair. No obvious bumps from this distance. I have seen another photo with all the scaffolding taken away, but not as high res but the repair is all but invisible.

Page 59, whew! So much content!

Some weeks ago following the fin removal, I visited the aircraft and iscussed the repair with the on-site Boeing project manager. Though he was officially unable to disclose any details about the repair, he did not deny that the repair would take the form of a splice repair, and that it would be full, permanent repair, with the aircraft re-entering commercial service upon completion.

Though the fin was removed to improve aircraft stability, I have never seen such a heavily trestled aircraft in my whole career. When Boeing carry out an AOG repair it is nothing but impressive; a tented facility/factory manned by 60 Engineers & Composite Specialists, with the aircraft shrouded in an environmentally controlled enclosure. Good stuff!

Though details were not forthcoming, I got the impression that the damaged area would be removed, and replaced with an identical piece cut from an existing (or purposely made) aft fuselage section and spliced together. Note: Being a 'plastic' aircraft does mean it is necessarily 'glued together', and as such does not exclude the use of near conventional fasteners.

With regard to the LHR-LHR test flight on the 23rd, this is nothing unusual, especially given the circumstances and depth of work carried out.

Commenting on the earlier 'metal vs plastic' arguements; had this been a metal aircraft it would have been repaired months ago, using conventional methods.

It might also be worth dwelling on the fact that to achieve certification from the regulatory authorities prior to EIS, Boeing would have been required have in place a working Structural Repair Manaul (or equivalent) and been able demonstrate a AOG Repair Scheme support program.

Good to see it flying again, and the speculation put to bed!

AAIB posted a Special bulletin

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources...4%20ET-AOP.pdf

It's quite damning to Honeywell - 6 months before they identified an issue in manufacturing the ELTs and changed the process, but haven't recalled the existing ones. As a result there were 28 ELTs (out of 3600) with crossed wires ready to start a fire in an inaccessible area in an airplane

AAIB final report published August 19th 2015
 

For all those interested, the AAIB published the final report regarding this incident on August 19th and it can be downloaded from aaib.gov.uk or you can PM me and I will forward it to you. It is 182 pages and is, I note, replete with detailed photographs of both the interior and exterior extensive structural damage and it had approximately 11 square yards of major fuselage crown damage and now the FAA , as a result of this AAIB report, is finally "reviewing their certification procedures and flammability testing for composite aircraft flammability" with obvious potential huge implications for both Boeing and Airbus.