Boeing has confirmed that the first flight of its 717-200 will be delayed by the discovery of compressor blade cracks in the BMW Rolls-Royce BR715 engine.
The roll-out has been pushed back from May to 10 June, but a new date for the first flight, originally in June, has yet to be decided. Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group president Ron Woodard says the date "depends on how fast we get flightworthy engines" .
Sources suggest the maiden flight could be delayed into August. BMW Rolls-Royce confirms that it already has a solution in place, and is "-aiming for its September 1998 certification date."
BR715s already installed on the first 717 will enable ground testing to get under way following roll-out, but a first flight will await completion of testing of design changes developed to overcome blade cracking in the third stage of the high-pressure compressor.
Boeing, meanwhile, continues to be concerned about progress with production of its Next Generation 737. Jobs behind schedule have risen as the production rate is doubled to 14 a month, jumping to 6,250 in April, from 3,600 in March, but are still below the 8,500 projected in the recovery plan. The company says it must deliver 148 aircraft in the second quarter.
Source: Flight International
