Boeing delays 787's first test-flight

SEATTLE, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Boeing Co.'s new 787 Dreamliner jet will begin flight-testing later than planned but will be delivered on time, a Boeing executive said Wednesday.

The first midsize, wide-body, twin-engine jet, currently in production by Boeing's Commercial Aircraft division, is now expected to test-fly between mid-November and mid-December, division Chief Executive Officer Scott Carson said.

The delayed flight start -- originally set for August and then moved to October -- won't hurt Boeing's May 2008 delivery of the jet to Japan's All Nippon Airways Co., Carson said.

The test-flight period was moved because of assembly delays and holdups in finalizing flight-control software with Honeywell International Inc., he said.

The delivery will still be on time because Boeing had built "buffer" time into the schedule, 787 Vice President and General Manager Mike Bair said.

Boeing has said the 787, which will carry between 210 and 330 passengers depending on variant and seating configuration, will be more fuel-efficient that its earlier jets and the first major airliner to use composite material for 50 percent of its body and wings

Boeing has said it has 706 orders for the 787 from 48 customers.