Boing 787 “Dreamliner” maiden flight delayed again

by Scott Carmichael on

Poor Boeing. They are right in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in their history, and their newest plane is creating a bit of a disaster of its own.

The 787 Dreamliner was scheduled to take its first flight early last year, but they realized back then that it could be moved to September 2008. We are now in the Summer of 2009 and Boeing is on their sixth delay.

The delay comes just one week after a horrible Paris Air Show, which is traditionally where Boeing announces a boatload of orders, but this year Airbus beat them, though neither manufacturer had that much good news to report. Airbus reported 112 aircraft sales, Boeing only sold 2.

The bad news is having a horrible effect on the share price of Boeing, which is down over 7% this morning (at the time of writing).

Still, fingers crossed that they sort out the problems with the plane. It really is a beauty, but it won’t do them (or their customers) any good if it just sits on the runway. By now I am sure Boeing will be regretting laughing at the problems Airbus encountered in building the massive A380 double-decker plane.

787 Dreamliner: Clearing the Air

by Iva Skoch on

Following up on yesterday’s launch of the new Boeing plane (coming to airlines next year): the interior air should be substantially better than in current planes.

Here’s the thing: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made from three carbon-plastic composite “tubes” that are “snapped” together. These materials have a higher strength than aluminum (the current airplane material of choice) and can withstand higher pressures and higher humidity.

This means that the planes can be pressurized more and can contain air that is more humid than older planes. Essentially, planes are now pressurized at the equivalent of 8,000 feet of elevation when you’re flying at 35,000+ feet, so that there’s not too much strain put on the airframe. Likewise, the humidity inside is kept pretty low because water vapor can cause metal fatigue.

The new plane can be pressurized to about 6,000 feet equivalent, and can have much higher air humidity internally and operate just fine. This could make us much, much more comfortable in the air.

Not only that, but the materials can allow bigger windows!

Photos: First 787 Has Left The Building

by Justin Glow on

A sharpshooter over at Airliners.net got some spy shots of the new Boeing 787 as it made its first appearance outside of the hanger. I don’t know enough about airplanes to say this looks much different than, say, a 777, but I’m sure some of you out there will be interested! I know The Cranky Flier was, which is where I found the lead. “It almost looks like the love-child of a 777 and a 757,” he said. Whatever you say, CF. Thanks!

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