Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really

There was an excellent 5 part PBS documentary in the mid 90s about the making of the Boeing 777. The documentary was called "21st Century Jet". It was their first use of composites in a commercial airliner (777's tail is composite), and the first twin-jet aircraft ever to receive early certification to fly over all the world's oceans up to 3 hours from the nearest airport. Boeing has what it takes to build the 787, management just needs to shut-up. [video.google.com]

I'm biased because i work at Lockheed but come on. We've been building composite planes since the nighthawk, F22, and now F35. Granted the first 2 we had problems with, but by the F35 iteration not so much. Get it right already

Optimus-Prime

@shenanigans61: It's a metaphor.

takeshi

I think this is getting old news, and I'm a bit sick of how Gizmodo keeps ridiculing this aircraft. It's an advanced piece of engineering, and as many others have pointed out - I'd rather fly in an airplane that's been thoroughly tested than something that's been rushed into service.

Safety first, kids!

ZillionDollarSadist

@MyPetFly: I knew centuries didn't sound right. :P Thanks
*decades, not centuries

@Kirril: The engine noise is pretty essential in such a cramped space. Its easier to focus on the movie and stuff.

ploopsy

@shenanigans61:

"All their centuries of credibility..."

Maybe you meant decades? ; )

I predict the Boeing 787 dreamliner will crash by last quarter 2010 as they rush the plane out to meet media expectations.

@apus: Having flown cattle class in an A380, I can say that the lack of engine noise is an issue.

The constant hum of the engines on a regular jet is dull enough to not be an irritant, and drowns out a lot of "human noise".

Not having the engines dominating the noise makes every babie's cry, every laugh and every sqeak of the food carts that much more pronounced that they become a regular disturbance.

Kirril

@Skunky: +15

@LastError: 100% true, which is why it bothers me that they would say "it's due at such 'n such a time" when they themselves can't fully predict the outcome. Just crank on it and make it ready when it's ready, nobody wants to miss something because they're in a rush.

@kuriakos: I'd promote this if I had a star.

@random_droid: It's carbon.

Yup, credibility is all gone. Forget all the Boeing aircraft in the air today and that were in the air yesterday. All their centuries of credibility is gone because they're delaying a radically new jumbo jet that uses technologies that they're practically designing and tuning on the go.

@apus: Yeah... I was actually talking about scorched wiring...

@Kaiser-Machead: I'm a pilot and flying freaks me out when I'm a passenger.

AceBytes

@Skunky: Well, then you should know how often problems are in fact uncovered in late QA testing. The difference is, this is an untested and unproven airliner that they want to stuff with passengers. Not just a mundane consumer good. Nobody cares really if a faulty item gets on the store shelf just recall and fix it. But a fault with this airliner could kill hundreds of people.

Making planes out metal is well understood. The issues and risks are know. What Boeing is doing here -and which they admit has inherent flaws- is throwing away all that knowledge in favor of a whole new way. That's nice. But lives are at stake.

LastError

@aec007: Clearly you haven't flown first class, hit a patch of turbulence that dropped the nose of the plane down fast enough to feel weightlessness for a second, and had the guy sitting next to you puke the remains of five complimentary bloody marys all over your white shoes, white pants, and white jacket.
A check for $500, a full refund on the ticket, and complimentary flight anywhere still didn't make up for the fact I had to wash myself off with paper towels, change clothes in the airplane bathroom, and sit through the remaining eight hours of an eleven hour international flight... at least they didn't let Drunky McAlcoholic drink any boozahol for the remainder of the flight.

negated

@appletoad: Too soon?

You are right, redesigning the airline game should never cause delays! Boeing is definitely just going to give up on the process and eat all those orders. What is with Giz and the Boeing hate?

I thought the inventor crashed flying a prototype, dying, along with the project. Oh wait, that was this: [gizmodo.com]

@Lite: killed Dumbledore:

I don't care either way, with all the BS tied into that plane I sure wont be stepping onto one...ever!

ISOHaven

@Lite: killed Dumbledore: Yep, they are complaining, but about what?

"Oh noes, the darn thing is so quiet, we can't sleep!"

[www.wired.com]

apus

There we have it folk, The Boeing Dreamliner is on it way to becoming the Phantom (game system) of the Aviation world

nightwheel

Well, either it will work and Boeing has a new technology lead over Airbus in building/designing efficient aircraft. Or, it doesn't and the company fails.

That's pretty much how it works right? I wish they were a bit more open and honest about the delays, but at least they aren't willing to put a product into production with known design flaws.

Last I knew the A380 was still having major electrical issues.

If they dont get there shit together, everyone will just buy an a350 instead.

ploopsy

@HadwinHizhouse: Apparently you've drank too much of the A380 koolaid. The A380 is still plagued with issues. Last I knew Emerates Air was still pissed at them for poor workmanship, electrical faults, and several other issues..

@Kaiser-Machead: Booze... lots'o booze fixes any turbulence...

aec007

@anexanhume: Worse yet, subcontractors having subcontractors in different parts of the globe. Of course the workers didn't help the situation by going on strike last year.

I am laughing and crying. I work for a company that makes a lot of parts for the 787, so all these delays actually affect us. Luckily, we're not one of the suppliers that Boeing had to buy because their contracts and delays ran us into bankruptcy. Can't wait to see it fly.

They DID do a high-speed taxiing test last week!

n9n3

The 787 is the Duke Nukem Forever of airplanes.

14limes

I thought it was cool to pick up a PO box numbered 787 a few years ago. Now it has become an embarrassment!

GiltProto

@Skunky: Considering how wary I am of flying (it fucking freaks me out to feel even one bit of turbulence), I agree.

Kaiser-Machead

I'd rather see a finished plane fly than a defect riddled tin can.

I hear they've hired the Duke Nukem team to get everybody back on track and deadline-oriented.

Counterglow

As someone who works in QA, I'm more than happy to cut anyone some slack for a delay caused by needing to improve design based on test failures. This is exactly WHY testing is important! I don't know about the rest of the Gizmodo readership, but I personally would rather have a safe plane arrive late, then get a plane on time that randomly decides to pop when pressurized during a flight.

I also believe that while setting a release date is a good thing internally to give everyone a definate deadline, people really, really need to stop telling them to the public before they've determined if it's a realistic goal.

Man I phail at teh speelingz.

These are the perils of your subcontractors having subcontractors. Systems integration with that level of dependency is going to have problems.