Germany, soon you will get your new Boeing plane! They are flight testing it now.Test flight of the 747 - 8i landing at Boeing's airport.This aircraft is being tested by Boeing for Lufthansa for delivery. Brand new aircraft!Notice the NEW wing tips? No longer vertical. Just slightly tipped upward.*************************************************************************************************Lukewarm market reception and performance deficiencies that continue to fall short of the new www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-air-transport-perspectiv ’soriginal design specifications might have elicited a fair share ofskepticism from various industry quarters, but they haven’t deterredBoeing from declaring that “prospects look quite good” for thestretched, re-engined and re-winged jumbo jet, now in passengeroperation with Lufthansa Airlines and five cargo customers.In fact, last month, 747 program vice president and chief projectengineer Bruce Dickinson told reporters at a briefing at the company’swidebody factory in Everett, Washington, that the cargo airplane’s“real-world” fuel efficiency has proved 1 percent better than forecastestimates for this point in time, as engineers work toward meeting allperformance guarantees in 2014.“We’re not done; we’re never done,” said Dickinson. “Continuousimprovements are all about what we’re doing…The improvements inaerodynamics and weights continue, they’re identified…”A performance improvement package (PIP) for the airplane’s new www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/farnborough-air-show/2010-07 would account for most of the original 3-percent improvement needed to meet Boeing’s original promises. The PIP,including a new low-pressure turbine design, redesigned high-pressurecompressor airfoils, as well as an “upgraded” combustor and improvedhigh-pressure turbine aerodynamics, would gain certification in thesecond quarter of 2013, according to GE’s schedules.Although not considered a major contributor to the airplane’sfuel-efficiency shortfall, the airplane’s flight management computer (FMC)from Honeywell had assumed a high priority for Boeing and its customerswell before its entry into service with Cargolux last October. In fact,during last year’s pre-Paris Air Show briefings in Everett, programhead Elizabeth Lund revealed that the FMC hadn’t performed up to expectations. Although Lund said it could do all that the prior FMCcould do in the 747-400, it took close to another year before Boeingfinally “rolled in” some improvements and new features about twomonths ago.“Our third block point will include some capabilities around required navigational performance (RNP),and that allows for just a little more efficient approaches, a littlemore opportunity for operational advantages,” said Dickinson.Finally, Boeing continues work toward a software solution to certifytail fuel tanks meant to hold another 3,300 gallons of jet-A in theIntercontinental. Computer simulation testing showed that the airplanewould experience some minor structural flutter in the event of a failureof the R3 under-wing, mid-spar strut-to-wing fitting, one of sixconnecting the outboard engines to the wing, when the tanks held morethan 15 percent of their capacity. As a result, Boeing had todecommission the fuel tanks to gain certification of the variantlast December.The tanks raise the 747-8’s total fuel capacity to 64,055 gallons,extending its range from roughly 7,650 to 8,000 nm. The 747-8 Freighterdoes not use the tanks.Although Lufthansa doesn’t yet need all the extra range the tailtanks would deliver, the absence of fuel in the tail of the airplanedoes actually produce some fuel-burn penalty because the conditionchanges the airplane’s center of gravity. Once it certifies the tanks,it will, in fact, regain the resulting lost fuel efficiency. “We’restill working on all the details of what the solution will be,” saidDickinson, “but we’ve got it just about finished.”Boeing plans to fit a single instrumented flight test airplane with the PIP, the FMC improvements and the tail tank reactivation for simultaneous certification by the end of next year, said Dickinson. The engine PIPalone should bring performance to within 1 percent of specification,while aerodynamic upgrades and weight reductions account for much of thebalance. “We don’t have very far to go,” said Dickinson. “And we’reconfident we’ll hit it because we have completely audited through all ofour experts the numbers for the improvements that are coming.”Designed to operate 15 percent more efficiently than its GE-poweredpredecessor, the 747-400, the 747-8 relies largely on a newsupercritical wing for its performance benefits. The engine, meanwhile,represents fifth-generation technology and resists deterioration overtime far better than its precursors, translating into better midlifeperformance and less cost for customers, said Dickinson.As of mid-June twenty 747-8s had entered service–specifically, 16 freighters, three VIPairplanes and a single Intercontinental. Boeing had delivered 11airplanes this year, and the first at a two-per-month rate since itannounced an increase in production output from 1.5.Boeing’s most recent corporate guidance specifies planned delivery ofbetween 70 and 85 Dreamliners and 747-8s combined, split roughlyevenly, suggesting a total of between 35 and 43 this year for each.Although some 747-8s scheduled for delivery remain in changeincorporation in San Antonio, Texas, Boeing has already sent “a numberof airplanes straight through the factory,” said Dickinson.Meanwhile, the OEM has watched marketinterest gravitate toward the passenger model as cargo markets continueto experience weakness, according to Dickinson. Now holding firm ordersfor 106 airplanes, Boeing still counts among its list of customers onlythree passenger airlines, accounting for 27 airplanes. However, a dealwith Air China for five awaits government approval, while Russia’sTransaero has yet to convert a memorandum of understanding for four andan unnamed airline’s commitment for 15 remains off the books.“Part of it is, a number of airlines wait until the airplane gets out there,” said Dickinson. “So a lot of people are watching.”