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Flying Boeing 787
Qatar Airways 787
Well, no record breaking activity for 787s this weekend after all as test plans change as quickly as the Seattle weather. ZA004 is now entering a lay-up period while it undergoes configuration changes, after having completed cruise performance testing that monitored the initial degradation of the Trent 1000s. All engines undergo slow performance degradation over their lives, and establishing the baseline deterioration rate is an essential part of verifying the fuel burn rate of the aircraft. ZA004 is allocated to perform nautical air miles (NAMS) testing which will ascertain the initial fuel burn of the 787, and the same airframe will later be re-engined with the improved ‘Package B’ variant of the Trent 1000 with which the Rolls-Royce powered 787s will enter service.ZA002 - aiming for a Monday test flight. (Joe Walker)ZA002’s FMC regression test flight, initially hoped to be made on Sunday, is now set for Monday while more ground tests are currently underway at Boeing Field. ZA003 is still expected to be used for an environmental control system and ram air test flight on Sunday while the outflow valve test flight has now moved to Monday.And what of hard working ZA001, I hear you ask. The aircraft is now moving on to low-speed testing again, indicating that Phase 1 stability and control is essentially complete.
Well, no record breaking activity for 787s this weekend after all as test plans change as quickly as the Seattle weather. ZA004 is now entering a lay-up period while it undergoes configuration changes, after having completed cruise performance testing that monitored the initial degradation of the Trent 1000s. All engines undergo slow performance degradation over their lives, and establishing the baseline deterioration rate is an essential part of verifying the fuel burn rate of the aircraft. ZA004 is allocated to perform nautical air miles (NAMS) testing which will ascertain the initial fuel burn of the 787, and the same airframe will later be re-engined with the improved ‘Package B’ variant of the Trent 1000 with which the Rolls-Royce powered 787s will enter service.ZA002 - aiming for a Monday test flight. (Joe Walker)
ZA002’s FMC regression test flight, initially hoped to be made on Sunday, is now set for Monday while more ground tests are currently underway at Boeing Field. ZA003 is still expected to be used for an environmental control system and ram air test flight on Sunday while the outflow valve test flight has now moved to Monday.
And what of hard working ZA001, I hear you ask. The aircraft is now moving on to low-speed testing again, indicating that Phase 1 stability and control is essentially complete.
Tags: tw99, Boeing, 787, ZA001, ZA002, ZA003, ZA004