Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Model 787 is Boeing's newest aircraft type. It is a mid-size widebody aircraft for medium to long ranges, intended as the successor of the Boeing 767 and to compete with the Airbus A330 and the future Airbus A350.

In March 2001 Boeing presented the Sonic Cruiser, a very futuristic looking widebody airliner with canard-wings, a delta wing, rear-mounted engines and two horizontal fins. The Sonic Cruiser was intended to fly at speeds close to Mach 1, 15 to 20 per cent faster than current jetliners do. The Sonic Cruiser offered accommodation to 200 to 250 passengers and could fly 6,000 to 9,000 nm at an altitude of around 45,000 ft. Boeing had worked on the design since 1999.

After the first sensation Boeing and the airlines soon became less enthusiastic. There were uncertainties about the cost of the new technologies involved and about the relatively high fuel burn of flying at high speed compared to what a new conventional airliner would need. After the terrorist assaults of September 11 2001 most airlines were in a bad financial shape. In December 2002 Boeing shelved the concept and focused its attention towards a conventional-looking 250-seater, the 7E7. The E stood for 'Efficient' and Boeing's intention was to build a very fuel-efficient, silent and clean aircraft, with maximum use of new technology. The aircraft would become a replacement for the 767. Early 2005 the 7E7 was redesignated Boeing 787 and named 'Dreamliner'.

50 per cent composites

The Boeing 787 is an all-new airplane and Boeing has incorporated lots of new technology in the design. The Rolls-Royce and General Electric turbofans will be much more fuel efficient than the engines on earlier widebody aircraft. About 50 per cent of the primary structure, including the fuselage and wing, will be made of composite materials, like carbon fibre reinforced plastics. This makes it possible to manufacture one-piece fuselage sections, which eliminate 1,500 aluminum sheets and 40,000 - 50,000 fasteners. For comparison: the Boeing 777 incorporates 12 per cent composites in the primary structure.

The first one-piece composite 787 nose section - Image: Boeing

Another feature are 'health-monitoring systems', that will monitor the technical condition of the airplane and report maintenance information to computer systems on the ground. This must help to reduce maintenance costs 30 per cent compared to current airliners. Passengers will enjoy larger windows in the 787 than usual on today's airliners.

Three versions

Boeing initially wants to build the Dreamliner in three versions. The 787-8 will carry 210 to 250 passengers over 14,800 to 15,700 km (8,000 to 8,500 nm), while the 787-9 will carry 250 to 290 passengers on routes of 15,900 to 16,300 km (8,600 to 8,800 nm). A third variant is the 787-3 with accommodation for 290 to 330 passengers and optimized for shorter flights of 5,550 to 6,500 km (3,000 to 3,500 nm).

Parts of the Boeing 787 are constructed by suppliers at sites far from Seattle. To fly large parts of the aircraft to the final assembly line, including fuselage sections and wings, Boeing developed a special version of the Boeing 747, the 747-400LCF (Large Cargo Freighter), also named 'Dreamlifter'.

The 787 has a very good sales start. Boeing received more orders for the type than for any of its earlier airliners in an early state of the programme. At the moment of the planned roll-out (on 07-08-2007) the orderbook comprises orders for more than 600 aircraft. Among the first buyers of the Dreamliner are: All Nippon Airways, Air New Zealand, Blue Panorama (Italy), First Choice Airlines (UK), Japan Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Air Canada, Korean Air, a combination of Chinese airlines and Continental Airlines.