Boeing 787 first flight

[Dr Mordrid]

She lifted her nose during taxi tests 12/12/2009 and has FAA clearance for first flight 12/15/2009.

Nose Up video (YouTube)

Decent close up (YouTube)

Cockpit

[MultimediaMan]

On the nose up taxi: check out the thrust reversers on the engines...the whole aft section of the engine nacelle moves back and the actuates the thrust reverser - Rolls Royce has been working on this for over a decade, and they are the first to make it work on such a large engine. This is the most efficient (and quietest) thrust reverser in the world. The Logistics problems of getting this plane into production aside, this plane looks to be a world beater in all areas.

[degrub]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BHr1ckycU&annotation_id=annotation_308601&feature=iv

First flight

[Dr Mordrid]

Sweet

[paulw]

One good thing today about being 3 hours behind PST is I got to watch it on TV over breakfast.. Was it my imagination or did this thing seem very quiet??

[Dr Mordrid]

It's not your imagination.

Boeing used some of the "Quiet Technology Demonstrator 2" tech (developed by Boeing, Goodrich, NASA and GE) that quiets the engines significantly. These range from sound absorbing materials used in the inlet to those saw-toothed exhaust ducts you see on the close ups. The saw-tooth exhaust duct covers makes the exhaust mix smoother with the air, quieting things down a lot. Engine can be either the General Electric GEnx or Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 that was used in the maiden flight.

Some of these techs are related to those used on stealth aircraft to make it hard for ground observers to hear them until it's too late. Anyone who has seen an F-117 or B-2 flyby knows what I'm talking about; you see them long before you hear them even though they're subsonic.

[Fat Tone]

Wouldn't that saw-tooth be a cheap retro-fit to many existing engines?

[MultimediaMan]

Wouldn't that saw-tooth be a cheap retro-fit to many existing engines?

Yes and no... the Trent and GEnx engines, while about the same size and weight as their older bretheren (the Trent and GEnx engines have larger intakes to allow them to reduce bypass fan speed and by extension, noise: the fan diameter is about 110" on these engines) have different shackle points (the thrust reversers are radically different), and the engine controllers are completely different. The Balance points of the engines are different as compared to older models (a major consideration).

Still, the GEnx (GEnx-2B67) is going on to the Boeing 747-8 (due for flight in 2011) the primary difference being the smaller intake fan (105") and the inclusion of the bleed air system (the original engine was designed to provide electric power instead of bleed air to some parts of the aircraft). Still, it is a good fit for the 747, and will further extend the lifespan of the 747 while reducing costs and increasing fuel efficiency. The 747-8's GEnx engines require new mounting pylons as well as a host of other changes.

[paulw]

I hope that Boeing have learned from this 2 year delay that farming work out to low labor rate countries is a higher cost in the long run rather than making them in the USA.

[MultimediaMan]

Indeed... there is a HUGE message from Boeing building a 787 line in SC: one which runs without Unions.

It isn't so much labor but infrastructure: Business continuity is a serious concern on a project this large... ideally, they want at least two parts suppliers per component. That way if something goes wrong with one supplier, the whole line doesn't stop.