787 Year-End News

Much was made over the fact that 787 #2 landed with its main gear doors open and whether they scraped the runway. The doors did not, but it was close as these photos from the sidelines show. You may click on the photo to get a much larger image to really see the detail.

Photos by Scott Morton

Jon Ostrower has this detail about why the plane landed with the main gear door open.

  • Wired magazine has two stories about the 787. The first one focuses on the 787 interior.
  • Boeing posted orders for 11 787s from unidentified customers. With previously announced cancellations, the 787 has a net negative of 59 orders for the year.
  • 787 plane #1 was expected to have its second test flight on the same day as the first flight for plane #2; it didn’t happen. There is an unconfirmed report the windshield heater overheated an cracked the windshield; the plane was on the ground. If true, it’s nothing more than another one of those glitches that happen and no big deal.
  • CNET.com has a photo gallery of the media evening in advance of 787 first flight that shows the 787 customer experience center.
  • And if you missed the flights and other things about the 787, Boeing’s NewAirplane.com has all-things 787.

One Comment on “787 Year-End News

  1. Don’t mind, it is absolutely normal for an aircraft to keep the landing gear extended during maiden flight.
    This is for security reasons, it’s the standard procedure for first flight, and all aircraft companies do it this way.

    What I find more worrying are those unfolded gear flaps of the 787 nearly touching the runway.
    During a hard landing they could easily be wrenched off. And if they go unnoticed, they could easily be sucked into the turbines of the next aircraft.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *