Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
HISTORY
ORDERS
INTERIOR
ASSEMBLY
SPECS
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner belonging to Scoot of Singapore, a low cost carrier comes in to land. The economics of the 787 makes it attractive to low and full service carriers alike.
The Boeing 787 8 Dreamliner is a mid-size, twin-engine, wide-body jet developed by the Boeing company.
The decision to develop such a plane was brought about by the need for a replacement for the aging Boeing 767 which was experiencing falling sales, due to stiff competition from the Airbus A330-200.
Boeing needed to come up with a more technologically advanced modern airliner to stay in the game.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is that aircraft.
Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner Reg. N1008S.
Boeing states that the Boeing 787 is a much more fuel-efficient aircraft, due to technological advances in aerodynamics, more efficient engines, and reduction in weight. The reduction in weight is attributed to the use of composite materials for most of its construction, as well as more advanced systems such as electric pumps used in place of hydraulics. The Dreamliner comes in at 30,000 to 40,000 lbs lighter than Airbus A330 200.
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner of Virgin Atlantic. Reg. G-YNEW. Sunset landing.
Boeing 787 New Technology
The initial design of the Boeing 787 8 featured a very rakish nose and cockpit windows and a very dolphin-like vertical stabilizer (tail). The final design has settled on a more conventional vertical stabilizer as well as reduced rakishness to the nose.
Not only is the Boeing 787 a very technologically advanced aircraft, but the way in which it is constructed is also quite new for Boeing. The actual components are constructed in locations all over the globe and brought together at Boeings Everett plant. The target is to be able to assemble the completed aircraft in Everett in three days. See the assembly section for more details.
Boeing 787 Rollout
When the Boeing 787 program was first launched, the aircraft was known as the Boeing 7E7, and depending on the audience, Boeing would say it stood for ‘environmentally friendly’, ’efficient’, but in the end, they said it simply stood for Eight. See the history page for more details.
The aircraft launch suffered many delays, however, there was an official rollout of the prototype in Everett on the 8th of July 2007, which in the American date format, of course, is written, 7/8/7.
The maiden flight of the prototype aircraft finally took place on 15 December 2009.
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner maiden flight.
The final assembly for the Boeing 787 takes place at Boeings' plant in Everett, Washington. The plant employs a mere 800 to 1,200 staff who are responsible for the final assembly of the major components of the aircraft. As with the Boeing 737, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will have the construction of it’s major components contracted out to manufacturers around the globe.
ASSEMBLY
For its entire history, Boeing has guarded its techniques for designing and mass producing commercial jetliner wings. For economic reasons, the wings are now manufactured by Japanese companies in Nagoya such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The horizontal stabilisers are manufactured by Alenia Aeronautica in Italy. The fuselage sections are collectively built by, Vought in Charleston, South Carolina, (USA), Alenia in Italy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries in Japan and Spirit AeroSystems, in Wichita, Kansas, (USA).
Boeing 787 Dreamliner near the end of assembly.
First Boeing 787 9 Dreamliner in Factory at Final Body Join.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Parts Suppliers.
Messier-Dowty (France) builds the landing gear and Thales supplies the integrated standby flight display and electrical power conversion system. Honeywell and Rockwell-Collins provide flight control, guidance, and other avionics systems, including standard dual head-up guidance systems. Future integration of forward-looking infrared is being considered by Flight Dynamics allowing improved visibility using thermal sensing as part of the HUD system, allowing pilots to "see through the clouds".
Boeing South Carolina assembly line JAL 787-9 on final assembly line.
Connecticut (USA)-based Hamilton Sundstrand provides power distribution and management systems for aircraft, including the manufacture and production of Generator Control Units (GCUs). In addition, they will supply integration of power transfer systems that can move power from the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and the main engines to the necessary parts and machinery of the aircraft. The cold weather test of the APU took place in Alaska.
The first composite fuselage section was rolled out in January 2005, and the final external design was set in April 2005. On June 30, 2006, Boeing celebrated the start of the major assembly of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Fuji Heavy Industries' new factory in Handa, Japan, near Nagoya.
On December 6, 2006, Boeing conducted a "virtual roll-out" of the 787. Unlike a traditional roll-out (which occurred later), it took place without a physical airframe present. Taking computer-aided design beyond the aircraft itself, Boeing modeled the manufacturing process, step-by-step and end-to-end, in software. The virtual roll-out was intended to discover production issues prior to assembly of the first airframe, when they are cheaper to fix.
On January 12, 2007, the first major assemblies, forward fuselage, center wing, and center wheel well built by FHI and KHI were shipped on a Boeing 747 400 LCF from Nagoya, Japan. They were delivered to Global Aeronautica in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 15.
On May 8, 2007, Vought rolled out completed rear Sections 47 and 48 from its factory in Charleston, SC. The sections were flown via the Dreamlifter to Everett, arriving on May 11 along with the all-composite forward section (section 41) manufactured by Spirit AeroSystems.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. shipped the first Boeing 787 carbon-fiber wings from its factory in Nagoya to Boeings' main assembly plant in Everett on May 15, 2007.
Boeing 747-400LCF freighters call Dreamlifters have had their fuselages widened to enable the transport of Boeing 787 fuselage barrels from South Carolina to the Everett assembly plant.
The Dreamlifter delivered the final major assembly, the integrated mid-body fuselage, to Everett on May 16.
The final assembly began on May 21 in Everett, Washington. Rolls-Royce shipped the first pair of Trent 1000 engines from their Derby, UK facilities on schedule on June 7 for installation on the Boeing 787. On June 26, 2007 LN1/ZA001 had finished major assembly and was towed to the paint hangar in the early morning.
Boeing started construction of a second Boeing 787. This one was used for static testing and was never flown. It was not built with engines or horizontal stabilizers. Also, Boeing stated reluctance in breaking the composite wing during the test, which would require an expensive cleanup afterward.
An important milestone in the launch of the 787 was the certification of the Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engine on August 7, 2007, by both European and US regulators. The engine has seven variants and is the first engine to be certified for use on the aircraft.
On August 20, 2007, Hamilton Sundstrand stated that it had delivered its first two cabin air conditioning packs to Boeing for the initial flight test of the 787 Dreamliner.
SPECIFICATIONS
There are three different variations of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and as of 31 March 2017, all three variants are flying commercially. So what are the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Specs? The Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 are described in the Boeing 787 Specs table at the bottom of this section which shows the detailed specifications of each of the types.
As well as bringing large jet ranges to a medium-sized jet, the Boeing 787 also matches the speeds of larger jets with a cruise of Mach 0.85. This is delivered with an environmentally friendly fuel saving in the area of 20% over similar-sized older airliners.
The key to delivering this efficiency is a suite of new technologies
Boeing 787 Composites.
Weight is being reduced by the fact that up to 50% of the aircraft is built using composite materials, including fuselage and wings. To put this in perspective, compare the Boeing 787 with Boeing's top-selling Aircraft, the Boeing 777.
The fuselage is constructed using single-piece barrels joined end to end instead of multiple panels. This reduces the need for around 40,000—50,000 fasteners. Additionally, it increased strength allowing for higher cabin pressures.
The Boeing 787 carries self-monitoring systems that are able to report to ground-based computer systems on the state of health of the aircraft and its systems. One-third of the efficiencies come from the new technology engines. Boeing has chosen two engines to work with; the General Electric GEnx and Rolls-Royce Trent 1000. Both engines move from the old Bleed Air systems of powering aircraft systems such as air conditioning and start-up to electrical, thus moving to a more electrical aircraft. This is weight-saving as well as less of a power drain on the engines.
Comparative Composites.
| Boeing 787 Dreamliner | |
|---|---|
| Composite Materials | 50 Per Cent |
| Aluminium | 20 Per Cent |
| Other Materials | 30 Per Cent |
| Boeing 777 | |
| Composite Materials | 12 Per Cent |
| Aluminium | 50 Per Cent |
| Other Materials | 38 Per Cent |
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Material Pictorial.
A pictorial representation of the materials used to construct the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Both engine types have an identical interface allowing operators to fit either type of engine when required. The engine nacelles also feature chevroned trailing edges of the casing to reduce engine noise. For the first time, Pratt and Whitney have not had a launch product, as it is believed they could not make the business case work to develop this kind of engine.
An Active Gust Alleviation system, similar to the system that Boeing built for the B-2 bomber, improves ride quality. Boeing, as part of its "Quiet Technology Demonstrator Project", experimented with several engine noise-reducing technologies for the Boeing 787. Among these was a redesigned air inlet containing sound-absorbing materials and redesigned exhaust duct covers whose rims are tipped in a toothed pattern to allow for a quieter mixing of exhaust and outside air. Boeing found these developments made the Boeing 787 significantly quieter both inside and out.
A special toilet has been designed to accommodate wheelchair passengers, the 56-inch by 57-inch lavatory has a movable wall so that two lavatories can be converted into one to allow access.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Specs Table
| Variant | Boeing 787 8 | Boeing 787 9 | Boeing 787 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milestones | |||
| Maiden Flight | 15 December 2009 | 17 September 2013 | 31 March 2017 |
| Launch Delivery | 25 September 2011 | 10 July 2014 | 26 March 2018 |
| Launch Airline | All Nippon Airways | Air New Zealand | Singapore Airlines |
| Boeing 787 Price List (average) | US$224.6 Million | US$264.6 Million | US$306.1 Million |
| Dimensions | |||
| Fuselage | |||
| Fuselage Length | 56.7 Mtr (186 Ft) | 62.8 Mtr (206 Ft) | 68.3 Mtr (224 Ft) |
| Fuselage Height | |||
| Fuselage Width (outside) | |||
| Max. Cabin Width | |||
| Wings | |||
| Wing Span | |||
| Wing Area | |||
| Wing Sweep Back | |||
| Tail Fin | |||
| Aircraft Height | |||
| Under Carriage | |||
| Number of Nose Wheels | |||
| Number of Main Wheels | |||
| Engines x two | |||
| Thrust | 64,000 lbf (280 kN) | 71,000 lbf (320 kN) | 76,000 lbf (340 kN) |
| Cabin | |||
| Seating | 242 (2 class) | 280 (2 class) | 330 (2 class) |
| Seats Abreast | |||
| Weights | |||
| Maximum Take Off Weight | 227,930 kg (502,500 lb) | ||
| Maximum Landing Weight | 172,000 kg (380,000 lb) | 193,000 kg (425,000 lb) | 202,000 kg (445,000 lb) |
| Maximum Zero Fuel Weight | 161,000 kg (355,000 lb) | 181,000 kg (400,000 lb) | 193,000 kg (425,000 lb) |
| Operating Empty Weight |
119,950 kg (264,500 lb) | 128,850 kg (284,000 lb) | 135,500 kg (298,700 lb) |
| Fuel Capacity Litres | 126,206 Litres (33,340 US gal) | ||
| Speeds | |||
| Vmo/Mmo Velocity/Mach Max Operating speed | |||
| Cruise Speed IAS/Mach | |||
| Ceiling | |||
| Range | 13,620 km (7,355 nmi) |
14,140 km (7,635 nmi) | 11,910 km (6,430 nmi) |
| Cargo Capacity | 136.7 m3 (4,826 cu ft) 28 × LD3 or 9x (88x125) pallets. |
172.5 m3 (6,090 cu ft) 36× LD3 or 11 x (96x125) pallets. | 191.4 m3 (6,722 cu ft) 40× LD3 or 13x (96x125) pallets. |
| Take Off distance at MTOW at sea level (ISA) | 2,600 m (8,500 ft) | 2,800 m (9,300 ft) | 2,800 m (9,100 ft) |
| Variant | Boeing 787 8 | Boeing 787 9 | Boeing 787 10 |
In the early 1990s, Boeing needed to find a replacement for the aging Boeing 767 which was experiencing a downturn in sales.
Two alternatives were investigated. The first was a sub-sonic cruiser that would be capable of cruising at Mach 0.98 for around the same fuel economy as that of the Boeing 767. This would be very attractive in being able to dramatically reduce journey times whilst staying below the speed of sound. This is important as the sonic boom generated by Concorde limited that aircraft to only being able to be operated over water and therefore making it unsaleable to most airlines. The sub-sonic cruiser did attract considerable interest from the market.
The second option was an up-sized version of the Boeing 747, the Boeing 747X. This was intended to be a competitor against the Airbus A380, however, reception by the market for this solution was lukewarm.
The September 11, 2001, attacks turned the airline industry on its head. All of a sudden fuel costs started to escalate and airlines' focus moved from speed to efficiency. The sonic cruiser was no longer a viable option.
History.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Boeing drops its "Sonic Cruiser" concept, responding to airlines' calls for better fuel efficiency rather than extra speed. |
| June 2003 | The company dubs its new, carbon-composite airplane the "Dreamliner" after an online competition with 500,000 entrants. |
| December 2003 | Boeing approves an initial version of the plane, with the temporary name 7E7. |
| April 2004 | Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) becomes the launch customer with 50 orders. Being a launch customer often earns discounts up to 50%. |
| December 2004 | Boeing ends 2004 with 56 orders for the new plane, fewer than it had expected. |
| January 2005 | Boeing gives the plane the official designation Boeing 787 Dreamliner |
| December 2005 | It ends 2005 with 232 orders for Boeing 787s, for a running total of 288. |
| 13 July 2006 | Popularity of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner design forces EADS unit Airbus to go back to the drawing board on its competing Airbus A350, relaunching it as the Airbus A350 XWB (eXtra Wide Body). |
| December 2006 | Boeing ends 2006 with 160 orders for Boeing 787s, for a running total of 448. |
| January 2007 | Unconfirmed talk that some Boeing 787 suppliers are falling behind schedule sends Boeing shares lower. Boeing CEO Jim McNerney says the plane is on target for its first test flight around end of August 2007 and first delivery May 2008. |
| 13 May 2007 | Boeing starts to put together the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Everett, Washington. |
| June 2007 | Reports surface at the Paris Air Show that the Boeing 787 is up to four months late. Boeing says the first test flight may slip to September 2007, while still on schedule for a first delivery in May 2008. |
| 08 July 2007 | The gleaming shell of the first 787 is rolled out in front of 15,000 ecstatic employees and customers at Everett. |
| 25 July 2007 | Boeing shares hit an all-time high of $107.80, boosted by strong Boeing 787 orders. The company admits the plane is running slightly behind in certain areas but holds to schedule. |
| September 2007 | Boeing puts back its first test flight by about three months because of a shortage of bolts and problems with flight control software. It also shifts its flight target of mid-November to mid-December 2007 and keeps the May 2008 delivery target. |
| October 2007 | The company announces a longer delay, due to production problems, pushing the first test flight to end of March 2008 and putting back first delivery by about six months to late November or December 2008. |
| October 2007 | Boeing 787 program head Mike Bair is replaced by Pat Shanahan from Boeings' defence unit. |
| December 2007 | Boeing says the 787 is sticking to its revised schedule and ends the year with 369 orders for the plane in 2007, for a running total of 817. |
| January 2008 | After two weeks of rumours, Boeing announces a further three-month delay due to problems with unnamed suppliers and slow assembly progress at the Everett plant. It also pushes back test the flight to end-June 2008 and first delivery to early 2009, making the plane about nine months behind its original schedule. |
| March 2008 | Boeing shares hit a two-year low of $71.59. The company admits it had to redesign centre wing box to make it stronger. |
| 28 March 2008 | Boeing announced that it plans to buy Vought Aircraft Industries' interest in Global Aeronautica, owner of the South Carolina plant that manufactures major portions of the Boeing 787s fuselage. The purchase will make the assembly plant a 50-50 joint venture between Boeing and Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica. |
| April 2008 | Announces a third major delay due to continuing problems with unfinished work from suppliers. It sets the first test flight for the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first delivery for the third quarter of 2009, about 15 months behind the original schedule. |
| September 2008 | A major strike at Boeing lasts 57 days, and it then takes another month to get production back up to speed. |
| Date(contd) | Event(contd) |
|---|---|
| November 2008 | A major mistake is found where fasteners in the first 5 prototypes are incorrectly installed. These need to be removed and reinstalled. A major embarrassment. |
| December 2008 | Boeing advises another six-month delay. Management reshuffles take place. The first flight is now due for April/June 2009, and ANA is advised that delivery of their first plane will be in the first quarter of 2010. 2008 ended with over 900 orders. |
| January/February 2009 | Industry downturn caused LCAL (leasing Co.) and Russian S7 group to cancel orders. Other companies also push back their delivery dates. |
| May 2009 | The first Dreamliner pushed onto the flight line, due for its first flight in June. A fault in the wing box join is found but not made public. |
| June 2009 | At the Paris airshow, it is announced that the Dreamliner will fly by the end of the month. It is then determined that the wing box structure must be fixed before a flight can take place. To the dismay of the industry Boeing postpones the test flight indefinitely. QANTAS cancels its order for 15 Boeing 787s. |
| July 2009 | Engineers begin work on the flawed wing box joint. |
| August 2009 | A new schedule sets the first test flight by year-end and delivery by the end of 2010. |
| October 2009 | Cancellation of a ten-plane order by a UK-based charter company reduces the orders to 840. |
| November 2009 | Engineers complete the wing box joint redesign and stress testing shows the plane is ready to fly. |
| 15 December 2009 | After comprehensive ground tests, the first flight test takes place. |
| First Half 2010 | Six test aircraft, four with Rolls Royce 1000 engines and two with GE GEnx-1B64 engines endure a rigorous flight test program. |
| July 2010 | The Boeing 787 Dreamliner attended its first Airshow at Farnborough. |
| November 2010 | It was announced deliveries could be delayed a further three months to give time to make modifications around issues found in testing. |
| 09 November 2010 | An emergency landing was required in Texas when an onboard fire was found. The test crew evacuated safely after landing at Laredo. |
| January 2011 | Boeing announced that the first delivery would not be until the third quarter for 2010 due to work required after the onboard fire. |
| July 2011 | ANA (All Nippon Airways) conducted a week of testing with a Boeing 787 on Japanese air routes. |
| 13 August 2011 | Boeing completed certification testing for the Boeing 787 8 with Rolls Royce Engines. |
| 26 August 2011 | Boeing attained certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency. |
| 28 September 2011 | ANAs' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner touches down at Tokyo Haneda Airport. |
| 30 May 2013 | Singapore Airlines was announced as the launch customer for the Boeing 787-10. |
| 17 September 2013 | The maiden test flight of the Boeing 787-9 from Paine Field to Moses Lake. Deemed very successful. |
| 08 July 2014 | Boeing 787-9 launch customer, Air New Zealand, takes delivery of their first Boeing 787-9. Painted in the distinctive black livery, it was handed over in a ceremony at Paine Field. |
| March 2016 | Assembly began on the first Boeing 787-10. |
| 17 February 2017 | The first Boeing 787-10 rolled out of the factory. |
| 31 March 2017 | Maiden flight of the Boeing 787-10 lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. |
| 25 March 2018 | Launch customer, Singapore Airlines, received their first Boeing 787-10 in a ceremony at Boeing's facility in North Charleston. |
Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner Taking off Sydney To Delhi 15 September 2013. Air India was the first to operate the Boeing 787 to Australia, calling at both Sydney and Melbourne.
Boeing 787 Cabin Interior.
The Boeing 787 8 seats 240 in a two-class domestic configuration, with a 46-in (116.8 cm) pitch for first class and a 34-in (86.4 cm) pitch for coach(economy) class.
296 passengers can be seated in a high-density 3+2+3 coach(economy) arrangement with a 36-in (91.4 cm) Business and 32-in (81.3 cm) Coach(economy) pitch.
Up to 234 passengers may be seated in a three-class setup that uses a 61-in (154.9 cm) pitch in First Class (2+2+2 or 1+2+1), 39-in (99 cm) pitch for Business (2+3+2 or 2+2+2) and 32-in (81.3 cm) for Coach (2+4+2). The cabin interior width is approximately 18 feet (547 cm) at armrest and was increased by 1 inch (2.5 cm) over what was originally planned.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner First Class Cabin. . The Boeing Sky interior gives a concept of space, almost like being outside.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner interior cabin width is a full 15 in (38 cm) greater than that of the Airbus A330 and A340, but 5 in (13 cm) narrower than the Airbus A350 800 XWB.
For the economy class cabin in 2+4+2 or 3+2+3 arrangements, seat-bottom widths will be 18.5 in (47cm), comparable to that found on the Boeing 777.
For 3+3+3 seating, the seat widths would be approximately 17.2 in (43.7 cm), the same as those found on the Boeing 737. The vast majority of airlines are expected to select the 3+3+3 configuration on the Dreamliner.
787 Cabin Width
Singapore Airlines 787-10 configured for regional economy.
Boeing 787 Windows
The cabin windows are larger than others currently on in-service civil air transport (27 cm by 47 cm), with a higher eye level, so passengers can see the horizon, with Electrochromism-based auto-dimming to reduce cabin glare and maintain transparency. The Dreamliner cabin is equipped with LED lighting and electronic window shades. These are to be supplied by PPG. Light-emitting diode (LED) cabin lighting (three colours) will be used instead of fluorescent tubes, allowing the aircraft to be entirely 'bulbless' and have 128 colour combinations.
The larger windows give passengers a greater feeling of space and enable them to see to horizon as well as down. The control under the window determines the shading down to full opaque. Greater control as well as weight saving on window shades.
A version of Ethernet—Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) / ARINC 664 is used to transmit data between the flight deck and aircraft systems. The flight deck features LCD multi-function displays, all of which will use an industry-standard GUI widget toolkit (Cockpit Display System Interfaces to User Systems / ARINC 661). The Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft uses a glass cockpit derived from Rockwell Collins' 787 flight deck. Like other Boeing airliners, the 787 Dreamliners uses a yoke instead of a side stick as used in Airbus aircraft.
Flight Control Systems
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner cockpit. Heavy use of new screen technology and retention of the control yoke.
Breath Easy on the 787
The internal pressure is increased to the equivalent of 6000 feet (1800m) altitude instead of the 8000 feet (2400m) on conventional aircraft. According to Boeing, in a joint study with Oklahoma State University, this will significantly improve passenger comfort.
Higher humidity in the passenger cabin is possible because of the use of composites (which do not corrode).
Cabin air is provided by electrically driven compressors using no engine bleed air. An advanced cabin air-conditioning system provides better air quality: Ozone is removed from outside air; HEPA filters remove bacteria, viruses and fungi; and a gaseous filtration system removes odors, irritants and gaseous contaminants.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner mood lighting. With 128 colours and not a lightbulb to be found, the cabin mood lighting options are endless.
Being the first airline to take delivery of a brand-new aircraft design is always a calculated risk. The aircraft builder will generally negotiate an attractive deal with a launch airline as it is accepted that there will be teething problems, delays in delivery, etc. Boeing 787 Dreamliner orders and deliveries started the very same way with their launch customer ANA (All Nippon Airways).
The rewards, however, can be great. The aircraft maker, in this case, Boeing, and the airline, in this case, ANA Airlines of Japan, worked very closely together and many of ANAs' requirements ended up being included in the finished Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. There were, of course, many delays as whole new technologies were applied. The reward was to be able to boast that ANA was flying the newest most technologically advanced aircraft in the world. This was a flying billboard for ANA and airlines that came next, saying we are investing in the future. We are flying cutting-edge technology. It suddenly made other aircraft fleets start to look tired.
Orders and Deliveries.
Boeing 787 Launch Customers
Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the Boeing 787-10 which they took delivery of on 26 March 2018.