TIMELINE: Boeing's 787 still stuck on the ground
(Reuters) - Boeing Co delayed its new 787 Dreamliner for the fifth time on Tuesday, just a week before its first test flight, saying it needs to strengthen the side panels near where the wing joins the fuselage.
The plane was set to fly by next Tuesday, according to the latest schedule -- almost two years after the first target in the summer of 2007. No new date has been set.
The No. 2 planemaker behind EADS unit Airbus has been struggling with a range of supply, manufacturing and design problems, made worse by a two-month strike at Boeing's Seattle-area plants last year.
The following events show the slow and bumpy progress of the revolutionary, carbon composite aircraft, which is key to Boeing's financial success.
2002 - Boeing drops its "Sonic Cruiser" concept, responding to airlines' calls for better fuel efficiency rather than extra speed.
June 2003 - dubs its new, carbon-composite airplane the "Dreamliner."
Dec 2003 - approves an initial version of the plane with the temporary name 7E7, the E standing for "efficiency".
April 2004 - officially launches the plane as Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) orders 50.
Dec 2004 - ends 2004 with 56 orders for the new plane, fewer than it had expected. Continued...
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