Dreamliner hits the 1,000th hour milestone in test flights

The Boeing B787 Dreamliner made its 1,000th flight yesterday, marking another milestone in the flight test programme.

There are seven airplanes participating in flight testing. The programme is near its 3,000th hour of flying and 787s have flown a total of more than one million miles.

"The team is making great progress," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are getting through the test conditions needed to certify this airplane with nearly 80 percent of the conditions for the first model, with Rolls-Royce engines, already complete. And, we're more than 60 percent of the way through the test conditions for the 787s with General Electric engines."

Capt. Mike Carriker, chief pilot for the 787, Boeing Test & Evaluation, said the airplane continues to behave well in testing. "We're really eager to get this airplane through its flight testing so our customers can see for themselves this airplane's excellent performance," said Carriker.