The Dreamliner That Will Never Fly
During the roll out of Dreamliner One, I couldn't help but notice the 787 being assembled in the rear of 40-26. This one will never fly however. It is the static rig (ZY997) that is under construction for structural testing. The wings of this 787, unlike that of the 777, will not be broken. As far as I know, Boeing has decided NOT to break the wings for fear of the carbon fiber atomizing which would require a million dollar (or more) clean up of Building 40-23. The static rig will not have engines OR a horizontal tail plane while it undergoes testing in Everett.
Nose section of ZY997
Section 46
Center fuselage
Left wing root
Look how thin the left wing is. It's like a pancake.
Where the wing meets the body.
13 comments:
Not breaking the wings for fear of Carbon atomization. I wonder if, god forbid, one of these birds ever crashes it will present a HAZMAT cleanup.
Fascinating blog btw. Thanks
If a plane crashes it's a hazmat situation no matter how you look at it...
May Blog:
Reliable sources inside the aviation industry have told Flightblogger that American Airlines intends to place a "massive" narrow and wide-body order at the Paris Air Show that includes:
- Boeing 787s - 100-125 firm, plus another 100 options
- Additional Boeing 777s - firm number unknown
- Boeing 737s - 100 firm, options
unknown
Has anyone gotten any info. or updates on this?
I don't know about Paris, that may be a bit of a stretch, however I have heard that four large airlines will place orders at Dubai, Emirates, Qatar, BA, and American.
The two middle east carriers are about two hundred between them, and as you have mentioned AA, BA is supposed to be a mixed bag, 777's 787's and possibly 747-8.
Sources are various Industry insiders.
My inside source also says that Delta is in final discussion on their antisipated wide body order. A clouse source has confirmed that the 787-8 is probaly going to be the replacemnent for the Boeing 767.
Wouldn't the attachment of the empennage affect the flexibility and response of the entire fuselage, and thus be needed to get a true picture of the wing reaction?
sPh
I can't imagine anything less likely than Emirates, Qatar, BA, and American placing 787 orders at the Dubai Air Show.
I am disoriented with the three wing pictures, and am not seeing. Anyone able to give me some clues on seeing what I am looking at. Thanks
RE: 787 & American - The airline has firm orders for new 737s and has advanced their delivery to 2009. AA has OPTIONS on purchasing 787s, but NO FIRM ORDERS as of yet. I wonder who Flightblogger's "reliable" sources are because I'm on the "inside" and don't know about any such "massive" orders.
The Static Fuselage Number is ZA 9997. The fuselage and wings might be refurbed if the testing goes as planned. You are correct, there is no plan to find the ultimate yeild during the testing... Stay tuned
Hey has anyone else noticed that on the third photograph of the center fuselage, there are 3 window cut outs that are larger than the others - anyone know why this is?
I recently heard very funny joke that Boeing will load wings until their tips will touch each other. :-)
To anwser the question about the windows, the three in question windows are missing their frames. The frames were returned to the vendor for minor repairs.
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