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In 2002, Boeing executives opted for efficiency over speed in ditching the Sonic Cruiser for what became the 787 Dreamliner. So the flight-tracking Web site FlightAware provided a bit of a jolt Thursday when it reported the first 787 going supersonic above Washington.

EVERETT, Wash.—Boeing Co.'s long-delayed 787 Dreamliner made its first flight on Tuesday morning under cold, cloudy skies, marking a milestone for the company's marquee commercial jetliner program that is running more than two years behind schedule. The first Dreamliner test aircraft rolled down runway 34 Left at Paine Field at 10:28 a.m. and smoothly lifted off, heading northbound. Thousands of people, including hundreds of Boeing employees, plane enthusiasts and media, gathered at the airfield, which is also the site of Boeing's wide-body jet factory, where the Dreamliners are assembled.

Boeing's busy day on the ground kicked off at 6:30 AM with a flight readiness review that finalized receipt of the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA. This regulatory clearance now puts the 787, with clearance to operate Part 91 operations, the same regulatory category as aircraft like the Cessna 172. Once the Experimental Airworthiness Certificate had been obtained, the aircraft was cleared for final taxi tests.

Dow Jones)--Boeing Co. on Wednesday announced it would build a second final assembly line for its troubled 787 Dreamliner jet in South Carolina, a move that spurns the powerful aircraft machinists' union that had been negotiating with Boeing to locate the work at the current factory near Seattle. Boeing has been laying the groundwork for a new factory in South Carolina for months and could begin construction at a facility it owns in North Charleston, S.C., as early as Nov. 2. The factory is expected to be operational by July 2011.

After two years of costly and embarrassing delays, the first flight of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner is on track for the end of June. When the 787 does lift off, Boeing officials hope it takes the company's stock with it. > “They've still got credibility issues, and there's an awful lot of people with a wait-and-see attitude,” Aboulafia said, adding that key airline customers remain dubious about the 787s weight and performance on the first six airplanes under production. “There are good reasons to be cautious about the 787,'' Aboulafia said. “The problem was they've been overly optimistic in their...

WICHITA, Kan. — Almost a year ago in Everett, Boeing's 787 Dreamliner No. 1 rolled out with an impressive exterior but completely empty inside. At the sprawling Spirit AeroSystems plant here Thursday, the cockpit door inside the 42-foot-long front section of Dreamliner No. 4 opened to reveal a finished flight deck. Though it's only the front of the plane, it seemed almost ready for takeoff.

FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Boeing Co. faces further delays in the delivery of its B787 Dreamliner because it is unlikely to get clearance from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on time, German weekly Focus reported, citing sources at the FAA. The so-called 'Type Certification' will not be granted before the end of 2009, possibly early 2010, and not in the third quarter of 2009 as initially projected, delaying delivery to the first customer All Nippon Airways. Boeing (nyse: BA - news - people ) plans to publish the new schedule next month, the magazine said in an excerpt of an...

The largest customer for Boeing's 787 is predicting another six-month slip in deliveries and has for the first time raised the specter that the new passenger jet's troubles extend beyond production delays to design problems. International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC) Chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy told a JPMorgan investor conference that structural design changes have to be made to the 787's center wing box, a move that would require retrofits of the first two flight-test airplanes that are being produced. Calling the state of the program "not pretty," Udvar-Hazy said he doesn't see the 787 making its first flight until this fall...

MUMBAI: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Wednesday said it would compensate Air India for the delay in the delivery of Dreamliner 787 aircraft to the Indian carrier. "We will compensate Air India for the delay in the delivery of Dreamliners," Boeing Senior Vice-President Dinesh Keskar told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation summit. In 2005, the national carrier had placed orders with Boeing for 68 aircraft costing $11.6 billion. Of the 68 aircraft, 27 are Dreamliners. The first Dreamliner was scheduled to be delivered by end-this year, but the deliveries are now expected to be delayed. "There have been...

British Airways has placed a massive order of 790 planes for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner which is yet to be launched. This is a move that should exalt the aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, and place it well beyond its European competitor, Airbus. Boeing hopes to test the 787 Dreamliner before March next year and expects to start delivering planes in December, the same year. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized, wide-body, twin engine jet airliner currently in production by Boeing Commercial Airplanes and scheduled to enter service in November 2008. It will carry between 210 and 330 passengers depending...

Has the 787 flown yet, does anyone know?

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Boeing Co. said Wednesday it would delay first deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner by six months after running into assembly problems, confirming recent speculation that its ultratight testing phase would make scheduled deliveries impossible.

The Boeing Co. is delaying initial deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner by six months due to continued challenges in completing assembly of the first airplanes, the company said Wednesday. Boeing said deliveries that had been scheduled to begin next May will be pushed back to late November or December 2008. The first flight, already pushed back once from the initial target of earlier this fall, now is anticipated around the end of the first quarter of 2008.

Former CBS newsman and anchor Dan Rather, now with HDNet, will have a special report on the 787 that airs Tuesday, Sept. 18. The subject is whether new composite jets like the 787 are safe. Boeing recently completed a test in which a section of the 787 composite fuselage was dropped from a height of 15 feet to simulate a crash landing. Boeing has said the test was a success. This is part of the Associated Press story the P-I ran about that test: The Boeing Co. said Thursday that results from a recent test on a 787 fuselage section...

According to sources with direct knowledge at both ends of the major sub-assembly supply chain, temporary parts, including fasteners, are causing significant slow downs in the 787 program. The source of the slowdown in progress on Dreamliner One originated in the rush to meet the July 8th roll out. The push to achieve this milestone forced supply chain partners to use over-the-counter parts and prevented assembly teams from being able to document the location of these temporary fasteners on the first 787.

Korean Air has taken the Dreamliner Premiere to new heights. They’ve wrapped their entire headquarters building in Seoul with a giant image of a 787 taking off – in Korean Air blue – along with the words, “787 Dreamliner, Special Expectations.” And that’s no stretch. Korean Air’s headquarters will remain “wrapped” in the 787 Dreamliner through the end of the month. The wrapping project took eight days - with 20 to 30 men working each day, attaching more than 300 pieces of film onto the building’s surface. They tell me that all the pieces lined up together would stretch 2.8...

Option Helps 787 Passengers Stay Clean As A Whistle Few things can make transatlantic travel more unpleasant than a dirty lavatory with a wet floor and bad odor. Remember that Continental flight last month? Two Japanese airlines will finally be getting the lavatory luxuries they've long requested that will, hopefully, eliminate some of that. Boeing and TOTO Ltd. of Japan, in a first in air travel, have developed a bidet-style toilet to be outfitted on new Boeing 787 Dreamliners for Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. JAL will install them in lavatories only in premium seating areas while ANA said...

Watch the 787 rollout event live on 7/8/07 The rollout event for the 787 Dreamliner will be available for the world to view. In an unprecedented move, the event will be broadcast live via webcast in nine different languages at 3:30 p.m. PDT on Sunday, July 8 (7/8/07).

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) prepared to unveil the first carbon-composite 787 Dreamliner on Sunday amid a flurry of 55 new orders for the lightweight, fuel efficient plane. European, Middle Eastern and Australian carriers trumpeted new orders at various Boeing events in Seattle, as the U.S. plane maker got ready to host 15,000 or so employees, customers and suppliers at its nearby Everett, Washington, plant. All are waiting for the first glimpse of the mid-sized, long-range jetliner, which is the company's first all-new plane in 12 years. The jet will not look radically new...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- It won't have passenger seats, it won't fly -- in fact, it won't even motor itself down the runway. Still, when the 787 Dreamliner is unveiled at its Seattle-area factory on July 8, it will culminate an intense push by Boeing & Co. to stamp out fears its star aircraft is running into delays. The roll-out of the 787 on 07-08-07 -- billed a "premiere" by Boeing and to be hosted by former NBC journalist Tom Brokaw -- will show off the lightweight, long-range passenger aircraft with all the main parts snapped together, from carbon-fiber nose...