Whenever a new commercial airplane is built, before it can be certified by the FAA to carry passengers, it must complete a series of flight tests. During flight test, passenger seats and overhead luggage bins are replaced with sensors and computer racks. Once flight test is complete, the airplanes used for testing must be refurbished for delivery to the customer. As results from the flight tests are collected and airplanes continue to be assembled in the factory, changes to the original airplane design are required. Because the assembly line continues to operate during this time, some of the airplanes already in flow are too far along in the build process to receive the identified changes. In these cases, the changes must be incorporated after final assembly of the aircraft is complete.
The production schedule for the 787 is so tight here in Everett that program leaders decided to outsource the refurbishment of the flight test airplanes and the incorporation of certain changes into the airplanes that need them. Boeing San Antonio won the contract for this work. Depending on how the flight test program proceeds, 787's should begin arriving in San Antonio early next year, hopefully sometime in the first quarter.
With partners and suppliers all over the world, technology plays a huge role in allowing us to communicate requirements and status. There is no true substitute however for hands on experience. So for the next four weeks, I am here in Everett to meet our teammates stationed here, get first hand experience with the various systems I will be using in San Antonio, and hopefully to actually see and touch the airplane.
I will keep you posted if anything exciting happens with respect to my work here with the airplane (don't hold your breath). You can also track progress with the first flight and flight test program on Randy's Journal, a blog written by Randy Tinseth, Vice President of Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA).