Boeing’s Dreamliner clears extreme load test

In an extreme test Boeing Co engineers slowly bent the wings of a 787 Dreamliner ground-test airplane upwards until the load was 150 per cent of the most extreme loads the plane would ever likely face in service.

In a statement, the company said though "initial results" were positive, "more extensive analysis and review are required before the test can be deemed a success."

Half of the high-tech, widebody jetliner is made of state-of-the-art composite materials. This is a radical departure from the earlier aluminium bodies of airliners. The Dreamliner's wings are made of more flexible carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic which are expected to bend without breakage far beyond the certification mark of 150 per cent.

The "static airframe" Boeing used for the test is a grounded airframe.

By the end of the test, the wing had been pushed upward from the horizontal line by about 25 feet, Boeing said in a statement.

It was decided in advance not to continue to bend the wings until breaking point, as has been done on past airplane programmes, most recently with the Boeing 777.