Everett (United States) (AFP)
The wind forced Boeing on Friday to push back the inaugural long-haul 777X flight again, and the automaker will try again on Saturday.
"Update # 777X First flight: We will try again tomorrow at 10:00 am (local, 6:00 pm GMT Editor's note). The force of the wind prevented us from flying today," said a tweet from Boeing.
The new twin-engine in its blue and white livery and at the tips of its wings - the characteristic rounded winglets - remained on the tarmac of Boeing Field, in the suburbs of Seattle (northwest of the United States) where the the wind was blowing hard enough to vibrate the camera which was to transmit its takeoff live.
This inaugural flight - which will mark the beginning of a whole battery of flight tests - had been scheduled for Thursday but already postponed due to poor weather, which is common in this region in winter.
Initially, the 777X was to take to the air for the first time in the summer of 2019, but the date had been postponed due to problems with the new GE9X engine, manufactured by General Electric, and difficulties with the wings and validation of the software.
If the test flights go well, Boeing will then file all documents for the approval of this aircraft by the civil aviation authorities, in particular with the civil aviation authority, the FAA.
The 777X, which can carry 384 to 426 passengers, has an order book of 340 units, mainly from seven major airlines, including Emirates, Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways. It is supposed to compete with the A350 of the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
The first deliveries are not expected before "the beginning of 2021", instead of mid-2020 as initially planned, because the period of test flights should be extended and the approval procedure deepened.
This aircraft indeed encountered significant problems during pressurization tests - knowingly exceeding normal conditions of use to ensure the reliability of the equipment - last September.
The 777X is supposed to consolidate Boeing's dominance over Airbus in the long-haul, a position weakened by the imminent reduction in production rates for the 787 "Dreamliner", due to the lack of firm orders from China.
© 2020 AFP