A Boeing-owned T-7A prototype launched a second phase of early flight testing on June 22, taking off into the St. Louis sky three times, after a hiatus of several months caused by a scheduled modification period. But the normally routine milestone occurred in the context of a newly revealed schedule delay and budget cut by U.S. Air Force officials, along with the discovery of a previously undisclosed aerodynamic issue that raised fresh questions about Boeing's assertions of the benefits of using a revolutionary design process for the T-7A. The program, even so, shows no sign of further spiraling. A software fix for a wing-drop problem discovered during the Phase 1 flight testing-but acknowledged by Air Force officials and Boeing only in mid-June-was loaded into the prototype aircraft on June 17. The aircraft performed "wonderfully and as expected," says Steve Schmidt, a Boeing test pilot for the T-7A. The aerodynamic problem also played no role in the T-7A program delay, according to Boeing and Air Force officials. The Air Force's official budget documents show a 16-18-month delay in the start of the production phase, which is now scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. But Boeing says the budget documents included an outdated placeholder schedule that the Air Force set before contract award in September 2018. The internal schedule set after contract award shows a 7-9-month delay for the program, according to Boeing and the Air Force.
展开▼
