EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A Boeing 787 is at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to undergo extreme weather testing at the Air Force's McKinley Climatic Laboratory. According to Boeing, the 787 flight-test fleet logged its 500th hour of flying April 16. The 787 at Eglin is designated ZA003. (Source: Boeing, 04/20/10) The plane will experience temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold-weather testing is being done first. Additional extreme-weather testing will be conducted later in the flight test program. A crew of about 100 people traveled from Seattle to support the test operations on ZA003. The testing in Florida is expected to last nearly two weeks. (Source: PRNewswire, 04/22/10) The McKinley Climatic Lab is part of the 46th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other government agencies and private industry. It can create any climatic environment in the world.
NEWS: A digest of aerospace, defense and technology news from the Gulf Coast I-10 region
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
787 undergoing Eglin testing
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - A Boeing 787 is at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to undergo extreme weather testing at the Air Force's McKinley Climatic Laboratory. According to Boeing, the 787 flight-test fleet logged its 500th hour of flying April 16. The 787 at Eglin is designated ZA003. (Source: Boeing, 04/20/10) The plane will experience temperatures as high as 115 degrees Fahrenheit and as low as minus 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold-weather testing is being done first. Additional extreme-weather testing will be conducted later in the flight test program. A crew of about 100 people traveled from Seattle to support the test operations on ZA003. The testing in Florida is expected to last nearly two weeks. (Source: PRNewswire, 04/22/10) The McKinley Climatic Lab is part of the 46th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other government agencies and private industry. It can create any climatic environment in the world.
