Rolls-Royce Says 787 Engine Failed During Testing
failed during testing and that a probe into the incident has begun.
site in Derby, England, will have any impact on the development of the engine
or the 787’s entry into service, company spokesman Craig Taylor said in an e-mail.
the issue," Taylor said. He declined to comment on the nature of the incident.
is "actively participating" in the investigation, she said.
shortages, redesigns, problems with new materials and heavier reliance on suppliers,
and Boeing said on Aug. 11 that it’s re-inspecting flight-test and production
planes to ensure tail assemblies built by Finmeccanica SpA of Italy meet standards.
Service entry may slide into 2011 from late this year in part because of the flaws
with horizontal stabilizers that keep the 787 steady in flight, Boeing has said.
Rolls may have been
already in place for later engines." Taylor said he wasn’t immediately able to
clarify whether that meant that the first batch of engines has had to be altered
or that the second is of a different design and therefore unaffected.
passenger aircraft.
new jumbo freighter to
margin in the aircraft’s flight test schedule, with two of the three outstanding.
gear door when the aircraft’s flaps were at the 30 setting. The second and third,
an oscillation in the aircraft’s inboard aileron caused by an under-performing
actuator, as well as a structural flutter at mid-weight just below cruise, are
slowing the flight test campaign considerably.
RC501, which just emerged from a week of planned maintenance following stability
and control testing, is now pressing forward with wing twist evaluations.
ground testing of the aircraft’s engines and auxiliary power unit.
RC503, the newest member of the flight test fleet, is performing High Intensity
Radiated Fields (HIRF) evaluations in Palmdale, California.
Boeing is continuing to press forward with assembly operations for its first 747-8I
flight test aircraft, RC001.
intends to incorporate design changes honed on the -8F into the -8I during assembly,
including the revised outboard landing gear door and strengthened inboard aileron
actuator.
not be required for the -8I and its stretched upper deck, though early flight
tests will work to clear RC001 of any structural flutter.
being undertaken by the 747-8F, as aerodynamic data from the freighter is expected
to be carried over to the passenger variant.
is currently joining the forward fuselage sections 41 and 42 that make up the
jumbo’s iconic hump, inside the 40-23 building at the company’s Everett, Washington
facility.
aircraft’s centre wing box and bonnet section 44. Boeing is also nearing the stub
join that will see the aircraft’s wings mated to the centre wing box.
2011 with first flight to follow later in the first quarter. First delivery, which
will be in VIP configuration, is expected in the fourth quarter of 2011 when the
aircraft is handed over to a completion centre.