Aircraft
Boeing Preaches Discipline as 787-9 Approaches Certification
Boeing's 787-9 has benefitted from what company executives describe as "learnings" from the 787-8 program.
Boeing 787-9 Line Number 4, a production airplane destined for Japan's All Nippon Airways, conducts function and reliability and ETOPS testing. (Photo: Gregory Polek)
Boeing 787-9 Line Number 4, a production airplane destined for Japan's All Nippon Airways, conducts function and reliability and ETOPS testing. (Photo: Gregory Polek)

Boeing likes to refer to “discipline” when it describes the approach it has taken with the 787-9, discipline in defining the firm configuration of the airplane and discipline related to the program’s engineering plan. Speaking recently to a group of reporters assembled at Boeing’s offices in Everett, Washington, vice president of 787 development Mark Jenks outlined how the company learned from the well-documented mistakes made during development of the 787-8 and how that education translated into near flawless execution on the 787-9, starting with the firm configuration in mid-2010.