New Boeing 787
 

I'm looking forward to hearing from anyone who has the pleasure of riding in this jet!

It's still going to be awhile until it's in commercial use.

The first test flight will take place later this summer. The first eight airframes will be used for testing; the ninth, expected out next May, goes to All Nippon Airways.

I went to the web site to check it out. There are a bunch of pictures, but I think I only saw 1 that showed coach seats, so I couldn't get a good idea of what they will be like.

I think Boeing is a great company and all, BUT I worry about this new fuselage material.
I just want it to be up and flying for a while... to work out the kinks.
Planes (in general) freak me out if I think about it too much!
:O

Let us wait until the first commercial flight has been completed. Then we can start talking about it.

I remember the Airbus A 380 and all the hoopla about its megasize. Would dit revolutionize air travel? Could airports handle it?

Now the questions are more like: Where is it? Anywhere onr anywhere near a commercial flight? I don't think so.

As the old saying goes about slips twixt cup and lip. Or as that noted American philosopher said, "It ain't over til its over." As for the testing and the development of both aircraft, well it ain't over.

I will believe it when I see it flying on a commercial schedule.

< "It ain't over til its over." >

Ah, Yogi. We miss you. http://burlingtonbaseball.com/Yogisms.htm ((*))

bob_brown, general aviation has been flying composite/carbon fiber planes for years. Diamond Aircraft has been building composite aircraft in Ontario for at least ten years, and Lancair's carbon fiber planes have been around longer than that. Thinking that technology trickles down from the airlines to general aviation has it backward. Many airline pilots who own their own GA aircraft will tell you that they have better avionics in their GA airplanes than that available on their airline jets. The airlines were wedded to inertial navigation systems long after general aviation began using GPS.

Airbus will deliver the first A380 to Singapore Airlines later this year.

For the 787, as Bobmrg says, first delivery is scheduled for ANA next May, ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

For US airlines, Northwest will get is first 787 in late 2008, and Continental in 2009.

Composite materials have been used for major parts in current airliners, like the vertical stabilizer (the tail).

Seating configurations and the seats themselves are ordered by the airline. Most are specifying 3-3-3 across, same as the larger 777. What will benefit the passenger, regardless of the airline's configuration are:

- Larger windows
- Higher humidity
- Higher air pressure (lower equivalent altitude)

TxTravelPro--I'm with you. I am sure that this thing is state of the art and just great but I'll be happy to wait a couple years after it goes into service before feeling comfortable on one.

The B2 bomber, F17 Stealth fighter (goes back quite a few years), and F22 Raptor are all made of composites.

I have no problems with the material used to build the wings and fuselage.
The fact remains that the 787 aircraft are still being tested, and no commercial flight has been flown to date. Until it has, we don't know the seating configurations or anything else about how it will transfer comfort and well-being to the passenger.

There are no long term data on how the various hydraulics systems will work nor is there a long track record on anything else with regard to the steering sytem or other aspects of the aircraft's avionics.

The Airbus 380 is well behind the original predicted schedule and its functionality, or lack thereof, has been the subject of considerable dialogue within the Airbus Corporation. True the a prototype model flew many miles and has received evacuation certification, but the last I heard the A380 had not yet achieved production certification.

It has nothing to do with the composite material used to make the airframe.
Sure that stuff has been tested for years, but this is a new packaging and there is a lot else with a new aircraft that needs more testing refinement than all the publicity that precedes the initial roll out tells us.

Again, lets talk about it after it flies a commercial route and passenger can see what it is they are getting. I am sure it will happen, the question is when.
If the Dreamliner meets its production timetable, then more power to Boeing.

I recall the hoopla that Delta put out about the B777. I can safely say that coach class seating in that avionic marvel is the worst I ever exprienced.

I don't care how fuel efficient it is, how fast it flies, how far it will go on a tank of gas, or what the payload turns out to be, if the seating is awful the aircraft from my point of view is no bargain. I am not looking for a cheap ticket to misery a la the B777 as configured by Delta and Air france.