Boeing 787: First flight december 15th
 

Boeing today announced that the dreamliner will takeoff at Paine field december 15th at ten in the morning.

Boeing: 787-Erstflug am 15. Dezember - FLUG REVUE

I'll believe it when I see it.

Boeing has been hostage to it's PR department ever since this project started.

LD

Well, they didn't specify the year, so...:}

Whilst I understand some of the skeptisism above, it is my belief that the only thing stopping it now is an act of God (weather etc).

A live webcast can be found at Boeing's New Airplane

A staff viewing area is being built on Paine Field and staff have ben issued with instructions on how to access it.

It's been a long wait with many hurdles on the way, but on Tuesday Dec 15th 2009 the wait will have been worth it. :ok:

threead drift
 

Slight thread drift, I know, but for all those taking bets on which would fly first, CNBC had video of the A400M first flight this morning.
They're doing a webcast of the landing in about half an hour, according to the Aibrus web site

The webcast link says "The first flight window opens December 15th" .. it does not specify how wide!

Interesting. Any source for the new delay please?

Need to be careful on that day as could get into a near miss with Reindeers and a Bearded gentleman...............................eh no I didn't mean that Bearded gentleman from Virgin, the other one.

So we can disregard the claimed new delay. Got that rumor from airliners.net?
Dec 15 still valid.

At Paine field. How apt! ;)

787 First Flight 10 am PST on Tuesday
 

The first flight can be seen on a live webcast at The Boeing Company.

The schedule is subject to weather, but the airplane is reported to be ready for it.

Thanks for the link - I'll certainly be watching.

The Dreamliner project has been thrilling to watch from my perspective - ex-USAF (airborn comm and radar maintenance), technically inclined, a lover of aircraft, especially the cream of the crop - transport airframes.

(The big birds represent the finest of human endeavor - incredibly reliable, society-changing bits of kit. NOTHING has improved the quality of life as much, when you really think about it...)

Hopefully, all will go well and the 787 will turn out to be another wonderful Boeing bird - joining the ranks of so many other great transports.


..

Also on www.newairplane.com

Link goes live 24 hours prior. This is the marketing site. It also has the 747-8 and the 737NG, if you want to do any shopping.

Yes subject to weather and that points to not being this Tuesday, reports point to around the 20th due to a weather front.

"the airplane is reported to be ready for it..."
 

I hope they manage to complete the intended test program, with a nice long flight like the A380 (just under 4 hours).

If it returns after an hour with a ready-made excuse we'll know the airplane wasn't fully ready, but the PR guys insisted on flying in 2009.

What is the flight weather forecast for today around Seattle? Heard rainy and low vis. Good enough for a first flight?

KSEA 150544z 1506/1612 12010kt P6sm RA SCT012 Ovc022 Tempo 1508/1512 3sm RA BKN012 OVC022 Fm151200 16008kt P6sm SCT006 BKN012 OVC022 Tempo 1514/1518 3sm BR BKN006 OVC012 Fm152100 14008kt P6sm Sct015 OVC025 Fm160000 14008kt 5sm -RA OVC012 Fm160900 16008kt 3sm BR SCT004 BKN008 OVC012=

Low ceilings. They'd need VFR to the west and south down to Seattle.

787 flying..... soon
 

The 787, which should fly today, has hundreds of orders and yet is quite a mystery for most pilots: who knows much about its flight deck, for example...?

Yet our esteemed mods systematically send any post on this subject to Spotters Corner.

I have never been a spotter, and never likely to be, but I think the advent of the 787 is important for most people in commercial aviation.

Mods, please have a broader view. This first flight is 100% news and has nothing to do with spotting.

Updated weather forecast sounds better. Ceilings to move up to around 4500 ft.