Boeing seeks FAA waivers for 787-9 deliveries

The 787-9 testing program has gone perfectly, and deliveries are scheduled to start within the next few days. But to do so, Boeing will have to get waivers from the FAA to fly the aircraft. Two critical flight systems have been deemed non-compliant with airworthiness regulations.

First is the RAT. The system passed a year long certification process, but on a non-certification flight recently, a problem developed with a capacitor in the system that may render it inoperative. It was found that the capacitor was unreliable. There is a redesign in progress, but the new parts won't be available until February, when they will be installed in a refit.

The second problem is in the altitude select dial. In Vertical Navigation Mode to turn it, you have to push it in, but when it gets pushed in, it can accidentally be turned one to two positions without noticing, because it lacks sufficient torque resistance. There is a new control panel being rolled out next May that will resolve this problem.

Hopefully the FAA can come through quickly so they can deliver the aircraft on time. Everything else has gone through perfectly with this program.

Boeing needs a last-minute regulatory intervention to avoid a delay of the entry-into-service date later this month for the 787-9.

The company has asked the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to quickly approve exemptions that would allow the 787-9 to be delivered on schedule despite two critical flight systems deemed non-compliant with airworthiness regulations.

“The certification process provides a method for identifying component issues that do not result in an immediate safety concern but need to be addressed,” Boeing tells Flightglobal. “We have followed that process and proposed plans to the FAA to address two components on the 787-9.”

The requested exemptions would cover a newly-discovered reliability problem with the ram air turbine (RAT) and a functional issue with the altitude-select dial on the mode control panel, according to a Boeing petition for relief filed on 4 June

www.flightglobal.com...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Lol wait a minute? The altitude selector is a freaking dial on a digital jet? Are you kidding me? A damn KC-135 block 45 jet even has a digital selector. Wtf???

a reply to: boomer135

Yeah I know. One of the points of the 787 was that it was one of the first truly digital architectures from the ground up, and they are giving it freaking dials still. Hopefully the new control panel they're rolling out next year will revise that.

a reply to: boomer135

Not sure about aircraft instrumentation but I know a lot of auto manufacturers are going away from digital non tactile feel buttons and controls in favor of tactile knobs that give a better input feel and are easier to understand and interpret quickly. Like interfaces that people have gotten used to over the years before the age of digital touch displays with multi drop down sub folders to get what you need to control.

Both the FAA and the EASA awarded temporary exemptions to Boeing, which will allow for delivery of the first of the type later this month to launch customer Air New Zealand. The aircraft will be delivered under the design weight of 553,000 pounds by an unknown amount, and already ETOPS certified for flight beyond 180 minutes. The delivery flight is expected the week of July 7th, with formal contract signing at the end of June.

www.flightglobal.com...

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: boomer135

Yeah I know. One of the points of the 787 was that it was one of the first truly digital architectures from the ground up, and they are giving it freaking dials still. Hopefully the new control panel they're rolling out next year will revise that.

Since the B787 share a common rating with the B777 the flight deck design can't be that different.
Several new types of mode control panels was tested on the B787, and the B777 style turned out to be most user friendly.

I've been told that Our B787-900's will be delivered with same style MCP that the -800's just slightly different colour.

Boeing officially has until December 31st to show that the problem with the capacitor in the RAT has been fixed, and get the fix certified.