But this week, the financial community was allowed to see for the first time the progress that is being made on the 787 by Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji heavy industries in Nagoya, Japan.
"Given the progress we saw at the heavies, it appears the 787 is on track for rollout in July and first flight in the August-September time frame," Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein wrote in a report Wednesday after the trip.
