The Boeing 787 wide-body long - range aircraft belongs to a new generation of equipment. It was built to replace the already obsolete model 767.
The main difference between the Boeing 787 and its predecessor is its design. For the first time in the history of aircraft manufacturing, fifty percent of composite lightweight materials have been used in this model.
History
The fall in sales of long-haul airliners such as 747-400 and 767 caused the embark on a program to create a new model of the aircraft. This happened in the nineties of the last century. Boeing has accepted two new models. One of them was a more fuel-efficient version of the 747-400. This is a 747X model. The second version of the project involved the development of an aircraft that would have consumed no more fuel than the Boeing 767, but at the same time was able to reach speeds of up to 0.98 M. However, the airlines met these models coolly.
In early 2003, Boeing introduced the design of a new twin-engine aircraft 7E7. The model was developed using Sonic Cruiser technology. The company announced that this ship belongs to the new Yellowstone family.
New program
Yellowstone is a Boeing project, which involves replacing the existing range of civilian aircraft with a series of high-tech type. The design of the liner used lightweight composite materials. Instead of hydraulic, electrical systems are used. These models are equipped with turbojet economical engines.
The Yellowstone program consists of three sections. The first of them is Y1. It involves the replacement of aircraft with a capacity of 100-200 passengers. Project Y2 aims to introduce new models of long-haul liners. To date, this program is fully completed. Her brainchild was a Boeing 787.
The company is also working on the Y3 project. Models are being developed to replace the ultra-long-range 747 and 777 aircraft, with a passenger capacity of 300-600 people.
Dreamliner
In 2003, Boeing held a competition for the best name of the 787 model. Almost half a million people chose the Dreamliner option. Already in April 2004, a start customer was found on the Boeing 787. It became the carrier company All Nippon Airways. She ordered fifty aircraft at once, which were supposed to be delivered by the end of 2008.
Boeing 787 (see photo below) is an innovative product in the field of aircraft construction. For the first time in its design, aluminum was replaced with lightweight composite materials. This solution allowed to significantly reduce the weight of the liner, and therefore, to make it economically advantageous.
Boeing developed the Boeing 787, the technical specifications of which allow the liner to consume twenty percent less fuel than the 767, and be forty percent more efficient. This became possible after the installation of modern engines and the adoption of modern aerodynamic solutions in combination with advanced schemes. And already at the end of 2004, 237 airliners of the 787th model were ordered from Boeing. In 2012, it agreed to supply four Boeing 787 Transaero aircraft.
Production
In December 2003, Boeing management decided that the Boeing 787 would be assembled in the state of Everett, Washington , at the factory that was built in the late sixties to produce the 747th model.
However, this time a slightly different solution was applied. The company did not begin to assemble aircraft from scratch. Part of the work was given to subcontractors. This has significantly reduced production time. The final assembly should, according to the company’s calculations, be carried out in three to four days. Moreover, in this process it is necessary to involve from eight hundred to one thousand two hundred people. So, Japanese subcontractors produce wings, Italian ones produce horizontal stabilizer, French produce wiring, Indian develop software, etc. Delivers parts to the factory cargo model 747 liner.
Boeing 787 aircraft were created with the participation of Japan. Companies from this country have worked to create almost thirty-five units of the liner. The Japanese government supported the project in an amount equal to two million dollars. The assembly of the first Boeing 787 was launched in May 2007.
Test
The Boeing 787 took off for the first time on December 15, 2009. The flight lasted about three hours. After that, the company developed a nine-month test schedule. Six aircraft took part in flight testing. Four of them were powered by Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines, and two were GE GEnx-1B64. In March 2007, it successfully passed the wing load test, which was increased by one hundred and fifty percent by three seconds compared to the standard one. Subsequently, the liner passed temperature tests and was somewhat modified due to identified shortcomings. The Boeing 787 certification was issued on August 13, 2011 by the US Federal Aviation Administration. 10/26/2011, the liner made the first commercial flight.
Constructive decisions
Fifty percent of all the elements that make up the Boeing 787 fuselage are made up of carbon fiber materials . That is why this aircraft is much lighter and stronger than those airliners, in the production of which aluminum is used. Composite materials are fifty percent carbon fiber, twenty are aluminum, fifteen are titanium, ten are steel, and five percent are other components.
When assembling the Boeing 787, the ultra-efficient and low-noise engines General Electric GEnx-1B and Rolls Royce Trent 1000 are used. In the first of them, the turbine blades and the casing are made only of composite materials. That is why the engine is capable of creating a working draft at a lower temperature regime. As a result, there is a reduction in hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere.
The Boeing 787 has developed a longer wing length than other models. In addition, the anti-icing equipment, flap mechanism and other systems are mounted as a single unit. This makes it easier to maintain and reduce the risk of damage.
The company has developed three modifications of the Boeing 787. These are 3, 8, 9 and 10 models. Each of them has some differences in specific technical parameters. Everyone has the same fuselage diameter (5.77 m), altitude (16.9 m), maximum flight altitude (13100 m) and the highest speed (950 km / h).
Cockpit
For ease of control, the aircraft is equipped with multifunction displays. They are in the cockpit. Management is carried out using an electrical system. It includes two screens that display the approach, taxiing scheme, as well as a map of the area. Transparent indicators are installed in front of the windshield of the cab. They allow you to control the data of devices, without blocking the visibility.
The aircraft is equipped with an automatic diagnostic system. It sends real-time data to the ground repair service. In this case, a broadband radio channel is used. This system is designed to predict the occurrence of certain problems in aircraft mechanisms, which reduces the time for repair and diagnostics.
Passenger compartment
The capacity of the Boeing 787 depends on its configuration. From 234 to 296 passengers can board a plane.
The cabin developed in the Boeing 787 is very convenient for passengers. The usual plastic curtains are replaced here with electrochromic dimming in the smart glass of the porthole. Amazing features different interior lighting. Its intensity is adjusted by the crew depending on the phase of the flight.
In the 787th model, the size of the toilets is increased. Now they can be used by people in wheelchairs. The upper luggage racks have more spaciousness in the cabin. On each of them you can put four suitcases. The pressure in the cabin is maintained at a level corresponding to a height of one thousand eight hundred meters. In an ordinary aircraft made of aluminum, it corresponds to 2400 m. Such comfortable conditions are created thanks to the elastic composite liner body.
Comfortable conditions for passengers in the turbulence zone are maintained by a smooth flight system, which is able to suppress aircraft vertical vibrations. In a new way, a boost system is organized in the Boeing 787. Its installation allowed to supply air to the cabin directly from the environment, and not from engines, as it was in previous models.