Just watched the new Boeing 787 take flight for the first time. It’s on all the computers here at work Pretty amazing, just 2 years late.
I’m beginning to hear rumors that they were so discombobulated trying to get it off the ground that they forgot to design any method of landing. True story.
Congrats to Boeing! It’s about time!
I’d be a little nervous flying on a carbon-fiber airplane. I’ve watched enough F1 races to know that when carbon-fiber parts break, they shatter instead of buckling. They had to add steel cables to hold the wheels on when the carbon-fiber suspensions break.
They just landed safely at Boeing Field in Seattle. Got to watch it fly by right outside my window. Remarkably thrilling for something that probably ought to be mundane.
I wonder what they going to call their planes after the 797?
7A7, 7B7, 7C7, etc.
As fond as I am of Boeing planes, it might be nice if some of them looked a little… different? I mean, the 787 looks very much like the 767 and 777, albeit with a greater wingspan.
And- I must stress this is purely personal preference- but I really prefer my long-haul passenger aircraft to have more than two engines.
Those engines are huge.
Today I volunteered to go to Boeing Field tomorrow to work a couple of jobs that travelled from the 737 factory in Renton. This will be my first chance to see the 787 close up. I still remember the day the first 777 took flight, that is the only time in my 25 years at Boeing I worked on a program from airplane number 1.
This was intentional, saves costs when it comes to engineering. Except for the 747 and 787, every Boeing passenger airplane has used the same basic flight deck. Airbus has done the same, except for the A380, all their aircraft use the same structure from the belt line up. In my opinion, the 787 doesn’t look much like other Boeing planes.
The engines are actually the same size as the engines used on the 767. They look larger because wings of the 787 have a smaller cross section than other airplanes that size. I have been working on the 737 line the last 12 years so they will look big to me too. I’ll be able to compare them to the 747 and 777 engines tomorrow when I finally get a close up look at the airplane.
Good stuff. A pity they had all those problems, lets hope it’s smooth flying through the test program. The boys and girls at Jetstar and Qantas in Australia are no doubt anxiously waiting for their new steed to arrive.
And after the 7Z7?
Hey, Eckhart, think about the future!
I like the electric windows that dim with a switch. I’ve never been a fan of composite skins but I’m sure they’ve accounted for lightening strikes. Makes me wonder how they incorporate static wicks into the body of the plane. Also wonder if there are any plans for a heavy lift version with a 3rd main gear.
Let’s just not let the 787 be another “Titanic”, is all I ask.
Please, okay?
Quasi
It’s not big enough Quasi, the A380 on the other hand…
7Γ7, 7Δ7, 7Θ7, etc. Of course they’ll need to skip the letters that look like Latin letters. Then there’s Cyrillic, Hebrew, Arabic, and a whole bunch of others.
I think the 787 resembles a large bird. It has more style than any of the other 7x7s.
Any of them look better than an Airbus.
Great video of the take-off from Seattle Times:
A very pretty plane, that is for sure. Also, it’s amazing how close those T-38’s are to the 787 when it is taking off (or how close they look to be).
“If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going.”
How weird am I? I’m not an aviation buff, though at one time I did want to be a flight attendant (stewardess, back then) and I love to fly, otherwise, I don’t pay much attention, but I actually teared up when the thing took off! Part of it was the sheer love of our technological age, part of it was hearing the reactions from the crowd, and part of it was a “COOL!” factor.
Thanks for that link. My favorite part comes around 5:20, when they show the plane from behind. The way the wings gently curve upwards, so beautiful!