A Busy 747

While all eyes were on Dreamliner One heading to the paint shop yesterday, LCF2 was busy working overtime.

N780BA, Large Cargo Freighter 2, returned to Charleston Tuesday from Italy (after a fuel stop in Scotland) with Section 44 and 46 in tow for the second flying test frame ZA002. After arriving in Charleston just before 5pm EDT on June 26, LCF2 turned around two hours later and departed on its way to Everett.

LCF2 arrived in Everett around 9:30 PDT June 26. The full scale static test rig will be assembled and put through its paces in Building 40-23, two bays down from the location of the 787 assembly line.

The modified 747 turned around and departed from Everett (this morning) at around 4am on June 27 for Japan. LCF2 should return to the Pacific Northwest by Thursday.

Boeing 632 Flight Plan
Everett (KPAE) to Nagoya (RJGG)

TOU TR13 SPONJ ORNAI 5200N 14000W 5400N 15000W 5500N 16000W CDB A342 OLCOT R580 OATIS OTR3 GOC W18 SWING

Update: LCF2 returned to Everett without the center fuselage for ZY9997 as previously reported. The center fuselage for the static test rig continues to be assembled in Charleston. On its way back from Japan, the 747 stopped in Everett for fuel and continued on to Charleston with Section 43 and 11/45 for ZA002 aboard, not the wings as previously thought.

Flightblogger in the News

Tip pays off for aviation enthusiasts
By Kevin Cotlove - KOMO TV

Permalink Here

EVERETT, Wash. -- Photographer and aviation enthusiast Charles Conklin managed to get a few pictures of the first nearly-finished Boeing 787 as it rolled out of an assembly hangar early Tuesday morning.

Conklin said he got a tip that the plane would be rolling out sometime late Monday or early Tuesday, but the informant wasn't sure exactly when it would happen.

He drove to the factory with his camera and telephoto lens so he could get shots from outside the Boeing property. For the first two hours he just sat and waited.

"I wasn't sure whether the tip was going to pay off," he said. "I basically gave myself a cutoff of midnight, and that's when things finally started happening."

The hangar doors opened and the 787 jet was rolled out and into a nearby paint hangar. The whole process took about 40 minutes, Conklin said.

Conklin, who is also a private pilot, said he's always been interested in aviation but didn't realize how popular the first photos of the nearly-complete 787 would be.

"I'm kind of surprised," he said.

The photos have been picked up by several news organizations and many aviation web sites and blogs.

Conklin said his tipster was Jon Ostrower, who operates the Flightblogger web site.

Jon started the site in March and said he's seen traffic to the blog grow steadily with his coverage of the 787.

He started receiving tips from Boeing employees about assembly and development of the aircraft, and said that he knew back in May an approximate date for the 787's move to the paint hangar.

When he received tips with a more exact time he passed the info on to Conklin, who was a reader of his blog.

"I was amazed that anyone had actually used my tip," he said. "(Conklin) just took it and ran with it."

Ostrower says he has no connection to the Boeing Co. and works in Boston in an unrelated field.

He said he's always been fascinated with planes and was amazed when Conklin's photos showed up in his e-mail inbox on Tuesday.

"From an aviation enthusiast's standpoint it really is extraordinary," he said of the 787's progress.

The Boeing employees who tipped him about the rollout weren't trying to spoil anything, Ostrower said, but rather wanted the world to see what they've been up to and the hard work that has been put in to the new aircraft.

"They deserve all the credit in the world," he said, adding that he hopes to be here to see the plane's first flight in person.

The new jetliner is due to be delivered in May 2008, and is now sold out for delivery until 2013.

Boeing employees have been rushing to finish the jet in time for its formal rollout ceremony on July 8, 2007.

The 787 will be the first large commercial airliner built mostly from light, sturdy composite materials instead of aluminum, making the plane more fuel-efficient and less expensive to maintain.

Boeing has lined up a vast network of suppliers around the globe that are manufacturing large pieces of the 787, which are then flown on a superfreighter to the final assembly plant in Everett, north of Seattle, where the plane is essentially snapped together.

Under Cover of Darkness

Last night around midnight pacific time, Dreamliner One, in all her glory, rolled out of building 40-26 in Everett, Washington for the first time on her way, and on schedule, to the paint shop. Charles Conklin, aviation hero of the week, was there to capture the moment with his Nikon D200.

From Charles:

Had you not had the details [at Flightblogger] I probably wouldn't have gone up. By the way, I got up there around 10:15ish, saw what I thought might be it already headed over, turned out was a 777, then saw another unpainted in front of it, thought that was it, but just another 777. Then didn't see any activity and figured it was already behind closed doors. After monkeying around figured, I'll wait till midnight, sure enough back in my location someone else finally showed up who is an employee, said they were doing it right after the shift change, so right around midnight doors opened and the rest is history.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.









12 days until roll out.

787 Tails, Update 2

I've updated the 787 tails to include three new airlines: Royal Jordanian, S7 and Arik Air. In addition, I've added updated liveries for three airlines: Jet Airways, Hainan Airlines and Air India.

UPDATE
Airlines not currently included (but will be added):

Aeroflot
Flyglobespan
Thompson Fly

The First Eight

Before now, it was not specifically known what airlines would be the first to receive the 787 Dreamliner. It was clear that ANA would be the launch customer receiving the first production model (LN7) and the previous six would be used as test frames; eventually being refurbished and delivered to ANA, Northwest and another unknown airline.

Flightblogger has learned exactly which frames, including the two General Electric powered GENx 787s (LN 5 & 6) will go once fight testing has ended. In addition, this blogger has learned the destination of the second production model 787-8.

All Nippon Airways will be the recipients of LN1 and LN2, while Northwest Airlines will receive LN3 and LN4. Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco will take delivery of LN5 and LN6, the GENx test frames.

Dreamliner Eight, LN8, also known as ZA008 will be delivered to Air China in time for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

In addition Flightblogger has also learned that LN1 will wear N787BA and LN2 will wear registration N787EX during the test flight program. The destination of N787DL is still unknown.

The complete details are as follows:

LN1/ZA001:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
N787BA

LN2/ZA002:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
N787EX

LN3/ZA003:
Northwest Airlines
Rolls Royce Trent 1000

LN4/ZA004:
Northwest Airlines
Rolls Royce Trent 1000

LN5/ZA005:
Royal Air Maroc
General Electric GENx

LN6/ZA006:
Royal Air Maroc
General Electric GENx

LN7/ZA007:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
Production Unit 1

LN8/ZA008:
Air China
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
Production Unit 2

The View From Up Front

I have been hinting over the last several weeks about some exciting new multimedia features here at Flightblogger. Following in the footsteps of the delivery video and assembly animation, I'm pleased to roll out the following four images. Each is rendering of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight deck. This is another Flightblogger exclusive; detailed images of the 787's Rockwell Collins displays are not available anywhere else in the world. The Dreamliner features five 12.1 in x 9 in display screens. All images are to scale and were created as accurately as possible using Boeing photos and the best aeronautical information available. The similarities and differences to the Boeing 777 flight deck interface are apparent. The Dreamliner flight deck represents a bold step forward in operational commonality and innovative avionics. Here's your first look.

Paris PR Offensive

Rule #1 of strategic communication:
Create your own narrative.

The Day Before Paris

Boeing aims at late August or September for 787's first flight
Tinseth says that 787-8 number one "will fly when it's ready to fly", and has about the scope of about a month to get airborne without disrupting the flight-test schedule.
Posted June 17

---

First Day of Paris

Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Goodrich to Make Aviation History
As the history-making Boeing 787 Dreamliner prepares to be unveiled in Everett, Wash., Goodrich Corporation is once again poised to play a role in the history of the industry. According to Goodrich's Jack Carmola, Segment President, Actuation and Landing Systems, "Across the Goodrich enterprise we have a true sense of pride and accomplishment for the contributions we've made to the Dreamliner. We're truly fortunate to be part of the industry at such an exciting time.
Posted 3:00am

Hamilton Sundstrand Nearing Completion of Delivery of Systems for Boeing 787 Dreamliner
"The Boeing 787 is absolutely vital to the future of our company and we are totally committed to supporting Boeing's flight test program," said Hamilton Sundstrand President, David P. Hess. "We have already delivered more than 97 percent of our hardware and nearing completion of all our delivery requirements."
Posted 3:00am

GE Aviation’s System Deliveries Nearing Completion to Support 787’s First Flight
GE Aviation recently announced several delivery milestones for its Tier 1 support of the Common Core System, High Lift Actuation and Landing Gear System on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The work, which is expected to generate more than $3 billion over the life of the program, is scheduled to support the 787 first flight scheduled for third quarter 2007.
Posted 3:00am

Japan's Kawasaki Heavy considering new plant to meet Boeing 787 demand
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd said it is in talks with Boeing Co to build a new parts plant in response to brisk demand for the aerospace giant's next-generation 787 Dreamliner.
Posted 3:19am

---

And then this...

JP Morgan says Boeing 787 up to 4 months late
"We believe that the 'power on' to the aircraft was scheduled for April 21, but is now scheduled for August 15, and even that date is considered a bit of a stretch by some suppliers," said JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol in a research note, citing unnamed suppliers on the 787 program.
Posted 8:38am

100,000

At 1:49:02 AM Flightblogger crossed the 100,000 visitor mark!

The visitor came from Bellevue, Washington. A quick trip down 405 from the Boeing Factory.

How fitting.

Thank you to everyone who visits for making this blog, one of my most enjoyable endeavors, possible. There are exciting weeks ahead for this page. I want your feedback, comments, thoughts, questions and suggestions for what you'd like to see here in the future.

Onward.

Simple Characters, Complex Character, Part II

The dealer has yet to tell me all bets on the table are frozen. What registration will ZA001 wear? I'm moving my money from N787BA to N787DL for VERY good reasons. DL, delta lima, also just happens to be Dreamliner.

Dennis Taylor is a 29 year employee of the Boeing Company. The address in Snohomish county just happens to be directly south of Paine Field and the Boeing Factory. It was also reserved just two days ago.

N787DL
Reserved N-Number
Type Reservation Fee Paid
Mode S Code 52525335
Reserved Date 06/12/2007
Renewal Date None
Purge Date 07/12/2008
Pending Number Change None
Date Change Authorized None
Reserving Party Name TAYLOR DENNIS
Street 20521 CYPRESS WAY
City LYNNWOOD
State WASHINGTON
Zip Code 98036-7916
County SNOHOMISH
Country UNITED STATES

Dreamliner Roll Out Q&A

Boeing has released the details of the roll out of the 787 Dreamliner at July 8, 2007.

Who will be allowed at the roll out in Everett?

Aviation VIPs, politicians and journalists from across the world will join several thousand Boeing employees who work on the Dreamliner (and one guest) will be allowed inside the 787 final assembly bay for roll out.

If I work for Boeing and I'm in Seattle on July 8th, where can I watch it?

Boeing is permitting 50,000 employees and retirees to come to a simulcast at Qwest Field. Attendance is limited to 50,000 people, and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 25,000 guests will receive a 787 glider as a souvenir.

What if I'm not in Seattle on that day?

If you cannot attend the event at Qwest Field, the rollout will be carried live at 3:30 pm PDT, 6:30 pm EDT via satellite on DirecTV. The 787 roll out ceremony will also be broadcast live on Northwest Cable News (NWCN). The NWCN is carried by cable networks in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

What channel will it be on?

DirecTV - channel 576.
DishNetwork - channel 9601.

What if I don't have DirecTV or DishNetwork?

The roll out will be broadcast in nine languages over the internet. It will be broadcast live at newairplane.com and boeing.com. Replays will be available on both websites until 8/8/07.

May Traffic Report

An amazing few months for Flightblogger, which was officially launched March 21. Total readers in May are 59,559 and page reads are 87,019. That’s an almost 19000% jump in a single month! It is worth noting that there were only 315 readers the entire month of April.

Thanks for making May an extraordinary month for Flightblogger.

Keep an eye out here for coverage of the Paris Air Show, Dreamliner assembly, roll out and first flight, as well as some new one of a kind multimedia features that will revealed here over the next few weeks.