Boeing today said the first flight for the 787 should occur by year-end with first delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010.
The 787's first flight was originally planned for the end of June, but Boeing was forecd to postpone the flight after it determined a need for structural reinforcement to the wing/body attachment structure of the aircraft.
"The design details and implementation plan are nearly complete, and the team is preparing airplanes for modification and testing," says Boeing CEO Jim McNerney.
A team dedicated to the side-of-body reinforcement has completed initial testing and is finalising design details of new fittings that are expected to ensure full structural integrity of the joint.
The first test aircraft and static test unit have been prepared for the new fittings, with installation to begin within the next few weeks.
Boeing explains the latest timeframe includes the "addition of several weeks of schedule margin to reduce flight test certification risk. The company projects achieving a production rate of 10 airplanes per month in late 2013".
The company also states that based on the latest schedule and other assumption updates, it has determined that the 787 programme is not in a forward-loss positions.
However, Boeing says that separate from that profitability assessment, the initial flight test aircraft have no commercial market value beyond the development effort "due to the inordinate amount of rework and unique and extensive modifications made to those aircraft".
Costs previously recorded for the first three flight-test airplanes are being reclassified from programme inventory to research and development expense, which results in non-cash, pre-tax $2.5 billion charge in Boeing's third quarter results.
Boeing was originally due to deliver the first 787 during the first quarter of 2010.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
