EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, completed its first flight today. The all-new airplane, which features the livery of the Dreamliner's launch customer, ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan, took off from Paine Field in Everett, completed a two-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.
"We are delighted that the second Dreamliner is in the livery of our launch customer, ANA," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are honored by the airline's support and look forward to delivering ANA the first production airplane next year."
Captain Randy Neville was at the controls for the flight, with Chief Pilot Mike Carriker operating as co-pilot. Neville and Carriker took the airplane to an altitude of 13,000 feet (3,962 m) and an airspeed of 200 knots, or about 230 miles (370 km) per hour. The airplane took off at 9:09 a.m. PST and landed at 11:10 a.m. PST.
This is the second of six 787s being used in the airplane's flight-test program. Each of the airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on systems performance. Like its predecessor, ZA001, the airplane is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
"We would like to convey our sincere congratulations to the Boeing team for its achievement of this milestone, and we look forward to the delivery into our fleet next year," said Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA.
B-52 50th Anniversary
50 Years of Exceptional Service Span Cold War to Enduring Freedom
April 15, 2002, marks the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the B-52 Stratofortress, a milestone in Boeing and aviation history.
The B-52 was America's first long-range, swept-wing heavy bomber. Now entering its sixth decade of service, it continues to be an important element of the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet. No bomber in U.S. military history has been called upon to remain operational as long as the B-52.
With a 185-foot wingspan, a length of more than 160 feet and a gross weight of more than 480,000 pounds, the B-52 earned the nickname BUFF, short for Big Ugly Fat Fellow.
Originally designed as a long-range, high-altitude nuclear bomber, the B-52 has upgraded its operational capabilities to meet changing needs.
Employees built a total of 744 B-52s, in eight different production versions, at Boeing facilities in Seattle and Wichita, Kansas. Of these, only the H model remains in service today. The last B-52H - tail number 61-040 -- rolled off the Wichita assembly line on June 22, 1962.
Over the years, Boeing has made major modifications to the B-52 fleet and expects to perform additional improvements to assure the Stratofortress will be a viable part of the U.S. bomber fleet well into the century. B-52s have been modified for extended-range flights, low-level flight, the launching of cruise missiles and delivery of precision-guided conventional bombs. Most of the modifications have been made -- and will continue to be made -- at the Wichita Development and Modification Center, part of the Boeing Military Aerospace Support business.
For the first 10 years of its operational service, the B-52's principal role was as a nuclear deterrent in the Cold War against Soviet communism.
It first entered combat in the skies over Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, when it was used to strike targets with conventional weapons. B-52s again saw action in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, striking troop concentrations, staging areas and fixed installations. The aircraft demonstrated its flexibility during Operation Allied Force in the Balkans, where it first launched conventional cruise missiles, then transitioned to deliver general-purpose bombs. Today, in Operation Enduring Freedom, B-52s fly in support of U.S. and coalition forces, hitting ground targets with precision-guided munitions.
About 10 years ago, after the Gulf War, stories began circulating about grown-up children of B-52 pilots who were flying B-52s. More recently the stories say that current Air Force B-52 pilots are the grandchildren of early B-52 pilots. No matter that the Cold War the B-52 was designed to fight ended long ago. The role of the Stratofortess as a heavy bomber continues, as do the stories of BUFF's amazing adventures and the direct and proud lineage of those B-52 pilots.
Boeing B-1 With FIDL Avionics Upgrade Completes 1st Phase of Flight Test
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2009 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has successfully completed the first phase of flight test for a B-1 bomber upgraded with new digital avionics. The B-1 Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL) flight test plan for Phase 1 concluded Oct. 16; it included nine sorties performed by the U.S. Air Force at Edwards Air Force Base.
"This upgrade replaces 25-year-old avionics processing, displays and keyboards," said Eric Vanderslice, B-1 FIDL program manager for Boeing. "Those old systems have very limited functionality. It also changes the configuration of the limited display space that helps the crew perform the aircraft's mission. We are going from bulky cathode-ray-tube screens to higher-functioning flat-panel displays, giving crews more situational awareness and more space."
Phase 1 included observations of how the crew acclimated to the new configuration; temperature and vibration tests on the new hardware; and functionality tests of all the display-related software upgrades, including the new moving maps. An 8-inch by 10-inch flat-panel display shows a picture of the terrain below that changes as the aircraft moves, much like a GPS system does in a car. B-1 crews will enter their destination and flight path before departure in order for the moving map to provide a continuously updated display of the route.
Now that Phase 1 testing is complete, the B-1 aircraft will go to Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., for programmed depot maintenance. The remaining software flight-test objectives (emphasizing data link functionality) will be performed during Phase 2, which is scheduled to begin at Edwards in April 2010 and run for 10 months. The Air Force is expected to award a contract in November 2010 for the production of FIDL installation kits for the service's entire B-1 fleet.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.
