Aircraft
Boeing 787 Dreamliner ZA004 Joins Flight-Test Program
A third airplane–Dreamliner ZA004–joined the Boeing 787 flight-test program when it took off at 11:43 am local time yesterday from Paine Field in Everett,

A third airplane–Dreamliner ZA004–joined the Boeing 787 flight-test program when it took off at 11:43 am local time yesterday from Paine Field in Everett, Wash. Boeing said the program plan called for ZA004 to fly before ZA003 because the program needs the data from ZA004 more quickly both for certification and development of the next Dreamliner variant–the 787-9.

Flight test pilots Heather Ross and Craig Bomben completed a three-hour-and-two-minute flight at 2:45 pm, landing at Boeing Field in Seattle. “Airplane number four operated flawlessly today,” Ross said after landing. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but I can’t imagine a better start to the flight-test program for this airplane.”