 FAA to loosen fuel-tank safety rules, benefiting Boeing′s 787 By Dominic Gates Seattle Times aerospace reporter The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has quietly decided to loosen stringent fuel-tank safety regulations written after the 1996 fuel-tank explosion that destroyed flight TWA 800 off the coast of New York state. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/boeingaerospace/2008719843_lightning08.html
Boeing confident 787 lightning protection will pass FAA scrutiny By Mary Kirby US FAA officials intend to issue a “special condition” providing clarification of the lightning protection requirements that must be complied with before Boeing’s 787 can be certified. The airframer is fully confident, however, that its proprietary lightning protection design will meet FAA requirements. Special conditions are issued when an aircraft is to have novel or unusual design features compared to the state of technology envisioned in the airworthiness standards for transport category airplanes. “There has been good communication between Boeing and the FAA as the special condition has been developed and they are not a surprise to us,” Boeing tells ATI. “They are not a result of any specific 787 design concern or feature. It will be the FAA’s responsibility to make the finding of compliance for the 787. Our job is to define the design in a manner that we are confident will meet these requirements. We do not know when the special condition will become final.” Boeing’s overall lightning protection scheme entails a wire mesh embedded in the 787’s composite fuselage to conduct lighting away from the twinjet. An airliner’s fuselage is the most frequently damaged part of aircraft due to lightning. Boeing says its system “is primarily there for economic reasons to reduce the effects of lightning damage on the fuselage to minimize the impacts to customer airlines”. It notes that the extremities of the aircraft, such as wing tips, engine nacelles, horizontal stabilizer and tail are other areas where lightning is expected to attach “but they utilize other methods of protection based upon the expected lightning threats in those areas”. “These areas primarily use metal foils similar to past models as the major protection method rather than the wire mesh. The design focus for the wings is not as much on structural damage but on protecting the fuel tanks and the wire mesh provides less benefit there.” Earlier this year, Boeing said it had found a path forward with the FAA to resolve lightning protection issues. “The lightning protection discussions have related to the application of new regulations to the 787 and obtaining guidance from the FAA in how to demonstrate we have adequately met the intent of them,” says the company. “We are applying this guidance in developing our certification data package.” Boeing adds that it understands “the requirements that the design must meet for certification”. link
Probably most of you do not remember the "Boeing 787, the new US flying coffin" , because it was written in 2007. So what′s new in 2009 two years after? Only the bad news. As indicated in Part One, the flying coffin was supposed to be delivered to the first costumer in 2008, but the truth is the 787 was unable till today to make the first flight! And as amazing as it can be, now in 2009 we are watching FAA changing rules for aircraft certification, because 787 is unable to comply with them! As i said in Part one, "US is slowly going down, US economy is melting, is the future of the new boeing to be a reflection of the US future?", back in 2007, yes it looks like Boeing reflects the US future. Desesperate measures are being made in order to save Boeing and their hope for the future. The thing will have to fly and will receive certification no matter how. Don′t waste time, run to buy a ticket on the new US flying coffin. Comments by FromPortugal | 
