Dreamliner expected to lift off today

Generations of Boeing Co. workers in Seattle have watched their latest airplane models take to the skies, but for the first time today many South Carolina workers will see their aviation handiwork take flight.

Employees at the Boeing and Global Aeronautica plants in North Charleston will take a break from piecing together rear pieces of fuselage to watch the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's initial test flight.

Local workers will watch on an oversized screen as test pilots take the plane for a ride in Washington state. The jet is expected to take off slightly before 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, which falls during the North Charleston plant's first shift, and return four or five hours later.

"There is a bit of a buzz," said local Boeing Communications Manager Candy Eslinger. "Employees are excited."

The Charleston area community also is expected to embrace the event, knowing that the Dreamliner planes eventually will be assembled and turned over to customers at the proposed $750 million expansion in North Charleston.

"In many respects, it's already our airplane," said Charleston Mayor Joe Riley, who plans to watch the flight from his office. "We haven't started the assembly, though we've engaged in the beginning of the manufacturing process, but it's really wonderful."

According to The Seattle Times, five more Dreamliners eventually will join the first test plane, to be stress-tested far beyond the limits that passenger jets normally would encounter. This includes extreme dives and slamming on the brakes while moving fast on the runway. They'll also turn off an engine while taking off and fly for more than five hours on one engine.

The road to today's milestone didn't run smoothly. The 787's complicated supply chain, which relies on manufacturers on six continents, ran into parts shortages, mismatched airplane fastening pieces and more recently an engineering problem that took months to fix.

An eight-week strike by the International Association of Machinists last year compounded the delays, which state lawmakers say prompted Boeing officials to build a second final assembly plant in North Charleston.

If all goes according to plan, the jet will take off today from Paine Field in Everett, Wash., swing out over the ocean, then turn inland and pass over the eastern parts of Washington state. It is expected to land at Boeing Field in Seattle about five and a half hours later.

For the 787 to be cleared for takeoff, there must be good visibility, no standing water on the runway and little to no wind, Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said.

The flight will usher in several months of aerial testing for safety and performance. Made of lightweight composite materials, the jet is expected to consume less fuel, operate more quietly and have lower emissions than other airplanes.

Depending on its layout, the plane will hold as many as 330 passengers.

The company expects to deliver its first 787 to All Nippon Airways Co., a Japanese airline, in the fourth quarter of 2010.