The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized, wide body, twin engined jet airliner currently under development by Boeing's Commercial Airplanes unit and scheduled to enter service in May 2008. It will carry between 210 and 330 passengers depending on variant and seating configuration. Boeing has stated that it will be more fuel-efficient than comparable earlier Boeing airliners. It will also be the first major airliner to use composite material for most of its construction.
Prior to January 28, 2005, the 787 was known by the developmental designator 7E7. The early renderings released depicted a radical design with highly curved surfaces. On April 26, 2005, one year to the day after the launch of the program, the final look of the external 787 design was frozen with a less rakish nose and a more conventional tail. Boeing has started the final assembly of its Boeing 787 and has scheduled a rollout on July 8, 2007 and the first test flights in September 2007.
The replacement for the Sonic Cruiser project was dubbed the 7E7 (with a development code name of Y2.) The "E" was said to stand for various things, depending upon the audience. To some, it stood for "efficiency", to others it stood for "environmentally friendly", etc. In the end, Boeing claimed it merely stood for "Eight", after the aircraft was eventually rechristened "787".
The 787 essentially uses the technology proposed for the Sonic Cruiser in a more conventional airframe configuration (see Features). Boeing claims that the 787 will be up to 20% more fuel-efficient than current comparable aircraft. Roughly one-third of this efficiency improvement will come from the engines; another third from aerodynamic improvements and the increased use of lighter weight composite materials; and the final third from advanced systems. The most notable system advancement contributing to efficiency is a "more electric architecture" which replaces bleed air and hydraulic power with electrically powered compressors and pumps. Technology from the Sonic Cruiser and 787 will be used as part of Boeing's project to replace its entire airliner product line, an endeavor called the Yellowstone Project (of which the 787 is the first stage).
Boeing selected two engine types, the General Electric GEnx and Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 to power the 787, both placed in pods. Significantly, this leaves Pratt & Whitney, which normally has an entrant in this market space, unable to offer one of its own engines to 787 customers. According to UTC CEO George David, Pratt & Whitney "couldn't make the business case work for that engine." Also, according to industry sources, Boeing may have wished to rely on evolved versions of existing engines rather than the higher-risk option of an all new engine from Pratt & Whitney. For the first time in commercial aviation, both engine types will have a standard interface with the aircraft, allowing any 787 to be fitted with either a GE or Rolls-Royce engine at any time. Engine interchangeability makes the 787 a more flexible asset to airlines, allowing them to change from one manufacturer's engine to the other's in light of any future engine developments which conform more closely to their operating profile. The engine market for the 787 is estimated at US$40 billion over the next 25 years. The launch engine for all 3 current 787 variants is the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000.
The launch of a new airliner can be expected to draw scathing comments from competitors, Boeing's doubt over the Airbus A380 and Airbus' mocking of the Sonic Cruiser being recent examples. The 787 is no exception, as Airbus' John Leahy has made attempts at refuting all of Boeing's claims, openly criticizing the large-scale use of composites in the 787's fuselage as being "rushed and ridiculous", although Boeing built and tested the first composite section while examining the Sonic Cruiser concept nearly five years ago, making the 787 a significantly refined product. Airbus has offered the competing A350 using derivatives of the turbofans developed for the 787. This new jet will make less widespread use of composites with Airbus preferring aluminum-lithium alloys for the fuselage.
Boeing has stated it is likely to develop a stretched version, "787-10", with seating capacity between 290 - 310. This proposed model is intended to compete with the planned Airbus A350-900. The 787-10 would supersede the 777-200ER in Boeing’s current lineup, and could also compete against the Airbus A330-300 and A340-300. Emirates Airlines and Qantas have shown interest in such variant which would enter service in 2013, a year later than initially publicly discussed. This variant has not yet been officially launched by Boeing, but Mike Bair, head of the 787 Program, has stated that "It's not a matter of if, but when we are going to do it... The 787-10 will be a stretched version of the 787-9 and sacrifice some range to add extra seat and cargo capacity."
On March 19, 2007, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Scott Carson and 787 program manager Mike Bair told reporters and investors that Boeing intends to roll out the first 787 on July 8, 2007, which matches the aircraft's designation when using US-style month-day-year format. Boeing will host at Qwest Field on Sunday, July 8, 2007 at 3:00 pm PDT a live simulcast on the stadium screens for up to 50,000 employees and retirees as the first 787 Dreamliner rolls out in Everett. Boeing will fly in around 800 representatives of airline customers, including the CEOs of all 45 airlines that have ordered the Dreamliner to attend the rollout. The general public can view the rollout via satellite in nine different languages on DirecTV (channel 576), on DishNetwork(channel 9601) and six other service providers, or over the Internet at http://www.boeing.com and http://www.newairplane.com. Wikipedia
