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[h=1]Boeing's Second 737 MAX Variant Begins Flight Test[/h]Apr 13, 2017Guy Norris | Aviation Daily
Paul Weatherman/Boeing
SEATTLE—The first 737-9, the second member of Boeing’s 737 MAX family, made its first flight from the company’s Renton, Washington, facility on April 13, marking the start of a planned nine-month flight test and certification campaign.
The flight, which occurred just four days after the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype 737-100 in 1967, was achieved five days ahead of the schedule set when the program was launched in 2011 and marks another key milestone for the MAX program, which will see the 737-8, the first family member, enter service next month.
The 737-9, crewed by 737 Boeing Test and Evaluation engineering test pilot Christine Walsh and chief model test pilot Edward “Ed” Wilson, took off at 10:52 a.m., before heading northwest over the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. The aircraft, dubbed 1B001, initially climbed to 10,000 ft., where the crew cycled the landing gear before slowly climbing to 12,000 ft.
Following initial handling and flying qualities tests at these lower altitudes the crew headed to eastern Washington, reaching a maximum altitude of 24,000 ft. and top speed of 240 kt., before descending to 15,000 ft. and slowing for most of the remainder of the sortie. The flight, which began later than planned on the day owing to datalink issues with the flight test ground station, concluded with a landing in gusty winds at Boeing Field, Seattle, at 1:34 pm.
The aircraft handled well and was “just like a 737,” said Walsh who was the first woman to command the first flight of a major new Boeing passenger-derivative aircraft. “We were very lucky with the weather out of Renton this morning. We expected a lot stronger winds. Declaring the 2 hr. 42 min. test flight a success, she noted: “We accomplished everything we set out to do. The only thing we were not able to do was to take the ‘glory shot’ next to Mount Ranier.”
The landing took place with a crosswind gusting to 20 kt. “It was quite a work out,” said Walsh, who added the aircraft flew through moderate turbulence on its final approach to Seattle. The flight also evaluated several new systems on the MAX, including the fly-by-wire spoilers. “We were able to see the operation of the landing attitude modifier (LAM) system with the flaps at 40 deg.,” said Walsh, referring to the operation of the spoilers at 30 deg. to 40 deg. At these flap settings the spoilers partially activate to reduce lift, which requires angle-of-attack to be increased. This raises the nose to increase nose-gear contact margin.
The crew also shut down and relit both Leap-1B engines which are rated at 28,000 lb. thrust for the larger 737-9. A higher thrust “bump rating” is also in development by CFM, though the final thrust level option for the -9 is still to be determined, added Walsh. Following the initial handling tests, Boeing expects to continue opening up the flight envelope later this month as it moves into initial airworthiness and flutter testing. Stability and control work will be conducted, along with runway tests, the latter involving a deployment to Southern California in coming months.
As a basic derivative of the recently certificated 737-8, the test campaign for the -9 is expected to be shorter by around four months. It will also involve just two dedicated test aircraft, rather than the four which were used to win certification of the 737-8. Flight tests with 1B001, the most significantly instrumented of the two aircraft, will replicate those of the -8, with additional emphasis on potential differences in the stability and control of the stretch version. The 737-9 is 138 ft. 2 in. in length, making it 8. ft. 8 in. longer than the initial MAX model. Distinguished by the MAX’s larger CFM Leap-1B engines, bifurcated winglets and redesigned low-drag tail, the 737-9 retains the same wingspan as the -8.
Assembly of the second 737-9 test aircraft is almost complete with first flight expected around late May. Painted in the colors of Lion Air, the Indonesia-based LCC that launched the model with an order for 201 in February 2012, the second aircraft will have a light instrumentation suite similar to that installed on 1A004, the fourth 737-8 certification aircraft, which was used primarily for functionality and reliability testing.
Paul Weatherman/Boeing
SEATTLE—The first 737-9, the second member of Boeing’s 737 MAX family, made its first flight from the company’s Renton, Washington, facility on April 13, marking the start of a planned nine-month flight test and certification campaign.
The flight, which occurred just four days after the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype 737-100 in 1967, was achieved five days ahead of the schedule set when the program was launched in 2011 and marks another key milestone for the MAX program, which will see the 737-8, the first family member, enter service next month.
The 737-9, crewed by 737 Boeing Test and Evaluation engineering test pilot Christine Walsh and chief model test pilot Edward “Ed” Wilson, took off at 10:52 a.m., before heading northwest over the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula. The aircraft, dubbed 1B001, initially climbed to 10,000 ft., where the crew cycled the landing gear before slowly climbing to 12,000 ft.
Following initial handling and flying qualities tests at these lower altitudes the crew headed to eastern Washington, reaching a maximum altitude of 24,000 ft. and top speed of 240 kt., before descending to 15,000 ft. and slowing for most of the remainder of the sortie. The flight, which began later than planned on the day owing to datalink issues with the flight test ground station, concluded with a landing in gusty winds at Boeing Field, Seattle, at 1:34 pm.
The aircraft handled well and was “just like a 737,” said Walsh who was the first woman to command the first flight of a major new Boeing passenger-derivative aircraft. “We were very lucky with the weather out of Renton this morning. We expected a lot stronger winds. Declaring the 2 hr. 42 min. test flight a success, she noted: “We accomplished everything we set out to do. The only thing we were not able to do was to take the ‘glory shot’ next to Mount Ranier.”
The landing took place with a crosswind gusting to 20 kt. “It was quite a work out,” said Walsh, who added the aircraft flew through moderate turbulence on its final approach to Seattle. The flight also evaluated several new systems on the MAX, including the fly-by-wire spoilers. “We were able to see the operation of the landing attitude modifier (LAM) system with the flaps at 40 deg.,” said Walsh, referring to the operation of the spoilers at 30 deg. to 40 deg. At these flap settings the spoilers partially activate to reduce lift, which requires angle-of-attack to be increased. This raises the nose to increase nose-gear contact margin.
The crew also shut down and relit both Leap-1B engines which are rated at 28,000 lb. thrust for the larger 737-9. A higher thrust “bump rating” is also in development by CFM, though the final thrust level option for the -9 is still to be determined, added Walsh. Following the initial handling tests, Boeing expects to continue opening up the flight envelope later this month as it moves into initial airworthiness and flutter testing. Stability and control work will be conducted, along with runway tests, the latter involving a deployment to Southern California in coming months.
As a basic derivative of the recently certificated 737-8, the test campaign for the -9 is expected to be shorter by around four months. It will also involve just two dedicated test aircraft, rather than the four which were used to win certification of the 737-8. Flight tests with 1B001, the most significantly instrumented of the two aircraft, will replicate those of the -8, with additional emphasis on potential differences in the stability and control of the stretch version. The 737-9 is 138 ft. 2 in. in length, making it 8. ft. 8 in. longer than the initial MAX model. Distinguished by the MAX’s larger CFM Leap-1B engines, bifurcated winglets and redesigned low-drag tail, the 737-9 retains the same wingspan as the -8.
Assembly of the second 737-9 test aircraft is almost complete with first flight expected around late May. Painted in the colors of Lion Air, the Indonesia-based LCC that launched the model with an order for 201 in February 2012, the second aircraft will have a light instrumentation suite similar to that installed on 1A004, the fourth 737-8 certification aircraft, which was used primarily for functionality and reliability testing.
