Good going Boeing! Flight tests of 777-9 begins with US regulators’ nod

Boeing received the TIA on July 13 and says the 777-9 will enter services next year. 

Validating safety and reliability: Boeing’s 777-9 certification journey

Boeing revealed that the certification flight testing will validate the safety of the airplane, its reliability and its performance.

This marks a big step in the 777-9 program of Boeing and kind of helps put the company in a positive light, unlike before when it gained a lot of negative publicity over the past engine troubles and whistleblower allegations. 

Boeing says that it appreciates the regulator’s (FAA’s) oversight and also thanks its customers who chose the 777-9 for its efficiency, environmental performance, and passenger comfort.

Airlines like Lufthansa and Emirates Airline have placed orders for this aircraft type, and they can operate these planes after they pass the certification process. 

It was first in January 2021 when Boeing pushed the 777-9’s expected certification date to 2023. It had mentioned several design changes.

The company also mentioned that it needed to provide the FAA with more information – mostly regarding Boeing’s major software architecture. The jet’s first delivery had been delayed until 2025. 

Even though Boeing had started its flight testing for certification credit, its flight test 777-9s have already completed around 1,200 flights, logging around 3,500 flight hours in the air. The company says that this was a part of its own flight-test regime. 

Revisiting Boeing’s 777-9 program: Milestones and challenges

The jet launched its twin GE Aerospace GE9X-powered 777-9 and the broader 777X programme in November 2013 at the Dubai Air Show. There have been many times when Boeing delayed its programs owing to increased security by the FAA. 

“The 777-9 flight-test fleet will undergo the most thorough commercial flight-test effort Boeing has ever undertaken. We have also spent significant time working through the required certification deliverables in preparation for TIA,” Boeing said.

As far as the 777-9 is concerned, it will have 7,285 nm of range and will have a capacity of carrying around 426 passengers in a two-class layout.

It will be slightly longer than the 777-300ER, with the 777-9 being 76.7m long. Its initial plans were to make the 777-9 smaller, but it had to be changed after it was mentioned that the next 777X would be the 777-8 Freighter. It’s a jet with 4,410 nm of range and 112t of revenue payload. 

As of now, Boeing holds offers for around 481 orders of the new widebody jets. The 777-9 flight-test fleet of Boeing includes four aircraft. “WH001” has been assigned avionics, brakes, flutter, icing, stability and low-speed aerodynamics testing, and “WH002” is handling ground-effect aerodynamics, auto-land, and stability and control tests.”

Currently, the company is also using its test aircraft “WH003” which could help with handling, avionics, propulsion, and also the auxiliary power unit. On the other hand the “WH004” is likely to work on extended operations, environmental-control systems, reliability and noise evaluations. 

Hopefully, this move by Boeing will help reinstate its image in the market.

The past few months have been tough for the company, most recently a Boeing 757-200 operated by Jet2, traveling from Málaga, Spain, to Manchester, England, faced an in-flight emergency on Friday.

Flight LS810, which took off from Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, was nearing its destination, Manchester when hydraulic fluid leaks forced the pilots to declare a “squawking 7700” emergency.