777-200LR Flight Test Journal: Archives

| December 2005 | November 2005 | October 2005 | September 2005 | August 2005 | July 2005 | June 2005 | May 2005 |

27 May 2005

Desert sunrise

Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann
Chief Project Pilot, Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner

We've all seen them - those glorious photos of sparkling, airborne jetliners silhouetted against a sun partially hidden by the horizon. And you've probably said to yourself, "What a beautiful sunset! The pilots flying those planes are the luckiest people around."

Well, you're half right. We pilots are the luckiest people around. However, you should realize that those photos are actually of the sunrise. And that should tell you something about the lives of all the people involved in Flight Test.

As lead test pilot for the 777-200LR, I assist my colleague Frank Santoni, who's the chief pilot of the 777. But on the -200LR program, Frank has let me take the lead so I can learn the ropes of what a project pilot does.

We've just returned from Edwards Air Force Base in California for a brief hiatus and will go back next week. Edwards is on the western edge of the Mojave Desert, about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. A whole crew of Boeing people have spent much of this month at Edwards. We're putting WD001, the first 777-200LR, through a rigorous test program. It will culminate with certification from the FAA so Boeing can start delivering the planes to its customers and they can put the planes into revenue service.

Now, about the sunrise. Every day we fly - and that is just about every day we're here - sun up means "wheels up." We do it at sunrise because we want to take advantage of the calm air.

At Edwards, which is considered the flight test center of the western hemisphere, the wind kicks up in the afternoon. So our testing window is from about 5:15 a.m. to noon. We try to take advantage of every single minute of that window.

Of course, we can't just show up at 5 a.m. and take off. For most of the crew, the day actually begins a lot earlier, at 3:00 a.m. They have to make sure the plane is ready. They double check all the instrumentation that will record data from the various tests we'll be doing. Meanwhile, the pilots and engineers review the flight and test plans so everyone knows exactly what will be tested and how.

What are we testing for? Primarily, "aero performance" (performance takeoffs and landings) as well as "stability and control characteristics." We want to make sure the aircraft handles the way it's supposed to and performs to expectations.

In addition, we test the airplane in situations that it probably will never experience again. We test at high speeds, low speeds, high altitudes, low altitudes, fully loaded and completely empty.

What we're doing is testing the edges of what an airplane can do - the corners of the flight envelope. One of our philosophies on the 777 program - and what sets Boeing apart from Airbus - is that we have "envelope protection."

We want to make sure that the airplane can safely handle flying right at the corner of the envelope, so to speak, if for some unexpected reason, one of our customers needs to do something with the airplane that they wouldn't normally do.

There's a popular myth that test pilots head to the golf course an hour after landing, Well, not quite. Once we're on the ground, we have reports to file and meetings to go to. We review the day's tests and look ahead to the next day.

At the same time, other crew members are checking the data captured through sensors and other equipment on board while another crew prepares the plane to fly again early the next day. Flight Test is all about teamwork.

Anything that didn't go exactly as planned during the flight is investigated, fixed and set up to test again.

I've been an experimental test pilot for Boeing for more than seven years, and I will tell you that very few things catch us off guard because as a team we prepare so throughly. I've been involved with this particular airplane for more than a year-and-a-half. I took part in early engineering meetings when designs and specifications were being formed. That gave me the opportunity to take the information from those meetings back to our team of test pilots. In that way we're able to give the program recommendation from the pilot's perspective.

As the airplane was being built, I visited the factory regularly and watched the pieces come together. It's always a thrill to see ideas and designs become a reality!

And, so I came to be seated in the captain's seat on March 8 when WD001 made its first flight over Puget Sound. It was a feeling I'll never forget.

I'll have to tell you more about that later. Right now, it's time to get some rest. For test pilots, sunrise comes awfully early.

20 May 2005

Time flies

Joe Kranak
Chief Engineer, Test and Validation, 747, 767, 777

On May 10, 2004, the first Boeing 777-300ER entered service. Now, just over a year later, that airplane's stable mate, the 777-200LR Worldliner is in the thick of flight testing.

As chief engineer for testing and validation for the 777, I'd like to welcome you to an inside look at the testing leading up to certification of the Worldliner.

This journal is your ticket aboard.

Now, in the past, news about flight testing has been hard to come by. Usually it's wrapped tightly around milestones -- rollout, first flight, certification, and delivery. And a lot of the data collected during flight testing is proprietary.

But it turns out that isn't the main reason flight test activities are rarely publicized. The major factor is that for the entire flight test team, it's an extremely intense time, and everyone involved is very busy doing their jobs. That means it's been difficult to share what's happening as the flight test program is going on, in anything resembling real-time.

This blog, or journal, is going to change that. Now we have a way, through the Web, to give you a first-hand look at the flight test process. And we're going to let the people who do the actual work tell you about it in their own words. We're hoping to give you a sense of what it's like in the factory, on the flightline, and in the cockpit. We'll also include photos, videos and other interesting stuff to help tell the story.

We're at a great point in the program right now. WD001, the first 777-200LR Worldliner, recently flew to California to begin certification testing at Edwards Air Force Base. Meanwhile, the second test airplane, WD002, just rolled out of the paint shop, and is getting ready for its first flight.

In the weeks ahead we'll chronicle the planes' parallel paths. You'll find out what we're testing, how we're testing it, why we're testing, and who is doing what to get it all done.

You'll get a look at the high points and the low points, the smooth cruising and the turbulence. We'll also look back a little and bring you up to speed on what led up to all this. I can guarantee you that there will also be some surprises along this journey!

Something else I want to say. Flight test personnel don't see themselves as anything special. They know they have jobs to do. Unique and sometimes phenomenal jobs, yes, but at the end of each day they take their satisfaction from a job well done, just like anyone else.

The people you'll be hearing from are not looking for publicity or commendation. And we appreciate even more the time they take from their schedules to contribute to this journal.

Our test program includes a good deal of information gathering -- not only about the 777 and its performance, but also about future airplanes. For instance, a number of the tests we'll be conducting will directly benefit the development of the 787 Dreamliner.

Another major part of our test program is demonstrating conformance with the certification requirements of the FAA. To certify an airplane to fly in commercial service, we have to demonstrate that we meet these requirements.

WD001 will carry the primary burden of certification testing. WD002 will be devoted partly to certification testing, and will also make a stop at the Paris Air Show.

In the coming weeks you'll hear from some of our crew at Edwards AFB -- people in the cockpit and people who ensure that everything is in place each morning when it's time for "wheels up."

Our Boeing teammates in Everett, Washington will also be checking in as we prepare for the first flight of WD002.

So, we're hoping you'll find it a fascinating ride. I think it's really going to open your eyes to the remarkable people and machines that make up the Boeing flight test program.

The final flights of this particular test program are scheduled for late summer. That will be here before you know it.

It's true. Time flies!