[Saj_A]

Just published this article if anyone is interested in reading.

( Link )

During the last media briefing at the Farnborough Air Show, Boeing 787 VP and General Manager Patrick Shanahan outlined a number of pending issues being worked on Airplane #1 before the recent IAM strike that shut down Everett (and other) operations - rendering the possibility of a fourth quarter first flight all but impossible.

One key issue related the highly advanced software being re-written for the brakes of the 787 due to a traceability anomaly.

...

“The issues with the brake software are behind us, functionality required for flight test is in the labs and is working well. (The final “blue label” version — for flight test — is in the lab and is undergoing test, all known software problems are resolved. The formal “red label” version will follow in two weeks. We plan on a service-ready update during flight test that adds some additional functionality including tire pressure, operator initiated test, and dataload),” said 787 spokeswoman Yvonne Leach.

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According to sources working directly on the A350XWB programme, Airbus now only envisages a partial design freeze for the A350-900 and remains “non-committal” about when full freeze will take place.

Airbus A350XWB chief engineer Gordon McConnell stated that the milestone would be reached in October 2008 and since then, FleetBuzz Editorial.com has learned that design freeze for the first variant may slip as far out as the second quarter of 2009, damaging any remote prospect Airbus held for attaining service entry in 2013.

Feel free to discuss!