２号機は既にお化粧も終えて...

　Boeing787、Dreamliner の部品搬送用に Boeing747-400 を改造した Dreamlifter 。その２号機が、去る２月１６日に初飛行を終えました。

２号機は台北桃園（ Taoyuan ）国際空港から離陸後３時間８分の初飛行を終え、台北に戻りました。

２号機は、数週間後、シアトルの Boeing field にフェリーされるようです。

１号機は味気ない？塗装でしたが、２号機は既に白い機体に青い垂直尾翼とエンジン・ポッド。そして、同じく青い文字で“ DREAM)LIFTER ”の塗装が施してあります。

写真は こちら です。

１号機は、先日、セントレアにもやって来ましたが、２号機も完成し、いよいよ Boeing787 の組み立ても間近に迫った感があります。

Dreamlifter、既に１０００時間を超える試験飛行＋地上でのテストを終えており、ここ数ヶ月中にも FAA: Federal Aviation Administration （米国連邦航空局）の耐空証明を取得できる見込みだそうです。

若干のスケジュール・スリップがありますが、肝心の Dreamliner の計画には影響が無いだろうとのこと。

以下、２号機の初飛行を伝える、ボーイング社のプレス・リリースです。

Second Boeing Dreamlifter Takes First Flight

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TAIPEI, Taiwan, Feb. 16, 2007 -- The second Boeing [NYSE: BA] 747-400 Dreamlifter completed its first flight earlier today in Taipei. The Dreamlifter is a specially modified 747-400 used to transport the major composite structures of the all-new 787 Dreamliner.

Piloted by Boeing Flight Test Pilots Jerry Whites and Gary Meiser, the Dreamlifter took off from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 10:34 a.m. and flew for three hours and eight minutes. The airplane -- already wearing the distinctive white and blue livery of the Dreamlifter fleet -- handled well during the routine flight.

This Dreamlifter is expected in Washington State within the next few weeks. The first of the unique fleet arrived in September 2006.

Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp., part of Taiwan's Evergreen Group, is modifying the fleet of three airplanes at its facility at the airport. The first Dreamlifter delivered the first 787 major assemblies from Nagoya, Japan, to Charleston, S.C., last month.

After several delays late last year, the Dreamlifter's flight test program is proceeding well, with certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration expected over the next few months. Already the Dreamlifter has completed more than 1,000 hours of flight and ground testing combined.

"The delays we experienced earlier in the flight test program will not impact our overall 787 schedule," said Scott Strode, vice president of Airplane Definition and Production for the 787 program. "The entire global logistics system, including the Dreamlifter's mobile tail support and cargo loader, is working extremely well."

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Photo Credit: Boeing Photo
Neg #: K63948