Dreamliner

It was a beautiful morning, and the air in Paine Field crackled with excitement, for today would be a monument occasion for Boeing. Today was the day that the 787 would finally take to the air, to challenge the sky and the heavens above and usher in a new era for commercial aviation, bringing new visions of flight to many around the world.

As the sun rose slowly over Seattle, three men stepped out of a bus and onto the open tarmac of KPAE. The first was the captain of the flight, Robert W. Barnes, one of Boeing's leading test pilots. The second, also a leading pilot, was James Smith, also a leading test pilot for Boeing. The two of them had flown many test flights for Boeing, and were icons of the Boeing flight department, being referred to as "those magnificent men in their flying machines" by many of the ground staff. The third man was Satoshi Mashima, chief pilot of All Nippon Airways, the launch customer. He had flown over from Japan in March, willing and able to help Boeing with the test flights as well as learn the ropes of the 787.

In front of them was N787BA, the first of the 787s to fly. She had been rolled out 2 years earlier, on July 8th 2007, but that was a temporary thing, and many in Boeing still remembered the rush on the seventh night of July, in order to get it ready. Since then, it had undergone an extreme makeover to render it fit for flight. Her aerodynamics were the best seen in any commercial airliner, and she looked almost like an angel, ready to take flight on wings of magic. Despite this, the first flight kept being pushed back, to the end of 2007, then to mid 2008, then to October 2009, until finally, on the 15th of December, she was ready to realise her fantasy of flight.

"What traffic can we expect today?" Robert asked James, who was perusing a clipboard with most of the necessary information.

"Well, ATC's pretty much cleared it up for us, other than the test flight of the Thunderbirds' latest support 737, and a delivery flight of a refurbished 753 for Northwest, there's nothing except us."

"It's a pity we couldn't fly earlier," Satoshi commented, "sunrise is the best time of the day"

"I've never actually seen the sun rise from the cockpit before," James said, "As test pilots we don't fly much at that time"

"Ah it's magnificent, especially over the Pacific," came the reply. "The sky begins to turn bright, then over the blue horizons, the sun starts to peek out. And then the ocean glows with the light from the sun, and the sky is like a magnificent painting. It is like paradise, like Utopia, and where there is land, it is like a vision of the isle of the gods. I especially like seeing the sun rise over my home on the island of Takarajima, just south of Kyushu."

"Wow, that's something I'd love to see before I retire" Robert sighed wistfully

"Talking about paintings, I just came back from Paris, where I bought a portrait of two lovers for my wedding anniversary," James interjected, "It shows them doing a series of Armenian dances, and being a dance teacher, I think my wife will be happy... Hmm, it appears that there's some weather buildup over the Cascades. I hope it doesn't persist, as it'd be best not to fly into the storm."

"By the way, Satoshi, how did you get here?" Robert asked, "ANA?"

"No, I thought I'd try Singapore Airlines, I heard good things about their first suite, and I wasn't disappointed. I even got some postcards from Singapore to add to my collection"

The pilots continued their idle banter as they conducted a walkaround check of the Dreamliner. The plane, decked out in the blue shades of the Boeing house livery, glistened in the purple light of the dim morning sun. On the side were small icons showing the logos of the various airlines who had ordered the plane, and there were many. After Qantas's order for a hundred or so planes, many airlines were eager to jump onto the bandwagon to get the new plane.

Soon, the ground crew had cleared the area and the flight crew were preparing for engine start.

"Paine ground, Boeing 001 heavy request push and start" James called out

"Boeing 001 heavy, cleared to start your engines, contact when ready for taxi"

As James set the fuel cutoff switches, Robert pulled the ignition handles that would set off a small firework in the engines, causing fuel to ignite and starting the internal combustion system in the engines. Unlike older planes, whose engines tended to sound like 76 trombones playing different notes simultaneously, the engines on the 787 were not noisy by any standards, and James, who was a religious man, later said they sounded almost like an old hymn, a hymn to the infinite sky that would soon receive the new airliner.

After receiving taxi clearance, the 787 moved slowly out of its bay on the flightline and turned towards the active runway, 34L. James busied himself lowering the flaps, setting the autobrakes and readying the aircraft for takeoff.

"Let's hope this plane works as well as it should, or we'll be setting ourselves up for a short ride in a fast machine," Robert muttered as he eased the plane around a bend. The plane was being led by a follow-me car, men walking beside the wings. Standing on top of the Future of Flight Museum, a large crowd had gathered, and, in a true American salute, were waving the star-spangled banner in all forms, small and large. And this was going to be a day to remember, up with such milestones in aviation as the Wright Brother's first flight, which lasted a mere twelve seconds, to the moon landings of Apollo and the flight of the Boeing 747, the largest commercial airliner of its time.

"How are the kids by the way?" Robert asked

"Daphnis and Chloe? They're fine", James laughed as he armed the spoilers, "Chloe's managed to get herself a boyfriend, I think, but she won't tell me. I can ense the omens of love coming from her though"

"How did you come up with the name Daphnis?" Satoshi looked puzzled, "Isn't that a French name?"

"My wife's part French, that's why I got her a French portrait. Her father thought it would be a nice name."

"Does it have any special meaning?"

"Nope, it don't mean a thing"

The 787 pulled up at the hold short line, and the pilots carried out their final checks.

"How's the weather like, tower?" James called out over the radio

"Mostly clear, but some reports coming in from Canada. Pont La Mer is experiencing showers, and a storm appears to be forming over Pont St Anthony. Variations in the weather are expected, but nothing significant."

"Roger, Boeing 001 heavy is at the holding point for 34L, requesting takeoff clearance"

"Boeing 001 heavy, standby for American 221 crossing over to 34R"

As the plane stood on the holding point waiting for the traffic to cross, the pilot waved at the 787 as he taxied by. Soon, he was clear, anf the big moment had arrived.

"Boeing 001 heavy, winds are 350 at 7, cleared for takeoff runway 34L"

Robert eased the throttles forward before engaging the autothrottle. The 787 slowly advanced forward before picking up speed, and as it accelerated it bounced over the runway lights, causing the plane to jolt slightly. From the outside it almost looked like a comedian's gallop, but soon the plane was moving too fast to notice.

"80 knots..... V1.... Rotate!"

Robert pulled back on the yoke, and the 787's nose turned skyward, just as it had done the previous day. The main wheels left the ground, and the crowd below erupted into applause. The Dreamliner soared into the sky, and it was the very image, surging skyward, the morning sun glinting off its wings, of freedom and amazing grace.

"Positive rate of climb, gear up"

James retracted the airliner's landing gear, while Robert retracted the flaps. Satoshi helped to monitor the crucial systems of the aircraft as Robert set her into a slow right bank that would take the airliner over the Cascades.

Soon, the plane was soaring over the ridges of the Cascades, their snow caps gleaming like silver crests below, and the three pilots were reminded why flying was their first love. The landing gear remained down throughout the flight, that the chase planes might be able to study them. As well as the four original warm up flightplans that they had devised, the pilots decided to do some other flight tests, that took them out over the ocean.

"I've got a report from another airliner. Apparently winter storms are building up to the north" James called out.

"Roger that. Let's hope the buildup doesn't continue, or we might have to cut early." Robert replied.

They had hoped for blue sky and sunshine. March would have been a much better time for this flight. The clouds were getting thicker, and the chase planes were dancing in the wind, already feeling the effects of the rising storm. Because of the weather, the crew elected to turn south, flying towards Oregon rather than risk the bad weather over Canada. Mashima aided the two test pilots as they ran the Dreamliner through some basic exercises. Running his hands across the SEA VOR indicated on the map, he suggested a route for the pilots that would avoid the inclement weather.

Soon though, it became evident that the flight could not continue, and Robert made the decision to land off. The plane turned towards Boeing Field Airport and descended through the cloud layer. By this point, all the pilots could see was a silver screen outside the cockpit, but fortunately the plane's instruments were all in good order. They eventually managed to touch down, executing a perfect landing, and taxiied in amidst thunderous applause.

The test pilots went their separate ways soon after the press conference, James and Mashima caught a flight back to san Francisco, where James lived. From there, Mashima got ready to head back to Japan, while James found his car at the carpark and headed for home. As he turned into his house, a small bungalow off El Camino Real, he reflected on the day's events and decided that the incredible Dreamliner saga had just begun.