Quick, what's the world's largest flightless bird? ..........

[marmar]

......The Boeing 787 !!!!



Boeing 787 may not fly this year
The structural flaw that delayed the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner is more complex than originally described by the company, and the plane's inaugural takeoff is likely at least four to six months away, say two engineers with knowledge of Boeing's problem.

By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter


The structural flaw that delayed the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner is more complex than originally described by the company, and the plane's inaugural takeoff is likely at least four to six months away, say two engineers with knowledge of Boeing's problem.

"It's got to take at least three to four months just to get something installed on an airplane," said a structures engineer who has been briefed on the issue. "It's definitely a costly fix to go and do this work."

A second engineer, who is familiar with the details of Boeing's construction method, said the fix must first be made on the nonflying test airplane in the Everett factory. Assuming that's successful, it will take another month or two to install the fix on the first airplane to fly.

Both engineers said the issue requires a thorough redesign of the plane's wing-to-body join, and the necessary parts will be very difficult to install on the test airplanes that have already been built. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2009513152_boeing22.html

[Stevenmarc]

1. Yes I would think that having the wings fall off would make it less of a Dream to fly

[The Straight Story]

2. Good

Shows they are taking the issues seriously and best to work them out now then wait until crashes and lawsuits.

[exman]

5. Lawsuits are not an issue...

:crazy: to the passengers, they would be dead. I do agree however that fixing the problem before a crash happens is a pretty good idea.

[HopeHoops]

3. Big Bird

At least I'm pretty sure.

[ret5hd]

4. Maybe they should eliminate this feature:

[rsmith6621]

6. And BOEING was LAUGHING at AIRBUS

....when the A-380 had a delay in its first flight.......KARMA BUDDY...KARMA....it has a way of slapping you when you least expect it and want it.

[NNN0LHI]

7. Republican ChickenHawk of course

[leveymg]

8. Let's just go back to building these things out of aluminum. If it uses a bit more fuel, ok

just so long as it gets you there in one piece.

The reason that the Airbus 300 series tails and rudders have been snapping off is because they're composite, and composite tails don't bend, they break, at least in that design.

This tells me that the new Boeing has some similar issues. Great. Just great. Anything to save a few bucks.