The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American
wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of The Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells jet airliners and business jets ( Boeing Business Jets), and also provides product-related maintenance and training to customers wor ...
.
After dropping its unconventional
Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, which focused largely on efficiency.
The program was launched on April 26, 2004, with an order for 50 aircraft from
All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
(ANA), targeting a 2008 introduction.
On July 8, 2007, a prototype 787 was rolled out without major operating systems, and then the aircraft experienced multiple delays until its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
on December 15, 2009.
Type certification
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). It confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production, is in compliance with applica ...
was received in August 2011 and the first 787-8 was delivered in September 2011 before entering commercial service on October 26, 2011, with ANA.
At launch, Boeing targeted the 787 with 20% less
fuel burn than replaced aircraft like the
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
, carrying 200 to 300 passengers on
point-to-point routes up to , a shift from
hub-and-spoke travel.
The
twinjet is powered by
General Electric GEnx or
Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 high-bypass turbofans. It is the first airliner with an
airframe
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...
primarily made of
composite material
A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s and makes extensive use of
electrical system
Electricity is the set of physics, physical Phenomenon, phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagne ...
s.
Externally, it is recognizable by its four-window cockpit,
raked wingtip
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...
s, and noise-reducing
chevrons
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* ''Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...
on its engine
nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s.
Development and production rely increasingly on
subcontractors around the world, with final assembly at
Boeing South Carolina in North Charleston, after having also been assembled in the
Boeing Everett Factory in Washington until March 2021.
The initial 787-8 typically seats 242 passengers over a range of , with a
MTOW compared to for later variants.
The stretched 787-9, long, can fly with 290 passengers; it entered service on August 7, 2014, with ANA.
The further stretched 787-10, long, seating 330 over , entered service with
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
on April 3, 2018.
Early 787 operations encountered several
problems caused mainly by its
lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
, and which culminated in
fires on board some aircraft. In January 2013, the US
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
grounded all 787s until it approved the revised battery design in April 2013.
Significant quality control issues from 2019 onwards caused a production slowdown and, from January 2021 until August 2022, an almost total cessation of deliveries.
Due to ballooning production costs, Boeing has spent $32 billion on the program; estimates for the number of aircraft sales needed to
break even
Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above it ...
vary between 1,300 and 2,000.
, the 787 program has booked a total of 1,499 orders and made 1,015 deliveries while recording zero fatalities and no
hull losses.
Development
Background
During the late 1990s, Boeing considered replacement aircraft programs due to slowing sales of the
767
767 may refer to:
* Boeing 767, a jet airliner
* 767 (number)
* AD 767, a year in the 8th century.
* 767 BC, a year in the 8th century BC
* Area code 767
Area code 767 is the local telephone area code of the Commonwealth of Dominica, within the ...
and
747-400. Two new aircraft were proposed. The
747X would have lengthened the 747-400 and improved efficiency, and the
Sonic Cruiser would have achieved 15% higher speeds (approximately
Mach
Mach may refer to Mach number, the speed of sound in local conditions. It may also refer to:
Computing
* Mach (kernel), an operating systems kernel technology
* ATI Mach, a 2D GPU chip by ATI
* GNU Mach, the microkernel upon which GNU Hurd is bas ...
0.98) while burning fuel at the same rate as the 767.
Market interest for the 747X was tepid; however, several major American airlines, including
Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
, showed initial enthusiasm for the Sonic Cruiser, although concerns about the operating cost were also expressed.
The global airline market was disrupted by the
9/11 attacks and increased petroleum prices, making airlines more interested in efficiency than speed. The worst-affected airlines, those in the United States, had been considered the most likely customers of the Sonic Cruiser; thus the Sonic Cruiser was officially canceled on December 20, 2002. On January 29, 2003, Boeing announced an alternative product, the 7E7, using Sonic Cruiser technology in a more conventional configuration.
The emphasis on a smaller midsize twinjet rather than a large 747-size aircraft represented a shift from the
hub-and-spoke theory toward the
point-to-point theory,
in response to analysis of
focus groups.
Randy Baseler, Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP Marketing stated that airport congestion comes from large numbers of
regional jets and small
single-aisle
A narrow-body aircraft or single-aisle aircraft is an airliner arranged along a single aisle, permitting up to 6-abreast airline seat, seating in a aircraft cabin, cabin less than in width.
In contrast, a wide-body aircraft is a larger airliner ...
s, flying to destinations where a 550-seat
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
would be too large; to reduce the number of departures, smaller airplanes can increase by 20% in size and
airline hub
An airline hub or hub airport is an airport used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations. Hubs serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to help get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the ...
s can be avoided with
point-to-point transit
Point-to-point transit is a transportation system in which a plane, bus, or train travels directly to a destination, rather than going through a central hub. This differs from the spoke-hub distribution paradigm in which the transportation goes ...
.
In 2003, a recent addition to the Boeing board of directors,
James McNerney (who would become Boeing's Chairman and CEO in 2005), supported the need for a new aircraft to regain market share from Airbus. The directors on Boeing's board,
Harry Stonecipher (Boeing's President and CEO) and
John McDonnell issued an ultimatum to "develop the plane for less than 40 percent of what the
777
777 may refer to:
* 777 (number), a number
* AD 777, a year of the Julian calendar
* 777 BC, a year in the 8th century BC
* Boeing 777, a commercial jet airliner
:* Boeing 777X, the newer generation of the Boeing 777.
Art and entertainment Alb ...
had cost to develop 13 years earlier, and build each plane out of the gate for less than 60 percent of the 777's unit costs in 2003", and approved a development budget estimated at US$7 billion as Boeing management claimed that they would "require subcontractors to foot the majority of costs". Boeing Commercial Airplanes president
Alan Mulally
Alan Roger Mulally (born August 4, 1945) is an American aerospace engineer and manufacturing executive.
He is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ford Motor Company. He retired from Ford Motor Company on July 1, 2014. Ford ...
, who had previously served as general manager of the 777 programs contrasted the difference in the approval process by the board between the 777 and 787 saying "In the old days, you would go to the board and ask for X amount of money, and they'd counter with Y amount of money, and then you'd settle on a number, and that's what you'd use to develop the plane. These days, you go to the board, and they say, 'Here's the budget for this airplane, and we'll be taking this piece of it off the top, and you get what's left; don't f--- up.'"
![Dreamliner logo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Dreamliner_logo.svg)
The replacement for the Sonic Cruiser project was named "7E7" (with a development code name of "Y2"). Technology from the Sonic Cruiser and 7E7 was to be used as part of Boeing's project to replace its entire airliner product line, an endeavor called the
Yellowstone Project (of which the 7E7 became the first stage).
Early concept images of the 7E7 included rakish
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
windows, a dropped nose, and a distinctive "shark-fin"
tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
. The "E" was said to stand for various things, such as "efficiency" or "environmentally friendly"; however, in the end, Boeing said that it merely stood for "Eight".
In July 2003, a public naming competition was held for the 7E7, for which out of 500,000 votes cast online the winning title was ''Dreamliner''. Other names included ''eLiner'', ''Global Cruiser'', and ''Stratoclimber''.
On April 26, 2004, Japanese airline
All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
(ANA) became the launch customer for the 787, announcing a firm order for 50 aircraft with deliveries to begin in late 2008.
The ANA order was initially specified as 30 787-3, 290–330 seat, one-class domestic aircraft, and 20 787-8, long-haul, 210–250 seat, two-class aircraft for regional international routes such as
Tokyo-Narita
Narita International Airport ( ja, wikt:成田国際空港, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other ...
to
Beijing-Capital
Beijing Capital International Airport is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). It is located northeast of Beijing's city center, in an exclave of Chaoyang District, ...
, and could perform routes to cities not previously served, such as
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
. The 787-3 and 787-8 were to be the initial variants, with the 787-9 entering service in 2010.
[
On October 5, 2012, Indian state carrier Air India became the first carrier to take possession of a Dreamliner that was manufactured in the ]Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
Boeing plant. This was the first Boeing Dreamliner that was manufactured outside of Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. Boeing would go on to use both the Everett and South Carolina plants to deliver the Dreamliner.
The 787 was designed to be the first production airliner with the fuselage comprising one-piece composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
barrel sections instead of the multiple aluminum sheets and some 50,000 fasteners used on existing aircraft. Boeing selected two new engines to power the 787, the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and General Electric GEnx. Boeing stated the 787 would be approximately 20 percent more fuel-efficient than the 767, with approximately 40 percent of the efficiency gain from the engines, plus gains from aerodynamic improvements, increased use of lighter-weight composite materials, and advanced systems. The airframe underwent extensive structural testing during its design. The 787-8 and −9 were intended to have a certified 330 minute ETOPS
ETOPS () is an acronym for ''Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards''—a special part of flight rules for one-engine-inoperative flight conditions. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) coined the acronym for ...
capability.
During the design phase, the 787 underwent extensive wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
testing at Boeing's Transonic Wind Tunnel, QinetiQ's five-meter wind tunnel at Farnborough Farnborough may refer to:
Australia
* Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone
United Kingdom
* Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England
** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...
, United Kingdom, and NASA Ames Research Center's wind tunnel, as well as at the French aerodynamics research agency, ONERA. The final styling was more conservative than earlier proposals, with the fin, nose, and cockpit windows changed to a more conventional form. By 2005, customer-announced orders and commitments for the 787 reached 237 aircraft. Boeing initially priced the 787-8 variant at US$120 million, a low figure that surprised the industry. In 2007, the list price was US$146–151.5 million for the 787-3, US$157–167 million for the 787-8, and US$189–200 million for the 787-9.
Manufacturing and suppliers
On December 16, 2003, Boeing announced that the 787 would be assembled in its factory
A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
in Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
. Instead of conventionally building the aircraft from the ground up, the final assembly employed 800 to 1,200 people to join completed subassemblies and integrate systems.[Boeing Unveils 787 Final Assembly Factory Flow]
" Boeing, December 6, 2006. Retrieved September 3, 2011. Boeing assigned global subcontractors to do more assembly work, delivering completed subassemblies to Boeing for final assembly. This approach was intended to result in a leaner, simpler assembly line and lower inventory, with pre-installed systems reducing final assembly time by three-quarters to three days. Subcontractors had early difficulties procuring needed parts and finishing subassemblies on schedule, leaving remaining assembly work for Boeing to complete as "traveled work." In 2010, Boeing considered in-house construction of the 787-9 tail; the tail of the 787-8 is made by Alenia. The 787 was unprofitable for some subcontractors; Alenia's parent company, Finmeccanica, had a total loss of €750 million on the project.
Subcontracted assemblies included wing and center wing box (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
, Japan; Subaru Corporation, Japan); horizontal stabilizers (Alenia Aeronautica
Alenia Aeronautica was an Italian aerospace company. Its subsidiaries included Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali.
Alenia Aeronautica was also the part-owner of ATR, a joint venture with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS).
...
, Italy; Korea Aerospace Industries
Korea Aerospace Industries (Korean: 한국항공우주산업, Hanja: 韓國航空宇宙産業) (KAI) is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries' ...
, South Korea); fuselage sections (Global Aeronautica, Italy; Boeing, North Charleston, US; Kawasaki Heavy Industries
(or simply Kawasaki) is a Japanese Public company, public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, Heavy equipment (construction), heavy equipment, aerospace and Military, defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headq ...
, Japan; Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., based in Wichita, Kansas, is the world's largest first-tier aerostructures manufacturer. The company builds several important pieces of Boeing aircraft, including the fuselage of the 737, portions of the 787 fus ...
, Wichita, US; Korean Air, South Korea); passenger doors ( Latécoère, France); cargo doors, access doors, and crew escape door (Saab AB
Saab AB (originally , later just SAAB and Saab Group) is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. Headquartered in Stockholm, the development and the manufacturing is undertaken in Linköping. Saab produced automobiles from 194 ...
, Sweden); software development (HCL Enterprise
HCLTech (formerly Hindustan Computers Limited or HCL Technologies) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Noida.It emerged as an independent company in 1991 when HCL entered into ...
, India); floor beams ( TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited, India); wiring (Labinal
Safran Aircraft Engines, previously Snecma (''Société nationale d'études et de construction de moteurs d'aviation'') or Snecma Moteurs, is a French aerospace engine manufacturer headquartered in Courcouronnes and a subsidiary of Safran. I ...
, France);[ wing-tips, flap support fairings, wheel well bulkhead, and ]longeron
In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework.
The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...
s (Korean Air, South Korea); landing gear ( Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, UK/France); and power distribution and management systems, air conditioning packs ( Hamilton Sundstrand, Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, US).
To speed up deliveries, Boeing modified four used 747-400s into 747 Dreamlifters to transport 787 wings, fuselage sections, and other smaller parts. Japanese industrial participation was key to the project. Japanese companies co-designed and built 35% of the aircraft; the first time that outside firms played a key design role on Boeing airliner wings. The Japanese government supported development with an estimated US$2 billion in loans. On April 26, 2006, Japanese manufacturer Toray Industries
is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan that specializes in industrial products centered on technologies in organic synthetic chemistry, polymer chemistry, and biochemistry.
Its founding business areas were fibers and textiles, ...
and Boeing signed a production agreement involving US$6 billion worth of carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
, extending a 2004 contract. In May 2007, the final assembly on the first 787 began at Everett.
Boeing worked to trim excess weight since assembly of the first airframe began; in late 2006, the first six 787s were stated to be overweight, with the first aircraft being heavier than specified. The seventh and subsequent aircraft would be the first optimized 787-8s expected to meet all goals. Accordingly, some parts were redesigned to include more use of titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
. Early built 787s were overweight and some carriers decided to take later aircraft; in early 2015, Boeing was trying to sell 10 such aircraft. In July 2015, Reuters reported that Boeing was considering reducing the use of titanium to reduce construction costs.
Boeing planned the first flight by the end of August 2007 and premiered the first 787 ( registered N787BA) at a rollout ceremony on July 8, 2007. The 787 had 677 orders at this time, which is more orders from launch to roll-out than any previous wide-body airliner. The major systems were not installed at the time; many parts were attached with temporary non-aerospace fastener
A fastener (US English) or fastening (UK English) is a hardware device that mechanically joins or affixes two or more objects together. In general, fasteners are used to create non-permanent joints; that is, joints that can be removed or disman ...
s requiring replacement with flight fasteners later.
In September 2007, Boeing announced a three-month delay, blaming a shortage of fasteners as well as incomplete software. On October 10, 2007, a second three-month delay to the first flight and a six-month delay to first deliveries were announced due to supply chain problems, a lack of documentation from overseas suppliers, and flight guidance software delays. Less than a week later, Mike Bair, the 787 program manager was replaced. On January 16, 2008, Boeing announced a third three-month delay to the first flight of the 787, citing insufficient progress on "traveled work." On March 28, 2008, to gain more control over the supply chain, Boeing announced plans to buy Vought Aircraft Industries' interest in Global Aeronautica; a later agreement was also made to buy Vought's factory in North Charleston.
On April 9, 2008, a fourth delay was announced, shifting the maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
to the fourth quarter of 2008, and delaying initial deliveries by around 15 months to the third quarter of 2009. The 787-9 variant was postponed to 2012 and the 787-3 variant was to follow at a later date. On November 4, 2008, a fifth delay was announced due to incorrect fastener installation and the Boeing machinists strike, stating that the first test flight would not occur in the fourth quarter of 2008. After assessing the program schedule with suppliers, in December 2008, Boeing stated that the first flight was delayed until the second quarter of 2009. Airlines, such as United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. and Air India, stated their intentions to seek compensation from Boeing for the delays.
A secondary factor in the delays faced by the 787 program was the lack of detailed specifications provided to partners and suppliers. In previous programs Boeing had supplied high level design data, but for the 787, decided to provide broad level specifications only, on the assumption that relevant partners had the competencies to perform the design and integration work with the limited data. This decision created several delays as suppliers struggled to work with the limited design data.
Pre-flight ground testing
As Boeing worked with its suppliers toward production, the design proceeded through a series of test goals. On August 23, 2007, a crash test involving a vertical drop of a partial composite fuselage section from about onto a -thick steel plate occurred in Mesa, Arizona
Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area), East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by ...
; the results matched predictions, allowing modeling of various crash scenarios using computational analysis instead of further physical tests.
Alt URL
/ref> While critics had expressed concerns that a composite fuselage could shatter and burn with toxic fumes during crash landings, test data indicated no greater toxicity than conventional metal airframes. The crash test was the third in a series of demonstrations conducted to match FAA requirements, including additional certification criteria due to the wide-scale use of composite materials.[ The 787 meets the FAA's requirement that passengers have at least as good a chance of surviving a crash landing as they would with current metal airliners.
]
On August 7, 2007, on-time certification of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine by European and US regulators was received. The alternative GE GEnx-1B engine achieved certification on March 31, 2008. On June 20, 2008, the first aircraft was powered up, for testing the electrical supply and distribution systems. A non-flightworthy static test airframe was built; on September 27, 2008, the fuselage was successfully tested at 14.9 psi
Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to:
Alphabetic letters
* Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet
* Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek
Arts and entertainment
* "Psi" as an abbreviation ...
(102.7 kPa) differential, which is 150 percent of the maximum pressure expected in commercial service. In December 2008, the 787's maintenance program was passed by the FAA.
On May 3, 2009, the first test 787 was moved to the flight line following extensive factory testing, including landing gear swings, systems integration verification, and a total run-through of the first flight. On May 4, 2009, a press report indicated a 10–15% range reduction, about instead of the originally promised , for early aircraft that were about 8% overweight. Substantial redesign work was expected to correct this, which would complicate increases in production rates; Boeing stated the early 787-8s would have a range of almost .[Ostrower, Jon]
"Boeing confirms 787 weight issues"
''Flight International'', May 7, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2011. As a result, some airlines reportedly delayed deliveries of 787s to take later planes that may be closer to the original estimates. Boeing expected to have the weight issues addressed by the 21st production model.[Ostrower, Jon]
''Flight International'', March 14, 2009. Retrieved September 2, 2011.
On June 15, 2009, during the Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
, Boeing said that the 787 would make its first flight within two weeks. However, on June 23, 2009, the first flight was postponed due to structural reasons. Boeing provided an updated 787 schedule on August 27, 2009, with the first flight planned to occur by the end of 2009 and deliveries to begin at the end of 2010. The company expected to write off US$2.5 billion because it considered the first three Dreamliners built unsellable and suitable only for flight tests. On October 28, 2009, Boeing selected Charleston, SC as the site for a second 787 production line, after soliciting bids from multiple states.[ On December 12, 2009, the first 787 completed high-speed taxi tests, the last major step before flight.]
Flight test program
On December 15, 2009, Boeing conducted the 787-8 maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
from Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
in Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
, at 10:27 am PST and landed three hours later at 1:33 p.m. at Seattle's Boeing Field
Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a public airport owned and operated by King County, five miles south of downtown Seattle, Washington. The airport is sometimes referred to as KCIA (King County International Airpo ...
. During the flight the 787 reached a top speed of and maximum altitude of . Originally scheduled for hours, the test flight was shortened to three hours due to unfavorable weather conditions. The six-aircraft ground and flight test program was scheduled to be done in eight and a half months and 6800 hours, which was the fastest certification campaign for a new Boeing commercial design.
The flight test program comprised six aircraft, ZA001 through ZA006, four with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines and two with GE GEnx
The General Electric GEnx ("General Electric Next-generation") is an advanced dual rotor, axial flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine in production by GE Aviation for the Boeing 787 and 747-8. The GEnx is intended to succeed the CF6 in GE's pro ...
-1B64 engines. The second 787, ZA002 in All Nippon Airways livery
A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
, flew to Boeing Field
Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a public airport owned and operated by King County, five miles south of downtown Seattle, Washington. The airport is sometimes referred to as KCIA (King County International Airpo ...
on December 22, 2009, to join the flight test program; the third 787, ZA004 made its first flight on February 24, 2010, followed by ZA003 on March 14, 2010. On March 24, 2010, flutter and ground effects testing was completed, clearing the aircraft to fly its entire flight envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The t ...
. On March 28, 2010, the 787 completed the ultimate wing load test, which requires that the wings of a fully assembled aircraft be loaded to 150% of the design limit load and held for 3 seconds. The wings were flexed approximately upward during the test. Unlike past aircraft, the wings were not tested to failure. On April 7, data showed the test had been a success.
On April 23, 2010, the newest 787, ZA003, arrived at the McKinley Climatic Laboratory
The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other US ...
hangar at Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
, Florida, for extreme weather testing in temperatures ranging from , including takeoff preparations at both temperature extremes. ZA005, the fifth 787 and the first with GEnx engines, began ground engine tests in May 2010, and made its first flight on June 16, 2010. In June 2010, gaps were discovered in the horizontal stabilizers of test aircraft due to improperly installed shims; all aircraft were inspected and repaired. That same month, a 787 experienced its first in-flight lightning strike; inspections found no damage. As composites can have as little as 1/1,000th the electrical conductivity
Electrical resistivity (also called specific electrical resistance or volume resistivity) is a fundamental property of a material that measures how strongly it resists electric current. A low resistivity indicates a material that readily allow ...
of aluminum, conductive material is added to alleviate potential risks and to meet FAA requirements. The FAA also planned requirement changes to help the 787 show compliance. In December 2019, it was reported that Boeing had removed the copper foil that formed part of the protection against lightning strikes to the wings of the aircraft; it then worked with the FAA to override concerns raised.
The 787 made its first appearance at an international air show at the Farnborough Airshow, United Kingdom, on July 18, 2010.
On August 2, 2010, a Trent 1000 engine suffered a blowout at Rolls-Royce's test facility during ground testing. This engine failure caused a reevaluation of the timeline for installing Trent 1000 engines; on August 27, 2010, Boeing stated that the first delivery to launch customer ANA would be delayed until early 2011. That same month, Boeing faced compensation claims from airlines owing to ongoing delivery delays. In September 2010, it was reported that two additional 787s might join the test fleet for a total of eight flight test aircraft. On September 10, 2010, a partial engine surge occurred in a Trent engine on ZA001 at Roswell. On October 4, 2010, the sixth 787, ZA006 joined the test program with its first flight.
On November 9, 2010, the second 787, ZA002 made an emergency landing at Laredo International Airport
Laredo International Airport is three miles northeast of downtown Laredo, Texas, Laredo, in Webb County, Texas, Webb County, Texas.
The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 FAA airport categories, categorized it as ...
, Texas, after smoke and flames were detected in the main cabin during a test flight. The electrical fire caused some systems to fail before landing. Following this incident, Boeing suspended flight testing on November 10, 2010; ground testing continued. After investigation, the in-flight fire was primarily attributed to foreign object debris
In aviation and aerospace, foreign object debris (FOD), is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system, which could potentially cause damage.
External FOD hazards include bird strikes, hail, ice, sandstorms, ash-clouds or obje ...
(FOD) that was present in the electrical bay. After electrical system and software changes, the 787 resumed flight testing on December 23, 2010.
On November 5, 2010, it was reported that some 787 deliveries would be delayed to address problems found during flight testing. In January 2011, the first 787 delivery was rescheduled to the third quarter of 2011 due to software and electrical updates following the in-flight fire. By February 24, 2011, the 787 had completed 80% of the test conditions for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine and 60% of the conditions for the General Electric GEnx-1B engine. In July 2011, ANA performed a week of operations testing using a 787 in Japan. The test aircraft had flown 4,828 hours in 1,707 flights combined by August 15, 2011. During testing, the 787 visited 14 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America to test in extreme climates and conditions and for route testing.
On August 13, 2011, certification testing of the Rolls-Royce powered 787-8 finished. The FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitorin ...
certified the 787 on August 26, 2011, at a ceremony in Everett, Washington.
Entry into service
Certification cleared the way for deliveries and in 2011, Boeing prepared to increase 787 production rates from two to ten aircraft per month at assembly lines in Everett and Charleston over two years.[ Legal difficulties clouded production at Charleston; on April 20, 2011, the ]National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...
alleged that a second production line in South Carolina violated two sections of the National Labor Relations Act. In December 2011, the National Labor Relations Board dropped its lawsuit after the Machinists' union withdrew its complaint as part of a new contract with Boeing. The first 787 assembled in South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
was rolled out on April 27, 2012.
The first 787 was officially delivered to All Nippon Airways (ANA) on September 25, 2011, at the Boeing Everett factory. A ceremony to mark the occasion was also held the next day. On September 27, it flew to Tokyo Haneda Airport. The airline took delivery of the second 787 on October 13, 2011.
On October 26, 2011, an ANA 787 flew the first commercial flight from Tokyo's Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
to Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
. The Dreamliner entered service some three years later than originally planned. Tickets for the flight were sold in an online auction; the highest bidder had paid $34,000 for a seat. An ANA 787 flew its first long-haul flight to Europe on January 21, 2012, from Haneda to Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
.
Market and costs
The 787 Dreamliner program has reportedly cost Boeing $32 billion. In 2013, the 787 program was expected to be profitable after 1,100 aircraft have been sold.
At the end of 2013, the cost of producing a 787 exceeded the purchase price. Boeing's accounting method books sales immediately and distributes estimated production costs over ten years for the 1,300 aircraft it expects to deliver during that time. JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...
analyst Joseph Nadol estimated the program's cash loss to be $45 million per airplane, decreasing as the program moves forward. The actual cash flow reflects Boeing collecting most of the purchase price upon delivery; Boeing expects deferred costs to total $25 billion before the company begins to break even
Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above it ...
on production; the comparable number for the Boeing 777, adjusted for inflation, is $3.7 billion.
Boeing lost $30 million per 787 delivered in the first quarter of 2015, although Boeing planned to break even by the end of the year.
The accumulated losses for the 787 totaled almost $27 billion by May 2015. The cost of producing the fuselage may increase because of a tentative deal reached with Spirit Aerosystems of Wichita, Kansas
Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
, wherein severe price cuts demanded by Boeing would be eased, in return for a comprehensive agreement that lowers the cost of fuselages for other jetliners that Spirit helps Boeing manufacture.
In the second quarter of 2015, Boeing lost $25 million on each 787 delivered but was planning to break even per plane before the year-end. After that Boeing hoped to build 900 Dreamliners over six years at an average profit of more than $35 million each. But with deferred costs peaking in 2016 at $33 billion, Leeham analyst Bjorn Fehrm believes Boeing cannot make an overall profit on the program. Ted Piepenbrock, an academic affiliated with MIT and the University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, projects losses decreasing through the first 700 airliners and forecasts the cumulative deferred costs to peak beyond $34 billion. The model most favorable to Boeing projects a program loss of $5 billion after delivering 2,000 Dreamliners. Boeing's original development investment, estimated at least at a further $20 billion, is not included in these costs.[
To recoup the deferred costs and earn its goal of a "low single-digit" overall profit margin, Boeing has to make an average ]profit
Profit may refer to:
Business and law
* Profit (accounting), the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market
* Profit (economics), normal profit and economic profit
* Profit (real property), a nonpossessory intere ...
of more than $50 million on the final 205 airplanes of the accounting
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...
block to be delivered from 2020: a profit margin of more than 30% while the mature Boeing 737 and 777 programs have 20% to 25% margins. Boeing is reaching it through a larger proportion of the 20% to 40% higher price −9/10s, costing only 5% to 10% more than the −8 with lower production costs from reliability and producibility investments and the expected experience curve
In industry, models of the learning or experience curve effect express the relationship between experience producing a good and the efficiency of that production, specifically, efficiency gains that follow investment in the effort. The effect has ...
. Former Douglas Aircraft chief economist Adam Pilarski notes that two assembly sites slow the experience curve. Boeing assumed a faster improvement than on previous programs which had not happened. Competition with the Airbus A350 and the launch of the A330neo
The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed for the Boei ...
put strong pressure on the 787 pricing.
On July 21, 2016, Boeing reported charges of $847 million against two flight-test 787s built in 2009. Boeing had planned to refurbish and sell them but instead wrote them off as research and development expense.
In 2017, Boeing's Jim Albaugh
James F. Albaugh (born May 31, 1950) is the former executive vice president of The Boeing Company and chief executive officer of the Boeing Commercial Airplanes business unit. He served in these capacities for Boeing Commercial Airplanes from S ...
said that the requested return on net assets The return on net assets (RONA) is a measure of financial performance of a company which takes the use of assets into account. Higher RONA means that the company is using its assets and working capital efficiently and effectively. RONA is used by in ...
(RONA) led to outsourcing
Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...
systems reducing investment
Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort.
In finance, the purpose of investing i ...
, but improving RONA had to be balanced against the risk of loss of control.
From 2019, Boeing was to build 14 787s per month (168 per year), helping to offset the $28 billion in deferred production costs accumulated through 2015 and would add 100 aircraft to the current accounting block of 1,300 at the end of 2017 third quarter.
In 2019, the list price for a 787-8 was US$248.3M, $292.5M for a 787-9, and $338.4M for a 787-10.
The valuation for a new 787-9 is $145 million in 2018, up from $135 million in 2014, but it may have been sold for $110–15 million to prevent A330neo
The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed for the Boei ...
sales while an A330-900 is worth $115 million. In February 2018, Boeing priced six 787-9s for less than $100–115m each to Hawaiian Airlines, close to their production cost of $80–90m, to overcome its A330-800 order.
By late 2018, deferred production costs were reduced from a peak of $27.6 billion in early 2016 to $23.5 billion as assembly efficiency improved and the 800th production started.
Production rate
By 2014, Boeing planned to improve financial return by reorganizing the production line, renegotiating contracts with suppliers and labor unions, and increasing the 787 production rate, stepwise, to 12 airplanes per month by the end of 2016 and 14 airplanes per month by the end of the decade.
By April 2015, the production rate was 10 per month;
From late 2020, the production rate is to be reduced from 14 to 12 airplanes per month due to the China-United States trade war.
Production could be trimmed to 10 planes per month as demand for wide-body aircraft falters.
On October 1, 2020, Boeing announced the 787 would be produced only in North Charleston from mid-2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, as the production rate fell to six per month.
In December, the monthly rate was further reduced to five.
Quality-control issues (2019–2022)
; 2019
In 2019 reports began to emerge about quality-control issues at the North Charleston plant leading to questions about the jet's safety; and later that same year KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
, which had discovered loose seats, missing and incorrectly installed pins, nuts and bolts not fully tightened and a fuel-line clamp left unsecured on its jet, complained that the standard of manufacture was "way below acceptable standards."
; 2020
Early in 2020 Boeing engineers complained about depressions in the 787's vertical tail fin, affecting hundreds of planes or the vast majority of the fleet. Workers in Charleston and Everett had improperly discarded shims before the final installation of fasteners, which could lead to structural failure under limited loads. In late August 2020, Boeing grounded eight 787s due to such improper fuselage shimming and inner skin surfacing issues—issues which proved to have been discovered in August 2019 at Boeing South Carolina.
The following month Boeing admitted that "nonconforming" sections of the rear fuselage did not meet engineering standards, and the FAA was investigating quality-control lapses dating back to the introduction of the 787 in 2011 and considering requiring additional inspections for up to 900 of the roughly 1,000 Dreamliners in service. The FAA then began to inquire into the company's Quality Management System (QMS), which Boeing had previously argued justified a reduction of 900 quality inspectors, but which had failed to detect either the shim or skin surface issues. A third quality-control issue then emerged, this time with the 787's horizontal stabilizers, and affecting as many as 893 Dreamliners: workers in Salt Lake City had clamped portions of the tail section too tightly, which could lead to premature material fatigue. At this point Boeing expected a one-time inspection during regularly scheduled maintenance to address the issues and expected merely to slow 787 deliveries "in the near term".
; 2021
By January 2021, Boeing had halted 787 deliveries to complete the inspection relating to the ongoing quality control issues, then in March the FAA withdrew Boeing's delegated authority
Delegation is the assignment of authority to another person (normally from a manager to a subordinate) to carry out specific activities. It is the process of distributing and entrusting work to another person,Schermerhorn, J., Davidson, P., Poole ...
to inspect and sign off on four newly produced 787s, saying that it would extend this withdrawal to further aircraft if needed. Boeing briefly resumed deliveries on March 26, 2021, handing over one 787-9 to United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. , but deliveries ceased again in May 2021; meaning that almost all deliveries had been paused for nearly a year. The delay generated $1 billion in abnormal costs and caused the company to cut production to around two planes a month.
On July 13, Boeing discovered gaps at joints in the forward pressure bulkhead and again reduced production; the company also investigated whether the issue affected 787s already in service. Questions were asked about the inspection process used to check the work, and Boeing worked with the FAA to fix the problem, which was said to pose "no immediate threat to flight safety" and did not require 787s already in service to be grounded.
On September 4, the ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that the FAA would not accept Boeing's proposed new inspection method, aiming to speed deliveries with targeted checks rather than nose-to-tail teardowns, until at least late October; and in late November it was reported that the FAA had discovered further problems, including additional out of tolerance gaps and contamination and associated weakening of fuselage composites. The rectification process for existing aircraft was made more complex by a lack of detailed configuration data on each aircraft. The new problems and the extension of the 13 month long disruption to 787 deliveries led to anger from buyers; a slide in the company's stock price; and demands by a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives for a review of the FAA's oversight of the plane.
; 2022
In January 2022, it was reported that deliveries were not anticipated to restart until April 2022. In February, the FAA announced that it would withdraw Boeing's delegated authority to issue airworthiness certificates for individual 787 aircraft until Boeing can demonstrate consistent quality, stable delivery processes, and a robust plan for the rework needed on the undelivered aircraft in storage. In late March Boeing began sounding out suppliers about their ability to support the production of up to seven aircraft a month by late 2023. Vistara, which had been expecting delivery of four Dreamliners in 2022, indicated a lack of confidence in Boeing meeting its delivery aims by arranging to lease aircraft instead. Later in April reports began to emerge of a further delay of at least two months, and it was only in late April that Boeing submitted the necessary certification package laying out the inspections and repairs to be undertaken on already constructed planes. The FAA rejected portions of the package as incomplete and returned it to Boeing, indicating a further delay before the resumption of deliveries. In late July the FAA approved Boeing’s revised certification package, leading the company to anticipate resuming deliveries "within days". Deliveries resumed on August 10, 2022, after the FAA granted clearance.
Design
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-haul, widebody, twin-engine jetliner, designed with lightweight structures that are 80% composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
by volume; Boeing lists its materials by weight as 50% composite, 20% aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
, 15% titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
, 10% steel, and 5% other. Aluminum has been used throughout the leading edges of wings and tailplanes, titanium is predominantly present within the elements of the engines and fasteners, while various individual components are composed of steel.[
External features include a smooth nose contour, ]raked wingtip
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...
s, and engine nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached ...
s with noise-reducing serrated edges (chevrons
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* ''Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...
).[ 1.34 MB.] The longest-range 787 variant can fly up to ,[ or the even longer ]Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
QF 9 flight between Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an international, domestic and general aviation airport serving Perth, the capital city of Western Australia.
It is the fourth busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements and falls within the boundaries of ...
and London–Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
, over . Its cruising airspeed is . The aircraft has a design life of 44,000 flight cycles.
Flight systems
Among 787 flight systems, a key change from traditional airliners is the electrical architecture. The architecture is bleedless
Bleed air is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPCs) valves bleed air from high or low stage engine compressor sections. Low ...
and replaces bleed air with electrically powered compressors and four of six hydraulic power sources with electrically driven pumps while eliminating pneumatics and hydraulics from some subsystems, e.g. engine starters and brakes.["Boeing 787 from the Ground Up"](_blank)
Boeing, Aero magazine, QTR_04/06. Boeing says that this system extracts 35% less power from the engines, allowing increased thrust and improved fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, wh ...
. Spoiler electromechanical actuators (SEMAs) control two of the seven spoiler
Spoiler is a security vulnerability on modern computer central processing units that use speculative execution. It exploits side-effects of speculative execution to improve the efficiency of Rowhammer and other related memory and cache attacks. Ac ...
pairs on each wing surface, providing roll control, air and ground speed brake
In aeronautics, air brakes or speed brakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase the drag on the aircraft. Air brakes differ from spoilers in that air brakes are designed to increase drag while making littl ...
, and droop capabilities similar to those provided by the hydraulic actuators used on the remaining spoiler surfaces. The SEMAs are controlled by electronic motor control units (EMCUs).
The total available onboard electrical power is 1.45 megawatts, which is five times the power available on conventional pneumatic airliners;[Susanna Ray, Thomas Black & Mary Jane Credeur.]
Boeing 787 Groundings Traced to One-of-a-Kind Technology
Bloomberg, January 17, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013. the most notable electrically powered systems include engine start, cabin pressurization, horizontal-stabilizer trim, and wheel brakes. Wing ice protection is another new system; it uses electro-thermal heater mats on the wing slats instead of traditional hot bleed air.["787 No Bleed Systems"]
Boeing Aero magazine, Quarter 4, 2007. An active gust alleviation system, similar to the system used on the B-2
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying w ...
bomber, improves ride quality during turbulence.[Universal-type gust alleviation system for aircraft, United States Patent 4905934]
Free patents online, original publication March 6, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
The 787 has a "fly-by-wire
Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...
" control system similar in architecture to that of the Boeing 777. The flight deck features multi-function LCDs, which use an industry-standard graphical user interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
widget toolkit (Cockpit Display System Interfaces to User Systems / ARINC 661
ARINC 661 is a standard which aims to normalize the definition of a Cockpit Display System (CDS), and the communication between the CDS and User Applications (UA) which manage aircraft avionics functions. The GUI definition is completely defined ...
).[What is ARINC 661?]
Web archive of Engenuity Technologies page. The 787 flight deck includes two head-up displays (HUDs) as a standard feature.[Boeing Unveils 787 Dreamliner Flight Deck]
Boeing, August 31, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2011. Like other Boeing airliners, the 787 uses a yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, us ...
(as opposed to a side-stick
__NOTOC__
A side-stick or sidestick controller is an aircraft control stick that is located on the side console of the pilot, usually on the righthand side, or outboard on a two-seat flightdeck. Typically this is found in aircraft that are equip ...
). Under consideration is the future integration of forward-looking infrared
Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...
into the HUD for thermal sensing, allowing pilots to "see" through clouds. Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
's Orion spacecraft
Orion (officially Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a Reusable spacecraft, partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed ...
will use a glass cockpit derived from Honeywell International
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
's 787 flight deck systems.
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
and Rockwell Collins
Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...
provide flight control, guidance, and other avionics
Avionics (a blend word, blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, ...
systems, including standard dual head-up guidance systems, Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
supplies the integrated standby flight display and power management, while Meggitt/Securaplane provides the auxiliary power unit (APU) starting system, electrical power-conversion system, and battery-control system with lithium cobalt oxide
Lithium cobalt oxide, sometimes called lithium cobaltateA. L. Emelina, M. A. Bykov, M. L. Kovba, B. M. Senyavin, E. V. Golubina (2011), "Thermochemical properties of lithium cobaltate". ''Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry'', volume 85, issue ...
(LiCoO2) batteries by GS Yuasa
is a Kyoto-based Japanese company specializing in the development and production of lead acid and lithium-ion batteries, used in automobiles, motorcycles and other areas including aerospace and defense applications.
History
Yuasa
In 1909, ...
. One of the two batteries weighs 28.5 kg and is rated 29.6 V, 76 Ah, giving 2.2 kWh. Battery charging is controlled by four independent systems to prevent overcharging, following early lab testing. The battery systems were the focus of a regulatory investigation due to multiple lithium battery fires, which led to the grounding of the 787 fleet starting in January 2013.
A version of Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...
( Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) / ARINC
Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated (ARINC), established in 1929, was a major provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for eight industries: aviation, airports, defense, government, healthcare, networks, security, and t ...
664) transmits data between the flight deck and aircraft systems. The control, navigation, and communication systems are networked with the passenger cabin's in-flight internet systems. In January 2008, FAA concerns were reported regarding possible passenger access to the 787's computer networks; Boeing has stated that various protective hardware and software solutions are employed, including air gaps to physically separate the networks, and firewalls for software separation. These measures prevent data transfer from the passenger internet system to the maintenance or navigation systems.
The −9/10 hybrid laminar flow
In fluid dynamics, laminar flow is characterized by fluid particles following smooth paths in layers, with each layer moving smoothly past the adjacent layers with little or no mixing. At low velocities, the fluid tends to flow without lateral mi ...
control (HLFC) system delays the critical transition from laminar to turbulent flow as far back as possible on the vertical tail by passive suction from leading-edge holes to mid-fin low-pressure doors but was dropped from the tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
due to lower benefits than the extra complexity and cost.[
]
Airframe
The 787 is the first commercial aircraft to have an airframe majority made of carbon fiber reinforced polymer
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
(CFRP), applied in: the empennage
The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third ed ...
, fuselage, wings, doors, and in most other main components. Each 787 contains approximately of CFRP, made with of pure carbon fiber. CFRP materials have a higher strength-to-weight ratio
The specific strength is a material's (or muscle's) strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applic ...
than conventional aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
structural materials, which contributes significantly to the 787's weight savings,[ as well as superior fatigue behavior.] Historically, the first CFRP primary structure in Boeing commercial aircraft was put into service in 1984 on the horizontal tail of the Boeing 737 Classic
The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft.
Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Febru ...
, and in the mid-1990s on both vertical and horizontal tail (empennage) of the Boeing 777. In the early 2000s, while studying the proposed Sonic Cruiser, Boeing built and tested the first CFRP fuselage section for commercial aircraft, a 20-foot (6 meters) long anechoic chamber, which later applied to the Dreamliner. Instead of designing one-piece composite fuselage barrels like the 787, the competing Airbus A350 uses a slightly more conventional approach with CFRP panels on CFRP frames, which is considered less risky in terms of assembly tolerance between fuselage sections.[
Safety can be a concern due to lower impact energy absorption and poorer fire, smoke and toxicity capability of CFRP fuselages in the event of a crash landing, leading to ]whistleblower
A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
complaints at Boeing by Vince Weldon
Vincent A. Weldon is an American aerospace engineer who has designed critical components for both the Apollo moon mission and the Space Shuttle. Weldon attracted controversy in 2006 for his criticism of the Boeing 787 ''Dreamliner'', an airliner h ...
, who was fired in 2006. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration'' (OSHA ) is a large regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. Congress established the agenc ...
(OSHA) later denied Weldon whistleblower status "largely on the grounds that Boeing's 787 design does not violate any FAA regulations or standards". Boeing further argued that CFRP structures have been used on empennages and other parts of airliners for many years without incident, and special damage detection procedures will be instituted for the 787 to detect any potential hidden damage.
In 2006, Boeing launched the 787 GoldCare program. This is an optional, comprehensive life-cycle management service, whereby aircraft in the program are routinely monitored and repaired, as needed. Although the first program of its kind from Boeing, post-sale protection programs are not new; such programs are usually offered by third party service centers. Boeing is also designing and testing composite hardware so inspections are mainly visual. This reduces the need for ultrasonic and other non-visual inspection methods, saving time and money.
Engines
The 787 is powered by two engines, which use all-electrical bleedless
Bleed air is compressed air taken from the compressor stage of a gas turbine upstream of its fuel-burning sections. Automatic air supply and cabin pressure controller (ASCPCs) valves bleed air from high or low stage engine compressor sections. Low ...
systems taken from the Sonic Cruiser, eliminating the superheated air conduits normally used for aircraft power, de-icing, and other functions.[ As part of its "]Quiet Technology Demonstrator
The ecoDemonstrator Program is a Boeing flight test research program, which has used a series of specially modified aircraft to develop and test aviation technologies designed to improve fuel economy and reduce the noise and ecological footprin ...
2" project, Boeing adopted several engine noise-reducing technologies for the 787. These include an air inlet containing sound-absorbing materials and exhaust duct cover with a chevron
Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to:
Science and technology
* Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines
* Chevron (anatomy), a bone
* ''Eulithis testata'', a moth
* Chevron (geology), a fold in rock lay ...
-toothed pattern on the rim for a quieter mixing of exhaust and outside air. Boeing expects these developments to make the 787 significantly quieter both inside and out. The noise-reducing measures prevent sounds above 85 decibel
The decibel (symbol: dB) is a relative unit of measurement equal to one tenth of a bel (B). It expresses the ratio of two values of a power or root-power quantity on a logarithmic scale. Two signals whose levels differ by one decibel have a po ...
s from leaving airport boundaries.[
The two different engine models compatible with the 787 use a standard electrical interface to allow an aircraft to be fitted with either Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 or General Electric GEnx-1B engines. This interchangeability aims to save time and cost when changing engine types;] while previous aircraft could exchange engines for those of a different manufacturer, the high cost and time required made it rare.["] In 2006, Boeing addressed reports of an extended change period by stating that the 787 engine swap was intended to take 24 hours.
In 2016, Rolls-Royce began flight testing its new Trent 1000 TEN engine. It has a new compressor system based on the compressor in Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine and a new turbine design for extra thrust, up to . Rolls-Royce plans to offer the TEN on the 787-8, −9 and −10.
In early 2020, of 1484 orders, 905 selected GE (61.0%), 476 selected RR (32.1%) and 103 were undecided (6.90%).
File:VN-A861 LBG SIAE 2015 (18987933836).jpg, GEnx-1B nacelle
File:Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 (7976551649).jpg, RR Trent 1000 nacelle
Interior
The 787-8 is designed to typically seat 234 passengers in a three-class setup, 240 in two-class domestic configuration, and 296 passengers in a high-density economy arrangement. Seat rows can be arranged in four to seven abreast in first or business—e.g., 1–2–1, 2–2–2, or 2–3–2. Eight or nine abreast are options in economy—e.g., 3–2–3, 2–4–2, or 3–3–3. Typical seat room ranges from pitch in first, in business, and in economy.
Cabin interior width is approximately at armrest level. The Dreamliner's cabin width is more than that of the Airbus A330 and A340, less than the A350, and less than the 777. The 787's economy seats can be up to wide for nine-abreast seating and up to wide for eight-abreast seating arrangements. Most airlines are selecting the nine-abreast (3–3–3) configuration. The 787's nine-abreast seating for economy provides passengers less space, particularly across the hips and shoulders, than any other jet airliner. Some observers recommended passengers avoid flying 787s with nine-abreast seating, although others suggested that the 787 is more comfortable than other airliners.
The 787's cabin windows are larger than any other civil air transport in-service or in development, with dimensions of , and a higher eye level so passengers can maintain a view of the horizon.
Alt URL
The composite fuselage permits larger windows without the need for structural reinforcement. Instead of plastic window shades, the windows use electrochromism-based smart glass
Smart glass or switchable glass (also called a smart window or switchable window) is a glass or glazing whose light transmission properties dynamically alter to control the passage of solar irradiation into buildings. In general, the glass chan ...
(supplied by PPG Industries
PPG Industries, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 company and global supplier of paints, coatings, and specialty materials. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, PPG operates in more than 70 countries around the globe. By revenue it is ...
) allowing flight attendants and passengers to adjust five levels of sunlight and visibility to their liking, reducing cabin glare while maintaining a view to the outside world, but the most opaque setting still has some transparency. While the lavatory window also uses smart glass, it was given a traditional sunshade.
The 787's cabin features light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (cor ...
s (LEDs) as standard equipment, allowing the aircraft to be entirely "bulbless". LED lights have previously been an option on the Boeing 777 and Airbus aircraft fitted with standard fluorescent lights
A fluorescent lamp, or fluorescent tube, is a low-pressure mercury-vapor gas-discharge lamp that uses fluorescence to produce visible light. An electric current in the gas excites mercury vapor, which produces short-wave ultraviolet lig ...
. The system has three-color LEDs plus a white LED. The 787 interior was designed to better accommodate persons with mobility, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. For example, a convertible lavatory includes a movable center wall that allows two separate lavatories to become one large wheelchair-accessible facility.
The 787's internal cabin pressure is the equivalent of altitude, resulting in a higher pressure than for the altitude of older conventional aircraft. According to Boeing, in a joint study with Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, this significantly improves passenger comfort. Cabin air pressurization is provided by electrically driven compressors, rather than traditional engine-bleed air, thereby eliminating the need to cool heated air before it enters the cabin. The cabin's humidity is programmable based on the number of passengers carried and allows 15% humidity settings instead of the 4% found in previous aircraft. The composite fuselage avoids metal fatigue issues associated with higher cabin pressure and eliminates the risk of corrosion from higher humidity levels. The cabin air-conditioning system improves air quality by removing ozone from outside air and, besides standard HEPA
HEPA (, high-efficiency particulate air) filter, also known as high-efficiency particulate absorbing filter and high-efficiency particulate arrestance filter, is an efficiency standard of air filters.
Filters meeting the HEPA standard must sa ...
filters, which remove airborne particles, uses a gaseous filtration system to remove odors, irritants, and gaseous contaminants, as well as particulates like viruses, bacteria and allergens.
Operational history
On December 6, 2011, test aircraft ZA006 (sixth 787), powered by General Electric GEnx engines, flew non-stop from Boeing Field eastward to Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
, Bangladesh, setting a new world distance record for aircraft in the 787's weight class, which is between . This flight surpassed the previous record of , set in 2002 by an Airbus A330. The Dreamliner then continued eastbound from Dhaka to return to Boeing Field, setting a world-circling speed record of 42 hours, 27 minutes. In December 2011, Boeing started a six-month promotion 787 world tour, visiting various cities in China, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, United States, and others. In April 2012, an ANA 787 made a delivery flight from Boeing Field to Haneda Airport partially using biofuel
Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...
from cooking oil.
ANA surveyed 800 passengers who flew the 787 from Tokyo to Frankfurt: expectations were surpassed for 90% of passengers; features that met or exceeded expectations included air quality and cabin pressure (90% of passengers), cabin ambiance (92% of passengers), higher cabin humidity levels (80% of passengers), headroom (40% of passengers) and the larger windows (90% of passengers). 25% said they would go out of their way to again fly on the 787.
After its first six months of service, Rolls-Royce powered ANA aircraft were burning around 21% less fuel than the replaced 767-300ER on international flights, slightly better than the 20% originally expected, and 15–20% on domestic routes, while GE-powered Japan Airlines aircraft were potentially slightly better. Other 787 operators have reported similar fuel savings, ranging from 20 to 22% compared with the 767-300ER. An analysis by consultant AirInsight concluded that United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. ' 787s achieved an operating cost per seat that was 6% lower than the Airbus A330. In November 2017, International Airlines Group
International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A., trading as International Airlines Group and usually shortened to IAG, is an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company with its registered office in Madrid, Spain, and its global headqua ...
chief Willie Walsh said that for its budget carrier Level
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
*Canal pound or level
*Regr ...
the lower cost of ownership
Total cost of ownership (TCO) is a financial estimate intended to help buyers and owners determine the direct and indirect costs of a product or service. It is a management accounting concept that can be used in full cost accounting or even ecolog ...
of its two A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A34 ...
more than offsets the higher fuel burn ($3,500 on a Barcelona-Los Angeles flight). It would introduce three more A330s as there were not enough 787 pilots.
Early operators discovered that if the APS5000 Auxiliary power unit was shut down with the inlet door closed, heat continued to build up in the tail compartment and cause the rotor shaft to bow. It could take up to two hours for the shaft to straighten again. This was particularly acute on short haul flights as there was insufficient time to allow the unit to cool before a restart was needed. Procedures were modified and the APU
APU or Apu may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising:
** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...
was later redesigned to address the issue.
On September 15, 2012, the NTSB requested the grounding of certain 787s due to GE engine failures; GE believed the production problem had been fixed by that time. In December 2012, responding to unhappiness within the airline industry at the continuing issues affecting the aircraft, Boeing CEO James McNerney stated that he regretted the impact on passengers: he went on to say that the 787's issues had been no greater than those experienced with the introduction of other Boeing models such as the 777
777 may refer to:
* 777 (number), a number
* AD 777, a year of the Julian calendar
* 777 BC, a year in the 8th century BC
* Boeing 777, a commercial jet airliner
:* Boeing 777X, the newer generation of the Boeing 777.
Art and entertainment Alb ...
.
In March 2014, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries informed Boeing of a new problem that was caused by a change in manufacturing processes. Employees did not fill gaps with shims to connect wing rib aluminum shear ties to the carbon composite wing panels; the tightened fasteners, without shims, cause excessive stress that creates hairline cracks in the wings, which could enlarge and cause further damage. Forty-two aircraft awaiting delivery were affected, and each one required 1–2 weeks to inspect and repair. However, Boeing did not expect this problem to affect the overall delivery schedule, even if some airplanes were delivered late.
Dispatch reliability is an industry standard measure of the rate of departure from the gate with no more than 15 minutes delay due to technical issues. The 787-8 started out with a ~96% operational reliability, increasing to ~98.5% in April 2015. Daily utilization increased from five hours in 2013 to twelve hours in 2014. Dispatch reliability grew to 99.3% in 2017.
Airlines have often assigned the 787 to routes previously flown by larger aircraft that could not return a profit. For example, Air Canada offered a Toronto-Pearson
Lester B. Pearson International Airport , commonly known as Toronto Pearson International Airport, is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its metropolitan area, and the surro ...
to New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
route, first utilizing a Lockheed L1011, then a Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747.
The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting ...
, then an Airbus A340-300, but none of these types were efficient enough to generate profit. The airline operated the route profitably with a 787-9, and credits the right number of seats and greater fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, wh ...
for this success.
Up to June 30, 2017, after 565 units were delivered since 2011: 60% -8 (340) and 40% -9 (225), the airports with most 787 departures are Haneda airport with 304 weekly, Narita with 276 and Doha Airport with 265. By the end of 2017, there were 39 airlines operating the 787 on 983 routes with an average length of , including 163 new routes (17%). , the 787's longest route is Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
' Perth-London Heathrow, a distance of and the second-longest regular scheduled flight behind Qatar Airways' route from Doha to Auckland, flown with a Boeing 777-200LR. In March 2020, Air Tahiti Nui executed a record commercial flight of , from Papeete
Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...
to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, on a route that would typically refuel at Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
but was able to fly the Boeing 787-9 non-stop because it was "nowhere near full" due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Variants
The shortest Dreamliner variant, the 787-8 was the first variant to fly in December 2009, then the longer 787-9 in September 2013, followed by the longest variant, the 787-10, in March 2017. These variants are called ''B788'', ''B789'', and ''B78X'', respectively in the List of ICAO aircraft type designators
An aircraft type designator is a two-, three- or four-character alphanumeric code designating every aircraft type (and some sub-types) that may appear in flight planning. These codes are defined by both the International Civil Aviation Organizati ...
. The short-range 787-3 was canceled in 2010.
787-8
With a typical capacity of 220 passengers and a range of , the −8 is the base model of the 787 family and was the first to enter service in 2011. The 787-8 is targeted to replace aging Boeing 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
and Airbus A330-200
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
aircraft, as well as expand into new non-stop markets where larger planes would not be economically viable. , approximately 29% of 787 orders are for the 787-8 with 366 delivered. In 2018, Boeing said it would change the −8 manufacturing to raise its commonality
In aviation, fleet commonality is the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics.
Different types of commonality
Commonality policies ...
with the −9 above the current 30% to be more like the 95% commonality between the −9 and −10, as it will benefit from learning from those.
When it was launched, a new 787-8 was to cost only slightly more than the 767-300ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified o ...
, valued new for $85 million at its 1990s peak, but it ended being 20% more costly. Its closest competitor is the Airbus A330-800.
787-9
Keeping the same wingspan as the 787-8, the 787-9 is a lengthened and strengthened variant with a longer fuselage and a higher maximum take-off weight (MTOW), seating 259 passengers in a typical three-class arrangement over a range. It features active boundary-layer control on the tail surfaces, reducing drag.
It is targeted to replace Boeing 767-400ER
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
s and Airbus A330-300. It competes with the Airbus A330-900
The Airbus A330neo ("neo" for " New Engine Option") is a wide-body airliner developed by Airbus from the Airbus A330 (now A330''ceo'' – "Current Engine Option"). A new version with modern engines comparable with those developed for the Boeing ...
.
In 2005, the entry into service (EIS) was planned for 2010. The firm configuration was finalized on July 1, 2010. By October 2011, deliveries were scheduled to begin in 2014.
The prototype 787-9 made its maiden flight from Paine Field on September 17, 2013. By November 8, 2013, it had flown 141 hours. A 787-9 was on static display at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show
The Farnborough Airshow, officially the Farnborough International Airshow, is a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors. Since its fir ...
prior to first delivery. On July 8, 2014, Launch customer Air New Zealand took its first 787-9, in a distinctive black livery in a ceremony at Paine Field. Its first commercial flight was from Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
to Sydney on August 9, 2014.
The 787-9 was to begin commercial service with All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
on August 7, 2014. United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. was to start the longest nonstop scheduled 787 service between Los Angeles and Melbourne in October 2014. Air China
Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District, ...
started a 787-9 route between Beijing and Chengdu in May 2016. , 57% of all 787 orders are for the 787-9, with 498 deliveries. A 2014 787-9 leased for $1.05 million per month, and fell to $925,000 per month in 2018.
The 20-ft stretch was achieved by adding a 10-ft (five-frame) extension forward and aft. The 787-8 and 787-9 have 50% commonality
In aviation, fleet commonality is the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics.
Different types of commonality
Commonality policies ...
: the wing, fuselage and systems of the 787-8 had required radical revision to achieve the payload
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
-range goals of the 787-9. Following a major revamp of the original 787-8 wing, the latest configuration for the 787-9 and −10 is the fourth design evolution.[
On March 25, 2018, a ]Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
787-9 completed the first scheduled non-stop flight between Australia and the UK flying seventeen hours from Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
to London Heathrow
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...
. On October 20, 2019, a Qantas 787-9 was flight tested from New York to Sydney with a restricted payload. A team of researchers monitored passengers and crew to investigate wellness and performance on long flights. On March 16, 2020, an Air Tahiti Nui 787-9 achieved the longest commercial flight of 8,485 nmi (15,715 km).
There is also a special livery known as the "Dreams Take Flight" in pink transitioning to purple with streaks of yellow and red at the bottom; both engines highlight fuschia. In the aircraft's body are various icons, including a recognizable heart-handshake icon representing the Employees Community Fund of Boeing. So far, only one livery exists, as the fleet was intended to be sent for Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines Limited (stylised as HONGKONG AIRLINES) is an airline based in Hong Kong, with its headquarters in the Tung Chung district and its main hub at Hong Kong International Airport. It was established in 2006 as a member of t ...
.
787-10
In December 2005, pushed by the interest of Emirates
Emirates may refer to:
* United Arab Emirates, a Middle Eastern country
* Emirate, any territory ruled by an emir
** Gulf emirates, emirates located on the Persian Gulf
** Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, the individual emirates
* The Emirat ...
and Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
, Boeing was studying the possibility of stretching the 787-9 further to seat 290 to 310 passengers. This variant would be similar to the capacity of the Airbus A350-900
The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus.
The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 wi ...
- its main competitor, and the Boeing 777-200ER - which it is meant to replace. Customer discussions were continuing in early 2006. Mike Bair, Boeing's vice president and general manager for the 787 development program at the time, said it was easier to proceed with the 787-10 development after other customers followed Emirates' request.
On May 30, 2013, Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
became the launch customer by stating it would order 30 787-10s (provided Boeing launched the program), to be delivered in 2018–2019. On June 18, 2013, Boeing officially launched the 787-10 at the Paris Air Show, with orders or commitments for 102 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation (30), Singapore Airlines (30), United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. (20), British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
(12), and GE Capital Aviation Services (10). As of August 2020 the aircraft has 211 orders out of which 58 have been delivered, 7 of which are stored.
The variant was envisioned as replacing Boeing 777-200, Airbus A330 and Airbus A340 aircraft. The −10 is to compete against the Airbus A350-900. According to Boeing, it offers better economics than the A350 on shorter routes. Steven Udvar-Hazy
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
said, "If it's identically configured, the −10 has a little bit of an edge on the −900", but smaller than Boeing's estimate of 10 percent. The 787-10 is long, seats 336 passengers in a two-class cabin configuration, and has a range of .
Boeing completed detailed design for the −10 on December 2, 2015. Major assembly began in March 2016. Designers targeted 90% commonality
In aviation, fleet commonality is the economic and logistic benefits of operating a standardized fleet of aircraft that share common parts, training requirements, or other characteristics.
Different types of commonality
Commonality policies ...
between the 787-9 and −10 and achieved 95%; the stretch was reached by adding 10 ft forward of the wing and 8 ft aft, and by strengthening the fuselage for bending loads in the center wingbox. Because of the length and additional tail strike
In aviation, a tailstrike or tail strike occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft strikes the ground or other stationary object. This can happen with a fixed-wing aircraft with tricycle undercarriage, in both takeoff where the aircraft pi ...
protection needed, a semilevered landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
enables rotation over the aft wheels rather than at the bogie center, like the 777-300ER, and the cabin air conditioning
Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...
system has 15% more capacity. The first and third −10 test-platforms incorporate Rolls-Royce's new Trent 1000
The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 is a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by Rolls-Royce plc, one of the two engine options for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, competing with the General Electric GEnx.
It first ran on 14 February 2006 and first flew on ...
TEN engines, while the second is powered by the competing General Electric GEnx
The General Electric GEnx ("General Electric Next-generation") is an advanced dual rotor, axial flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine in production by GE Aviation for the Boeing 787 and 747-8. The GEnx is intended to succeed the CF6 in GE's pro ...
-1B engine.
Major fuselage parts were received for final assembly on November 30, 2016. The 787-10's mid-fuselage sections are too large for transport to Everett, Washington and it is built only in Charleston, South Carolina; it is the first Boeing airliner assembled exclusively there.[ The first −10 was rolled out on February 17, 2017. The variant's first flight took place on March 31, 2017, and lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes.
The first test 787-10 aircraft is engaged in ]flight envelope
In aerodynamics, the flight envelope, service envelope, or performance envelope of an aircraft or spacecraft refers to the capabilities of a design in terms of airspeed and load factor or atmospheric density, often simplified to altitude. The t ...
expansion work and the second joined the program in early May 2017, while the third with a passenger cabin
Cabin may refer to:
Buildings
* Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach
* Log cabin, a house built from logs
* Cottage, a small house
* Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof
* Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as in ...
interior to test the uprated environmental control system and Trent fuel-burn performance was scheduled to join in June. The −10 was scheduled to appear at the 2017 Paris Air Show
The Paris Air Show (french: Salon international de l'aéronautique et de l'espace de Paris-Le Bourget, Salon du Bourget) is a trade fair and air show held in odd years at Paris–Le Bourget Airport in north Paris, France. Organized by the French ...
. The second −10 is being used to prove the GE Aviation engines and the third made its first flight on June 8, 2017, when the flight-test
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
programme was 30% complete. Boeing finished final assembly and painting of the first production 787-10 in October 2017, before its certification. The flight tests are mainly ahead of schedule, with the last stages focused on fuel burn validation and revised flight control software, the phase should be completed in December 2017 and could advance first deliveries earlier than expected in 2018.
At the start of the November 2017 Dubai Air Show
The Dubai Airshow ( ar, معرض دبي للطيران) is a biennial air show held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in c ...
the 787-10 had 171 orders; Emirates committed to 40 787-10s, in two- and three-class cabins for 240 to 330 passengers, to be delivered from 2022 and with conversion rights to the smaller 787-9. These aircraft are adapted for 7–8.5 hour missions, in a 280-seat three–class layout. Emirates' Tim Clark was doubtful it would meet its MTOW for the payload-range
Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
required with initial thrust engines, but with the current turbofans and the −9 early margins gave the −10 "stellar economics". By early 2019, Emirates was considering canceling its 787-10 order, due to engine margins being insufficient for the hot Dubai weather, in favor of the Airbus A350 (which would also replace its last Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
order). The order was no longer mentioned in Emirates' May 2019 annual report, whereas it was listed as "authorised and not contracted" in the previous report. At the 2019 Dubai Air Show, Emirates placed an order for 30 787-9 aircraft rather than the 787-10.
In January 2018, the −10 was certified by the FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
after testing for 900 flight hours. Boeing received its production certificate on February 15. It was first delivered to launch customer Singapore Airlines on March 25, 2018. Fitted with 337 seats, 36 in business and 301 in economy, the −10 began commercial service on April 3, 2018.
The 8.7% fuselage stretch from the −9 to the −10 likely increased empty weight at a lower rate than the 7.4% growth from the −8 to the −9 due to the 10.7% stretch.[ Software changes increased the ]tailplane
A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabiliser, is a small lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplane ...
effectiveness to avoid modifying it. With the same wing but a longer fuselage than the −9, the flutter
Flutter may refer to:
Technology
* Aeroelastic flutter, a rapid self-feeding motion, potentially destructive, that is excited by aerodynamic forces in aircraft and bridges
* Flutter (American company), a gesture recognition technology company acqu ...
margin was reduced for the −10 but to avoid stiffening the wing or adding wingtip counterweights for commonality, software oscillates the elevators in the flaps up vertical mode suppression system (F0VMS), similar to the vertical gust load alleviation system.
To replace Air New Zealand's 777-200 fleet, Boeing wants to increase the 787-10 MTOW by over to with some reinforcements and updated fuel systems.
This would allow more range, such as the trip from Auckland to Los Angeles with no passenger restrictions and some cargo.
The increased performance could trickle down to the 787-9, allowing Auckland to New York flights.
BBJ 787
The 787-8 and −9 are offered as Boeing Business Jet
Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) are versions of Boeing's jet airliners with modifications to serve the private, head of state and corporate jet market. In 1996, Phil Condit, president of The Boeing Company, and Jack Welch, chairman and CEO of Genera ...
s, the first offering 2,415 sq ft (224.4 m2) of floor space and a range of 9,945 nmi (18,418 km), the other 2,775 sq ft (257,8 m2) and 9,485 nmi (17,566 km), both with 25 passengers.
Through June 2018, fifteen have been ordered, twelve delivered and four were in service.
Experimental
Two 787 aircraft have been used in Boeing's ecoDemonstrator
The ecoDemonstrator Program is a Boeing flight test research program, which has used a series of specially modified aircraft to develop and test aviation technologies designed to improve fuel economy and reduce the noise and ecological footprint ...
program which aims to develop technology and techniques to reduce the environmental effects of aviation
Like other emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion, aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates, raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality.
Jet airliners contribute to ...
. The testing involves many partner organisations including engine and systems manufacturers, NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
, academic, research, and regulatory institutions. The program started in 2011 with a different airframe being used each year.
In 2014 the fourth prototype 787-8 was used for tests including use of sustainable aviation fuel, ceramic matrix composite engine exhaust nozzles, and systems for improved air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
(ATC) communications and closer landing approach spacing. In 2020 a new 787-10 took part in the program, including intensive noise reduction trials, and including text-based ATC communications and cabin hygiene and cleansing tests related to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. After removal of the test equipment, the aircraft was delivered to Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
.
Other proposals
Freighter version
Although with no set date, Boeing expects to build a 787 freighter version, possibly in the 2018–2023 timeframe. The freighter version would incorporate a large main deck cargo door, at the rear end of the fuselage and would carry palletized/containerized freight.
787-3
The 787-3 would have carried 290–330 passengers in two-class over range, limited by a MTOW. In April 2008, to keep the −8 on track for delivery, the −9 stretch was postponed from 2010 to at least 2012 and prioritized before the 787-3 and its 43 orders to follow without a firm delivery date.
It kept the −8 length but its 51.7 m wingspan would have fit in ICAO Aerodrome Reference Code D. It was designed to operate on Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978.
The prototype completed its mai ...
-300/Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...
-200 sized regional routes from airports with restricted gate spacing. The wingspan was decreased by using blended winglets
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...
instead of raked wingtip
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft' ...
s.
By January 2010, all orders, from Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
, had been converted to the 787-8. As it was designed specifically for the Japanese market, Boeing would likely scrap it after they switched orders. The −8's longer wingspan makes it more efficient on stages longer than 200 nmi (370 km). In December 2010, Boeing withdrew the short-haul model as it struggled to produce the 787-8 after program delays of three years.
Operators
There are 1,006 Boeing 787 aircraft in airline service , comprising 377 787-8s, 568 787-9s and 61 787-10s, with outstanding orders for further 481 aircraft.[ , the largest operators are ]All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
(77), United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. (63), Japan Airlines (47), and American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
(46).[Thisdell and Seymour ''Flight International'' July 30 – August 5, 2019, p. 42.]
Orders and deliveries
In September 2011, the 787 was first officially delivered to launch customer All Nippon Airways. , the top five identified 787 customers are American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
with 89 orders (37 -8s and 52 -9s) All Nippon Airways with 83 orders (36 -8s, 44 -9s and three −10s), ILFC
The International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) was an aircraft lessor headquartered in the Constellation Place in Century City, Los Angeles, California, US.
It was the world's largest aircraft lessor by value, though ILFC's rival, General El ...
(an aircraft leasing company) with 74 orders (23 -8s and 51 -9s), and United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. and Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways ( ar, شَرِكَة ٱلْاِتِّحَاد لِلطَّيْرَان, sharikat al-ittiḥād li-ṭ-ṭayarān) is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa ...
both with 71 orders (12 -8s, 38 -9s and 21 -10s) (41 -9s, 30 -10s) respectively
On December 13, 2018, the 787th Boeing 787 was delivered to AerCap. By then the 787 had flown 300 million passengers on 1.5 million flights and opened 210 new nonstop routes. The 1000th Dreamliner, a 787-10 for Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
, made its maiden flight on April 3, 2020.
Accidents and incidents
The Boeing 787 has been involved in seven accidents and incidents
An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not directly caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that nobody should be blamed, but the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Most researcher ...
, with no fatalities and zero hull losses.
Operational problems
A Japan Airlines (JAL) 787 experienced a fuel leak on January 8, 2013, and its flight from Boston was canceled. On January 9, United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. reported a problem in one of its six 787s with the wiring near the main batteries. Soon, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
opened a safety probe. Fuel leaks also occurred on January 11, 2013 and on January 13, 2013, at Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...
outside Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. The aircraft reportedly was the same one that had a fuel leak on January 8. Japan's transport ministry also launched an investigation.
On January 11, 2013, the FAA completed a comprehensive review of the 787's critical systems including the design, manufacture, and assembly. The Department of Transportation secretary Ray LaHood
Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the I ...
stated the administration was "looking for the root causes" behind the recent issues. The head of the FAA, Michael Huerta, said that so far nothing found "suggests he 787is not safe."
On July 12, 2013, a fire started on an empty Ethiopian Airlines 787 parked at Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
before it was extinguished by the airport fire and rescue service. No injuries were reported. The fire caused extensive heat damage to the aircraft. The FAA and NTSB sent representatives to assist in the investigation. The initial investigation found no direct link with the aircraft's main batteries. Further investigations indicated that the fire was due to lithium-manganese dioxide batteries powering an emergency locator transmitter (ELT). The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...
(AAIB) issued a special bulletin on July 18, 2013, requesting the US FAA ensure that the locator is removed or disconnected in Boeing 787s and to review the safety of lithium battery-powered ELT systems in other aircraft types. On August 19, 2015, the Associated Press reported that the fire was started by a short circuit caused by crossed wires located under the battery. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch's investigators recommended that "the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, together with similar bodies in Europe and Canada, should conduct a review of equipment powered by lithium metal batteries to ensure they have 'an acceptable level of circuit protection.'"
On July 26, 2013, ANA said it had found wiring damage on two 787 locator beacons. United Airlines also reported that it had found a pinched wire in one 787 locator beacon. On August 14, 2013, the media reported a fire extinguisher fault affecting three ANA airplanes, which caused the fire extinguishers to discharge into the opposite engine from the one requested. The fault was caused by a supplier assembly error.
On September 28, 2013, Norwegian Long Haul
Norwegian Long Haul AS was a division of Norwegian Air Shuttle that operated long-haul flights between Europe, Asia, and North America with an all-Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
Norwegian Long Haul was registered in Dublin, Ireland, and was mana ...
decided to take one of its two 787s in its fleet at the time out of service after the two aircraft broke down on more than six occasions in September. The company planned to lease an Airbus A340 for its long-haul operations while the 787 is returned to Boeing for repair.
On November 22, 2013, Boeing issued an advisory to airlines using General Electric GEnx engines on 787 and 747-8 aircraft to avoid flying near high-level thunderstorms due to an increased risk of icing on the engines. The problem was caused by a buildup of ice crystals just behind the main fan causing a brief loss of thrust on six occasions.
On January 21, 2014, a Norwegian Air Shuttle 787 experienced a fuel leak which caused a 19-hour delay to a flight from Bangkok to Oslo.[Boeing 787 Dreamliners Disrupt Norwegian Air Shuttle's Operations](_blank)
. Businessweek (January 22, 2014). Retrieved March 13, 2014. The leak became known to pilots only after it was pointed out by concerned passengers. It was found later that a faulty valve was responsible. This fuel leak is one of numerous problems experienced by Norwegian Air Shuttle's 787 fleet. Mike Fleming, Boeing's vice president for 787 support and services, subsequently met with executives of Norwegian Air Shuttle and expressed Boeing's commitment to improving the 787's dispatch reliability, "we're not satisfied with where the airplane is today, flying at a fleet average of 98 percent...The 777 today flies at 99.4 percent...and that's the benchmark that the 787 needs to attain."
In March 2016 the FAA accelerated the release of an airworthiness directive in response to reports indicating that in certain weather conditions "erroneous low airspeed may be displayed..." There was concern "abrupt pilot control inputs in this condition could exceed the structural capability of the airplane." Pilots were told not to apply "large, abrupt control column inputs" in the event of an "unrealistic" drop in displayed airspeed.
On April 22, 2016, the FAA issued an airworthiness directive following a January 29 incident in which a General Electric GEnx-1B PIP2 engine suffered damage and non-restartable power loss while flying at an altitude of 20,000 feet. The damage is thought to have been caused by a fan imbalance resulting from fan ice shedding.
On June 18, 2021, a British Airways 787-8, registration G-ZBJB, spontaneously suffered a nose gear
A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...
collapse at London Heathrow Airport while stationary at Stand 583. Photographs circulated after the incident showed the aircraft resting on its nose, with some damage to its nose gear door. No passengers were on board, and the flight was in the process of being loaded with cargo for a cargo-only flight from Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport at the time of the incident. The incident is currently being investigated by the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...
(AAIB).
Lithium-ion battery problems
On January 16, 2013, All Nippon Airways
, also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had mo ...
Flight NH-692, en route from Yamaguchi Ube Airport to Tokyo Haneda
, officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
, had a battery problem warning followed by a burning smell while climbing from Ube about west of Takamatsu, Japan
270px, Takamatsu City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center
270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port
is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...
. The aircraft diverted to Takamatsu and was evacuated via the slides; three passengers received minor injuries during the evacuation. Inspection revealed a battery fire. A similar incident in a parked Japan Airlines 787 at Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...
within the same week led the Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
to ground all 787s. On January 16, 2013, both major Japanese airlines ANA and JAL voluntarily grounded their fleets of 787s after multiple incidents involving different 787s, including emergency landings. At the time, these two carriers operated 24 of the 50 787s delivered. The grounding reportedly cost ANA some 9 billion yen (US$93 million) in lost sales.
On January 16, 2013, the FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive An emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) is an airworthiness directive issued when an unsafe condition exists that requires immediate action by an aircraft owner or operator. EADs are published by a responsible authorities such as FOCA, EASA or F ...
ordering all American-based airlines to ground their Boeing 787s until yet-to-be-determined modifications were made to the electrical system to reduce the risk of the battery overheating or catching fire. This was the first time that the FAA had grounded an airliner type since 1979. Industry experts disagreed on consequences of the grounding: Airbus was confident that Boeing would resolve the issue and that no airlines will switch plane type, while other experts saw the problem as "costly" and "could take upwards of a year".
The FAA also conducted an extensive review of the 787's critical systems. The focus of the review was on the safety of the lithium-ion batteries
A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also se ...
[ made of ]lithium cobalt oxide
Lithium cobalt oxide, sometimes called lithium cobaltateA. L. Emelina, M. A. Bykov, M. L. Kovba, B. M. Senyavin, E. V. Golubina (2011), "Thermochemical properties of lithium cobaltate". ''Russian Journal of Physical Chemistry'', volume 85, issue ...
(LiCoO2). The 787 battery contract was signed in 2005,[ when this was the only type of lithium aerospace battery available, but since then newer and safer types (such as LiFePO4), which provide less reaction energy with virtually no cobalt content to avoid cobalt's thermal runaway characteristic, have become available.][English translation]
/ref> FAA approved a 787 battery in 2007 with nine "special conditions". A battery approved by FAA (through Mobile Power Solutions) was made by Rose Electronics using Kokam cells; the batteries installed in the 787 are made by Yuasa.
On January 20, the NTSB declared that overvoltage was not the cause of the Boston incident, as voltage did not exceed the battery limit of 32 V, and the charging unit passed tests. The battery had signs of short circuit
A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit ...
ing and thermal runaway. Despite this, by January 24, the NTSB had not yet pinpointed the cause of the Boston fire; the FAA would not allow U.S.-based 787s to fly again until the problem was found and corrected. In a press briefing that day, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said that the NTSB had found evidence of failure of multiple safety systems designed to prevent these battery problems, and stated that fire must never happen on an airplane.
The Japan Transport Safety Board
The is Japan's authority for establishing transportation safety. It is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is housed in the in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
The agency formed on Octobe ...
(JTSB) has said on January 23 that the battery in ANA jets in Japan reached a maximum voltage of 31 V (below the 32 V limit like the Boston JAL 787), but had a sudden unexplained voltage drop to near zero.[ All cells had signs of thermal damage prior to runaway. ANA and JAL had replaced several 787 batteries before the mishaps.] , JTSB approved the Yuasa factory quality control
Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements".
This approach places ...
while the NTSB examined the Boston battery for defects. The failure rate, with two major battery thermal runaway events in 100,000 flight hours, was much higher than the rate of one in 10 million flight hours predicted by Boeing.
The only American airline that operated the Dreamliner at the time was United Airlines, which had six. Chile's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) grounded LAN Airlines' three 787s. The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) directed Air India to ground its six Dreamliners. The Japanese Transport Ministry made the ANA and JAL groundings official and indefinite following the FAA announcement. The European Aviation Safety Agency
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitorin ...
also followed the FAA's advice and grounded the only two European 787s operated by LOT Polish Airlines
LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of the world's oldest airlines in operation. Wit ...
. Qatar Airways grounded their five Dreamliners. Ethiopian Airlines was the final operator to temporarily ground its four Dreamliners.[ By January 17, 2013, all 50 of the aircraft delivered to date had been grounded.] On January 18, Boeing halted 787 deliveries until the battery problem was resolved.
On February 7, 2013, the FAA gave approval for Boeing to conduct 787 test flights to gather additional data. In February 2013, FAA oversight of the 787's 2007 safety approval and certification was under scrutiny. On March 7, 2013, the NTSB released an interim factual report about the Boston battery fire on January 7, 2013. The investigation stated that "heavy smoke and fire coming from the front of the APU
APU or Apu may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising:
** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...
battery case." Firefighters "tried fire extinguishing, but smoke and flame (flame size about 3 inches) did not stop".
Boeing completed its final tests on a revised battery design on April 5, 2013. The FAA approved Boeing's revised battery design with three additional, overlapping protection methods on April 19, 2013. The FAA published a directive on April 25 to provide instructions for retrofitting battery hardware before the 787s could return to flight.[ The repairs were expected to be completed in weeks.] Following the FAA approval in the U.S. effective April 26, Japan approved resumption of Boeing 787 flights in the country on April 26, 2013. On April 27, 2013, Ethiopian Airlines took a 787 on the model's first commercial flight after battery system modifications.
On January 14, 2014, a battery in a JAL 787 emitted smoke from the battery's protection exhaust while the aircraft was undergoing pre-flight maintenance at Tokyo Narita Airport
Narita International Airport ( ja, wikt:成田国際空港, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other ...
. The battery partially melted in the incident; one of its eight lithium
Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid el ...
-ion cells had its relief port vent and fluid sprayed inside the battery's container. It was later reported that the battery may have reached a temperature as high as , and that Boeing did not understand the root cause of the failure.
The NTSB has criticized FAA, Boeing, and battery manufacturers for the faults in a 2014 report.[Knudson, Peter.]
NTSB Recommends Process Improvements for Certifying Lithium-ion Batteries as it Concludes its Investigation of the 787 Boston Battery Fire Incident
'' NTSB'', December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2014. It also criticized the GE-made flight data and cockpit voice recorder in the same report. The enclosure
Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...
Boeing added is heavier, negating the lighter battery potential.
Aircraft on display
All three prototype 787-8s are preserved in museums.
* N787BA (ZA001) – Chubu Centrair Airport
is an international airport on an artificial island in Ise Bay, Tokoname City in Aichi Prefecture, south of Nagoya in central Japan.
Centrair is classified as a first class airport and is the main international gateway for the Chubu ("ce ...
in Nagoya, Japan—first prototype aircraft
* N787EX (ZA002) – Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
, United States—second prototype aircraft
* N787BX (ZA003) – Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...
, United States—third prototype aircraft
Specifications
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
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* Steep climb after takeoff.
* Construction time-lapse.
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{{Authority control
787
Twinjets
Low-wing aircraft
2000s United States airliners
Aircraft first flown in 2009