Staff Report

The first flight of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday marks the beginning of a flight-test program that will see six 787s flying nearly around the clock and around the globe, with the airplane's first delivery scheduled for fourth-quarter 2010.

GE Aviation Systems is a key supplier on the 787 Dreamliner providing aircraft systems from take-off to touch-down, on Tuesday’s first flight.

GE Aviation is expanding its ability to make the turbine blades for the GEnx engines in a plant in Greenville, adding at least 100 new jobs here.

GE also supplies the common core system, which serves as the aircraft's central nervous system, and the landing gear system. In addition, the GEnx-1B is the best-selling engine on the 787, with orders from more than 1,100 engines for 40 customers around the world.

“We are delighted to share this historic milestone with Boeing and provide the latest integrated systems technologies for the 787,” said Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO, GE Aviation Systems. “We are pleased to be working with Boeing and to be a member of the 787 team.”

GE’s common core system (CCS) is the backbone of the Boeing 787’s computers, networks and interfacing electronics and provides the primary computing environment for the Dreamliner, GE said in a statement following the 787’s first flight.

GE’s integrated landing gear system controls the deployment and retraction of the aircraft landing gears, including the nose landing gear steering and the brake control and monitoring systems. In addition to the normal package of mechanical hardware, GE provides the flight deck interfaces and local control electronics.

During Tuesday’s first flight, 787 pilot Mike Carriker and co-pilot Randy Neville tested some of the airplane's systems and structures, as on-board equipment recorded and transmitted real-time data to a flight-test team at Boeing Field.

Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the first Boeing 787 will be joined in the flight test program in the coming weeks and months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.

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Published Dec. 17, 2009