Boeing

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded Boeing a type certificate and a production certificate for the 757-300, the newest member of the 757 family. At the same time, Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) - which is made up of the regulatory authorities of 29 countries - has recommended 757-300 type validation. The individual European countries will award the actual type certificates. Both approvals were received on the scheduled days set forth last year.

Both the type certification and the validation recommendation formally recognize that the 757-300 has passed the stringent design and testing requirements set by the FAA and the JAA, and is approved to enter passenger service. The FAA production certificate authorizes Boeing to assemble the airplane.

"This certification and validation are proof of the airplane's safety, reliability, performance, and its readiness to go into passenger service," said Jack Gucker, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group vice president - 737/757 Derivative Programs. "During the second half of last year, we worked together with the JAA and FAA to put the 757-300 through an incredibly comprehensive and rigorous flight-testing and certification process. Now we can proceed with our first delivery to Condor Flugdienst of Germany."

The first delivery to Condor is scheduled for March 1999.

"Boeing was able to schedule deliveries to Germany following concurrent FAA certification and JAA validation," said David Clement, JAA 757-300 project certification manager. "This goal was achieved due to the willingness of all parties involved to work together in an open and honest manner. That developed into a remarkable working relationship between Boeing, the FAA and the JAA."

Donald Riggin, manager of the FAA's Seattle Aircraft Certification Office agreed.

"The 757-300 is the first Boeing model worked under a formal agreement known as a Project-Specific Certification Plan," he said. "The successful completion of the project demonstrates we can work together to achieve our mutual goals of full compliance with the FAA and JAA safety standards and on-time deliveries."

To obtain certification, Boeing used three 757-300s to conduct a 5.5-month flight-test program. Together, the airplanes completed 356 flights, 1,286 hours of ground testing and 912 hours of flight testing.

The 757-300 flight-test program packed more flight-test hours into a shorter period than any other major Boeing airplane derivative since the 737-400 in 1988. In comparison, the flight-test program of the Boeing 777-300, another derivative airplane, lasted nearly eight months. The Boeing 737-600's flight-test program was 6.5 months.

Flight testing began Aug. 2, 1998, when the first airplane took off from Renton, Wash., on its inaugural flight. While much of the flight testing was based at Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., some testing was done at less-populated locations in Montana, New Mexico and Arizona. Weather-testing requirements also took the airplanes to Ireland, Iceland and Hawaii.

The Boeing 757-200 - predecessor of the 757-300 - is presently certified in most of the European countries that are members of the JAA. The JAA process did not exist when the FAA certified the 757-200 in December 1982.

Boeing launched the 757-300 program in September 1996 at the Farnborough Air Show in England when Condor, a German charter carrier, ordered 12 of the airplanes. Icelandair and Arkia Israeli Airlines also have ordered 757-300s.