EVERETT, Wash., Feb. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its 1,000th flight yesterday, marking another milestone in the flight test program. There are seven airplanes participating in flight testing. The landing of 787 flight test airplane ZA004, just after 1 p.m. MST at Yuma International Airport in Arizona, counted as the official 1,000th flight.
The program is near its 3,000th hour of flying and 787s have flown a total of more than one million miles.
“The team is making great progress,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “We are getting through the test conditions needed to certify this airplane with nearly 80 percent of the conditions for the first model, with Rolls-Royce engines, already complete. And, we’re more than 60 percent of the way through the test conditions for the 787s with General Electric engines.”
Capt. Mike Carriker, chief pilot for the 787, Boeing Test & Evaluation, said the airplane continues to behave well in testing.
“We’re really eager to get this airplane through its flight testing so our customers can see for themselves this airplane’s excellent performance,” said Carriker.
Pictured here, ZA004 frames Mt. Rainier in Western Washington during a test flight earlier this year.
Delta Airlines flight DL-1125 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Memphis, Tennessee, on June 29th.
China Southern Airlines flight CZ-6406 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Changsha, China, on November 13th.
Fedex Federal Express flight FX-1590 made an emergency landing in Rochester, Minnesota, on January 10th.
Alaska Airlines flight AS-35 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 29th.