Boeing 787 performed as expected under wing and fuselage stress tests
By APWednesday, April 7, 2010
Boeing says 787 passes wing, fuselage stress tests
EVERETT, Wash. — Boeing Co. says the stress tests for its new 787 jetliner’s wing and fuselage went as planned.
On March 28, workers at Boeing’s Everett, Wash., plant bent the wing of a special test 787 by 150 percent of the most extreme forces it would experience in flight — about 25 feet upward at the wing tip. They also pressurized the fuselage to 150 percent of its maximum normal operating condition.
The head of the 787 program, Scott Fancher, said in a news release Wednesday that a thorough analysis of the results showed the aircraft performed as designed.
Chicago-based Boeing has been testing the new plane for more than three months, after production delays and problems with carbon-fiber composite materials put it nearly three years behind schedule.
