The second Boeing 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, landed in Victorville, Calif. This marks the beginning of the first flight-test operations outside of Washington state for the program. The airplane will be stationed at Victorville for approximately three weeks. The crew will conduct ground effects testing among other activities.
During ground effects testing, the pilots fly the airplane very close to the runway to gather data regarding the aerodynamic effects and performance of the airplane during the takeoff and landing phases of flight. Quantifying this performance is part of the certification requirements for all new airplanes.