As the deadline approaches for its maiden test flight, Boeing Co.’s first 787 Dreamliner sits idly in a bunker tucked away in the eastern corner of the company’s gargantuan factory in the Seattle suburb of Everett, Washington. Although the sleek plane, with its distinctive swept-back wings elegantly curved like a gliding predator’s, is unfinished and nearly two years behind schedule, the manufacturing pace is unhurried, the factory floor relatively quiet. As they have for much of the time since the plane was announced in 2003, Boeing workers are standing by, waiting for parts to arrive from suppliers around the world.

Even when it races, nose up, into the sky, the initial test version of the Dreamliner will go aloft with temporary fasteners—and missing some less critical parts, such as those for lighting and bathrooms. One reason is that Boeing has redesigned 30 percent of the plane to reduce weight, an unprecedented degree of change for an aircraft this late in development. As one of many grim jokes making the rounds on Boeing’s factory floor goes, “Maybe they meant a bad dream.” ( View a slideshow detailing Dreamliner production miscues.)

The Dreamliner’s delays are expected to cost Boeing as much as $10 billion in canceled orders and compensation to airlines. The fiasco has become an object lesson for manufacturers in how not to do global outsourcing and has eroded Boeing’s reputation for efficiency and innovation.

Now, on the eve of its big launch, the Dreamliner carries the company’s hopes of recapturing lost revenue and repairing the damage to its image. If the plane passes the rigorous yearlong series of flight tests that begin this spring, it could lead Boeing out of the financial crisis. But if the Dreamliner fails, Boeing could become the General Motors of the skies, with enormous repercussions for the U.S. economy and the U.S. manufacturing base. Although Boeing announced in January that it was laying off 10,000 workers, it still employs more than 150,000 people in the U.S. and is the nation’s No. 1 exporter. About 70 percent of Boeing shares are held by institutions, including all of the major mutual funds and Bank of America Corp., its biggest shareholder.

Indeed, a machinists strike last fall crippled Boeing’s production and contributed to a 6.2 percent decline in the U.S. gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. Boeing is so vital to a recovery that if it sputters, the federal government may be forced to bail it out, as it has automakers GM and Chrysler LLC. ( View an interactive feature showing how the Dreamliner is manufactured.)

“It may be a stretch to say, ‘What’s good for Boeing is good for the country,’ but not a big stretch,” says Scott Hamilton, an aerospace analyst with Leeham Co., an industry consulting firm.

Boeing, the world’s largest maker of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, envisioned the Dreamliner, for long-range flights, as an efficient, fuel-saving alternative to its aging but still hugely profitable 777 jet. The first commercial airplane made chiefly from plastics, which are lighter and stronger than traditional aluminum, the Dreamliner will use 20 percent less fuel than jets of similar size, while reaching the same top speed as a 777, of about 640 miles per hour. Its passengers—250 at full capacity, 50 fewer than the 777—will enjoy the industry’s roomiest seats and largest windows, as well as plasma televisions. For safety, the Dreamliner’s advanced self-monitoring system automatically reports maintenance issues to ground personnel.