Boeing 787 news

[sn26567]

According to the Wall Street Journal, the two test flights of Boeing 787 Dreamliner have not revealed the cause of the battery malfunctions that grounded the jets, leaving it to focus on low-tech interim fixes. More test flights are planned, including efforts to assess potential fixes.

Boeing is now considering putting the lithium ion batteries in a sturdier titanium container to stop heat, flames and toxic chemicals from escaping if the power packs overheat.

[RoMax]

Some 787-9 and 787-10X updates/information.

Boeing 787-9:
- Design phase is comming to an end while early assembly is starting to be well under way for a mid-2013 start of final assembly of LN126/ZB001.
- Boeing and their suppliers achieve major weight savings on the 787-9 compared to the -8, Spirit Aerosystems for example will supply a one-piece cockpitwindow frame, meaning a reduction of 200 fasteners and a 100lbs weight reduction. Also the side-of-body modification has been designed out of the 787-9, saving 800lbs in weight. Another example of a big change, the horizontal stabilazor. The design and production for the 787-8 was in the hand of the Italian Alenia, but they seriously f*cked things up, Boeing decided to redesign the whole thing themself for the 787-9 as well as the early production (only as from the moment they believe another company can handle the production at high quality, they'll outsource it again).
- ZB001 will be on target for its MEW (manufacturer empty weight), later batches will be 2% underweight.
- But early 2014 EIS is becoming challenging. It's still possible but the time window between start of final assembly and first flight has been reduced to just 4 months...that's possible, but only if there are not significant problems.

For the 787-10X:
- Launch seems to be planned for June 2013, but that may be on risk due to the battery problems (and related effect on the 787-9)
- Firm configuration in the second half of 2014
- Roll-out in 2017 and EIS in 2018 or 2019 (even with a delay in the launch of the program, that EIS doesn't seem to be at risk)
- It seems like Boeing doesn't really wants to delay the 787-10X too much as they see the aircraft as the best way to undermine A350-900 sales as the 787-10X has lower operating costs for airlines that don't need the range of the A350-900 (the -10X can do 86% of the -900 missions)
- The 787-10X is about the same size as the 777-200ER, but with lower range, still it will be able to operate 88% of the -200ER missions. This makes the -10X a great replacement for transatlantic missions to name something. British Airways is looking at a (possible launch) order of 60 -10X aircraft to replace their 50+ 777-200ER fleet. It can perfectly do the longest transatlantic sectors and even routes like LHR-HND are suited for the -10X.
- The 787-10X can fly 9% further with 9% more payload and 25% less fuel usage as the A330-300.
- Besides BA, also Scoot (SQ), Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, ILFC and ALC did point out they may be early 787-10X customers.

[sn26567]

LOT does not plan to use B787-8s until October

LOT Polish Airlines (LO) Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz has announced that the airline does not currently expect or plan to have its two B787-8s back in operations before October of this year.

It currently has one aircraft each grounded at Warsaw and Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) and uses its three B767-300ERs for long-haul services from Warsaw to Beijing Capital (PEK), Chicago O'Hare, New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and Toronto Lester B. Pearson International (YYZ).

Source: ch-aviation

Sebastian Mikosz said LOT does not want to include the 787 in the summer schedule until Boeing has a clear understanding of what is causing the battery problems. The decision to ground the 787 is a setback for LOT as they work to cut costs and plan mass layoffs in an effort to survive. LOT is reportedly in talks with Boeing about compensation for the issues.

I know some Belgian avgeeks who are very happy to have flown one or both of the LOT 787s on 5-6-10 January, days before they were grounded.

[sn26567]

Breaking: Japan’s Transport Ministry said the lithium ion battery in an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 was improperly wired. The Transport Safety Board said in a report that the battery for the aircraft's auxiliary power unit was incorrectly connected to the main battery that overheated, although a protective valve would have prevented power from the auxiliary unit from causing damage.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/japan-pr ... 87-battery

Update: Boeing engineers believe the 787 battery cells are too close. Boeing's solution to the problem would have them install ceramic plates (to space out the cells) between each cell and add a vent to the battery box. A Boeing team led by Commercial Airplanes President Ray Conner is set to present details of its proposed near-term solution to the 787 battery issues to the FAA later this week, possibly as early as Feb. 21.

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.asp ... 550650.xml

[sn26567]

Boeing Dreamliner Grounding Costs Ailing LOT $50,000 a Day

LOT Polish Airlines, the first European carrier to receive Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners, said it is losing $50,000 a day because of the jet’s grounding, compounding an already precarious financial situation.

The 787’s operational suspension has cost the state-owned carrier 7.7 million zloty (€2 million) in the last two weeks of January.

The struggling airline was looking to the 787 to help propel a revamp as it seeks to attract a strategic investor. That plan has faltered after the global Dreamliner fleet was grounded on Jan. 16.

Details from Aviation Daily News

[Passenger]

Update from Aviation Herald:

On Feb 20th 2013 the JTSB released another progress report in Japanese, reporting that the aircraft had no history of being hit by lightning. The positive electrode of cell number 3 had become so hot, that the material melted, the positive terminal of cells 1, 2, 6, 7 and 8 were damaged supposedly because of reaching the melting point of the terminal's material aluminium. The grounding wire of the battery container was broken most likely because of currents flowing through the container. The flight data recorder revealed that the battery voltage reduced from 31V to 11V within 10 seconds followed by voltage drops of about 1V every two seconds, prior to that a measured voltage of 32V indicated the battery was at nearly full charge. The investigation of why the voltage drops occurred is still underway, specific attention is given to the strobe navigation lights however, that were turned on during the encounter. The investigation is ongoing.

Source:
http://avherald.com/h?article=45c377c5&opt=0

[sn26567]

Cover up of the JAL 787 stranded at Boston Logan International Airport: no more Boeing or JAL logos!


Photo: Carl Shipski

Did the LOT 787 stranded in Chicago O'Hare get the same treatment?

[MD-11forever]

Japan Says Object, Stuck Valve Caused Fuel Leak on Boeing 787

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Airlines Co.’s fuel leak on a Boeing Co. 787 plane at Boston last month was probably caused by a foreign object that caused a valve to temporarily open. Either a valve to prevent fuel flowing backward in the left tank, or a valve between the main and left tanks was temporarily open, causing the overflow, Japan’s transport ministry said in a statement today.The ministry said checks should be made on the central pump to prevent a similar problem happening again, according to the statement. About 40 gallons of fuel spilled onto the ground froma Japan Airlines 787 when it was taxiing for takeoff at Logan International Airport on Jan. 8. We estimate that an object about 1.5 millimeters (0.06 inch) in size was in the tank,” Tatsuyuki Shimazu, a chief airworthiness engineer at Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau, told reporters in Tokyo today. “We haven’t been able to determine what that was.”
A separate fuel leak on a Japan Airlines 787 at Tokyo’s Narita airport the following week was caused after a microswitch was painted with an insulating coating that wasn’t needed and a hair from a brush had stuck to it, causing it to lock, Shimazu said. To avoid a repeat incident Japan has agreed with Boeing on measures to prevent the U.K.-made switch from being incorrectly painted again, and to improve the system that alerts the cabin when the valve is open, according to the government.

[sn26567]

soon the Boeing parking lot will be too small for all the undelivered 787s.

Here we are: New Dreamliner Headache: Parking Space

With the Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of the 787 Dreamliner fleet in its fifth week, Boeing now faces a problem of where to store the airplanes that continue to roll off the assembly line at its giant factory 30 miles north of Seattle.

Boeing, reluctant to shut down its production lines at Everett, Wash., and at a factory in Charleston, S.C., is producing 787s at a rate of slightly more than one a week.

Two of the nation’s largest commercial airplane storage companies have been asked by Boeing for space to park other models of airplanes that for one reason or another cannot be delivered immediately to customers.

Two likely storage destinations for planes are Pratt & Whitney’s Southern California Aviation in Victorville, Calif., and Marana Aerospace Solutions in Marana, Ariz. The Victorville location has space for 330 airplanes. About 200 airplanes could be kept at Marana Aerospace Solutions.

Still, production of the 787 is continuing at the same pace at both plants. Stopping or even slowing the assembly lines would be very difficult and costly because the aircraft’s attenuated supply chain draws on parts manufactured all over the world. The engines are built in the United Kingdom, the fuselage in Italy, and various parts of the wing are constructed in Korea, Australia and Japan.

At the Everett factory 15 Dreamliners are parked and all the spaces on the flight line are taken. In addition, the company leases 22 acres at Paine Field where another 16 airplanes are parked.

Some of those Dreamliners are positioned on a runway previously used for general aviation.

Full article in The New York Times

[wernerrav4]

LOT does not plan to use B787-8s until October

LOT Polish Airlines (LO) Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz has announced that the airline does not currently expect or plan to have its two B787-8s back in operations before October of this year.

It currently has one aircraft each grounded at Warsaw and Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) and uses its three B767-300ERs for long-haul services from Warsaw to Beijing Capital (PEK), Chicago O'Hare, New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and Toronto Lester B. Pearson International (YYZ).

Source: ch-aviation

Sebastian Mikosz said LOT does not want to include the 787 in the summer schedule until Boeing has a clear understanding of what is causing the battery problems. The decision to ground the 787 is a setback for LOT as they work to cut costs and plan mass layoffs in an effort to survive. LOT is reportedly in talks with Boeing about compensation for the issues.

I know some Belgian avgeeks who are very happy to have flown one or both of the LOT 787s on 5-6-10 January, days before they were grounded.

True André, Tim,Lex my wife and me were the lucky ones to have flown with LRA and LRB; I even had plans to fly with LOT in May or June with their 787 to Toronto; I guess I will have to wait a year or so

[liege-bierset]

Cash drain, the other side of the coin...(Reuter)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/ ... 1L20130220

[sn26567]

Press Release – FAA Statement

Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari, FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta and other FAA officials met with senior executives from The Boeing Company today to discuss the status of ongoing work to address 787 battery issues. The FAA is reviewing a Boeing proposal and will analyze it closely. The safety of the flying public is our top priority and we won't allow the 787 to return to commercial service until we're confident that any proposed solution has addressed the battery failure risks.

February 22, 2013

Nevertheless, Boeing said they had a "productive" meeting with the FAA and felt encouraged with "progress being made toward resolving the batteries issue and returning the 787 to flight".

[RoMax]

Well actually there's nothing in that FAA statement... The only official new element is that they are reviewing a Boeing proposal, the rest is just a repeat of what they are saying for weeks. It's not that they say that the proposal of Boeing wasn't good enough or something like that.

[quixoticguide]

LOT does not plan to use B787-8s until October

LOT Polish Airlines (LO) Chief Executive Officer Sebastian Mikosz has announced that the airline does not currently expect or plan to have its two B787-8s back in operations before October of this year.

It currently has one aircraft each grounded at Warsaw and Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) and uses its three B767-300ERs for long-haul services from Warsaw to Beijing Capital (PEK), Chicago O'Hare, New York John F. Kennedy International (JFK) and Toronto Lester B. Pearson International (YYZ).

Source: ch-aviation

Sebastian Mikosz said LOT does not want to include the 787 in the summer schedule until Boeing has a clear understanding of what is causing the battery problems. The decision to ground the 787 is a setback for LOT as they work to cut costs and plan mass layoffs in an effort to survive. LOT is reportedly in talks with Boeing about compensation for the issues.

I know some Belgian avgeeks who are very happy to have flown one or both of the LOT 787s on 5-6-10 January, days before they were grounded.

True André, Tim,Lex my wife and me were the lucky ones to have flown with LRA and LRB; I even had plans to fly with LOT in May or June with their 787 to Toronto; I guess I will have to wait a year or so

I think Lot want a compsation from Boeing until October.
800000$ for a month (leasing price for month) for one Dreamliner is 8 milion x 2 = 16 milion dollar.
Yes luckily we fly with the Dreamliner

[quixoticguide]

Launch of Denver to Tokyo route delayed

Reuters
Published: Feb 22, 2013 1:44 PM
Dubai: United Continental Holdings said on Thursday it was taking Boeing Co’s grounded 787 Dreamliner out of its flying plans through June 5, except for a Denver-to-Tokyo route scheduled for a tentative launch in May.

United’s decision came as a Japanese investigation of a fuel leak on a Dreamliner operated by Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) indicated the cause to be a coating around the mechanism that controls fuel movement between tanks.

Japanese officials launched the investigation after two fuel leaks on the JAL 787, just days before authorities around the world grounded the new lightweight passenger jets over battery failures that sparked fires on two planes in January.

Japanese authorities still have not found the cause of the battery issue.

Airlines operating 787s are setting schedules for coming months while still uncertain about when the plane will be able to resume service following the fleet’s grounding five weeks ago.

Boeing is due to meet with the head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Friday to present measures designed to prevent further battery failures, a source told Reuters , even though the root cause of the electrical problem has not been determined.

United spokeswoman Christen David said in a statement on Thursday that the carrier’s Denver to Tokyo Narita International route, originally set to start March 31, had been postponed to May 12.

The launch would ultimately depend on a successful resolution of the safety incidents that have grounded the 787. Other service with the 787 won’t resume until after June 5, David said.

“We are taking the 787 out of our schedule through June 5, except for Denver-Narita, which will tentatively launch on May 12,” United’s statement said.

MAINTAINING DIALOGUE

Boeing said it was maintaining communication with United as the plane maker develops a plan to resume 787 service. “We deeply regret the impact the recent events have had on the schedule for United and their customers,” Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel said in an emailed comment.

United’s statement doesn’t mean that the 787 won’t be ready to fly again before June 5, said Carter Leake, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets.

Rather, it means United will not put the jet into service before then. If the plane is available sooner but United cannot use it on its scheduled routes, Boeing likely would have to pay United compensation that Leake estimates at about $800,000 a month, based on lease rates.

“This does not tell you that Boeing’s plane is grounded until June,” he said. “It tells you that Boeing’s costs to United could be as if it’s grounded until June.”

A “superbox” to contain the battery or some other fix “might come sooner, but United is not paying” to have the jet until after June 5, he added.

“Airlines don’t make money while their planes are on the ground,” said Morningstar airline analyst Basili Alukos.

United is the only U.S. carrier currently operating the 787 and has six of the planes, worth $207 million apiece at list prices. JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have nearly half of the 50 jets delivered to airlines so far.

Japan’s Transport Ministry said it believed the manufacturing process led to deficiencies in the way electrical-insulating coating was applied to the mechanism that opened and closed the fuel-tank valve.

Investigators also found foreign matter on a switch that operated the same mechanism, causing it to send a signal that the valve was closed when it was still half open -- leading to the leak.

Source: gulf news

[tsv]

soon the Boeing parking lot will be too small for all the undelivered 787s.

Here we are: New Dreamliner Headache: Parking Space

With the Federal Aviation Administration’s grounding of the 787 Dreamliner fleet in its fifth week, Boeing now faces a problem of where to store the airplanes that continue to roll off the assembly line at its giant factory 30 miles north of Seattle.

Boeing, reluctant to shut down its production lines at Everett, Wash., and at a factory in Charleston, S.C., is producing 787s at a rate of slightly more than one a week.

Two of the nation’s largest commercial airplane storage companies have been asked by Boeing for space to park other models of airplanes that for one reason or another cannot be delivered immediately to customers.

Two likely storage destinations for planes are Pratt & Whitney’s Southern California Aviation in Victorville, Calif., and Marana Aerospace Solutions in Marana, Ariz. The Victorville location has space for 330 airplanes. About 200 airplanes could be kept at Marana Aerospace Solutions.

Still, production of the 787 is continuing at the same pace at both plants. Stopping or even slowing the assembly lines would be very difficult and costly because the aircraft’s attenuated supply chain draws on parts manufactured all over the world. The engines are built in the United Kingdom, the fuselage in Italy, and various parts of the wing are constructed in Korea, Australia and Japan.

At the Everett factory 15 Dreamliners are parked and all the spaces on the flight line are taken. In addition, the company leases 22 acres at Paine Field where another 16 airplanes are parked.

Some of those Dreamliners are positioned on a runway previously used for general aviation.

Full article in The New York Times

Plenty of room in the Desert to park them and they will be able to get approval to Ferry them there.

Whether they will ever have cause to fetch them is another matter. posting.php?mode=quote&f=7&p=277399#

[sn26567]

BREAKING: according to some sources of the Wall Street Journal, the FAA could allow Boeing 787 test flights by next week.

[Streetstream]

BREAKING: according to some sources of the Wall Street Journal, the FAA could allow Boeing 787 test flights by next week.

The FAA denies this as seen in this article by Reuters.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/ ... QJ20130227

[sn26567]

Boeing will brief their 787 customers on Friday 1 March (tomorrow) about their plan to correct the 787 battery problems. However, extensive test flights will need to be completed before the FAA lifts the grounding.

Boeing says its solution is a permanent one, not an interim fix.

The solution includes measures (e.g. three layers) that would prevent each individual cell from overheating, prevent a failed cell from harming adjacent cells, as well as contain the fire in the event one cell or the whole battery does overheat.

There is still no explanation about the cause of the incidents. Yuasa's primary argument was that its own laboratory tests strongly suggest that an external power surge—or another problem originating outside the eight cells of the battery—kicked off the sequence of events on the 787s that experienced burning batteries. Yuasa told the FAA that temperatures and current fluctuations recorded on those planes weren't consistent with short-circuits originating inside its batteries.

That places the FAA in the awkward position of being asked to approve a fix for a problem with its origins still unknown.

The head of Boeing commercial airplanes Ray Conner is in Japan to reassure his main clients.

[Passenger]

The solution includes measures (e.g. three layers) that would prevent each individual cell from overheating, prevent a failed cell from harming adjacent cells, as well as contain the fire in the event one cell or the whole battery does overheat.

"contain the fire in the event one cell or the whole battery does overheat": will the FAA accept this?