Tag Archives: fatigue

Fatigue 777X in the Test Frame

Having seen the fatigue test 777X emerged from the production hangars (as I covered in this post), I assumed it had moved to the test area. I once made a drive around the back of the factory at Everett to see some of the discarded airframe structures that they have stored once they are finished with.  I wrote about that in this post.  The fatigue test area is in the same place so I thought a drive around was a good idea.  Sure enough, the 777X was in the fatigue test rig.  I guess it will be there for quite a while as they push and pull it to simulate many cycles of loading and see whether the structure has any long term issues to be addressed.

Fatigue Test 777X Emerges

The first two flight test 777X airframes have been on the flight line.  However, something different was sitting outside the production hangars at Everett.  It was a 777X but it was missing a few more cosmetic parts.  This was the fatigue test aircraft.  It was being readied for movement around to the area of the plant where they undertake the fatigue testing.  This will probably be the last time you get to see it like this.  Once testing is done, I suspect it will rapidly end up in pieces for further analysis.