Aircraft
Boeing Readies 737 ecoDemonstrator For First Flight

A specially configured Boeing 737-800 meant to test some of the airframe maker’s most promising new technologies now sits at Boeing Field in Seattle, where crews prepare to install experimental systems that could appear in service as early as 2017 on the 737 MAX.

Just off Boeing’s narrowbody assembly line in Renton, Washington, the 737 “ecoDemonstrator” will carry no fewer than five separate developments, including an adaptive wing trailing edge meant to morph into an optimum shape during takeoff, climb, cruise and decent. The device works with an actuator that can deflect the last 4 percent of the airfoil up or down, thereby cutting fuel burn by making the wing more aerodynamically efficient and reducing takeoff noise by improving the airplane’s climb performance.