Sixth prototype flown!

Sixth Nightmareliner prototype flew, 4 months later than announced back in June (that on top of the delays of whole programme of course – if May 2008 was due date for EIS, what was the due date for all 6 prototypes flying?). The cause of delay is unknown. The maiden flight ended with emergency landing due to leaking cooling:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/10/05/348122/sixth-and-final-787-test-aircraft-completes-abbreviated-maiden.html

Even if the prototypes can fly, the 6 prototypes have due to accumulation of changes and fixes so little in common with production frames that their tests cannot prove whether production frames can fly. Boeing needs to carry out flight test programme with two production frames, neither of which has yet flown.

The EIS due date of Genx 787 is unknown, as is launch customer (either Royal Air Maroc or Japan Airlines).

Does anyone know why the A330 has such a pronounced nose down attitude when sitting on its gear then?

Explained it at length in a post above. Airbus did not bother stretching A300 nose gear together with main gear for A330.

A300 and A310 have shorter main gear than A330 and A340.

When Airbus developed A340 and A330 and stretched the A300 fuselage, a new, taller main gear was needed, to prevent the longer tail from striking ground at takeoffs and landings. But Airbus did not bother to lengthen the main gear, and accepted that the planes sit nose down on ground.

Not a big problem on passenger planes, but proved a problem on freighters. A330 still did not have the length in nose for taller landing gear (something like avionics bay was in the way), so Airbus built a fairing bulging out of the fuselage for the landing gear.

An US buyer!

Willis bought 6 Superjets and got options for 4:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/09/02/346927/us-engine-lessor-willis-tentatively-signs-for-superjets.html

The GE airplanes were always scheduled to be certficated second.

Yes, but if the two GE prototypes completed their tests and the 4 RR frames were not ready yet, additional tests might be made on GE, no?

Currently the second GEnx test frame is promised to fly on 24th of September. Which is delayed, it was expected months ago.

Whilst it may not impact the overall timescales of the program,

Turns out it shall. Nightmareliner delivery is officially delayed again, to February 2011 for now:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/27/346722/787-first-delivery-delayed-to-mid-q1-2011.html