Concept planes have
been what most of my blogs have been about so far, but I want to show you an
example of a concept plane that has been fully developed and is now beginning
to be mass produced. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-size commercial air
plane with the range of larger commercial jet, while still using about 20
percent less fuel than other jets its same size. The 787 project is unlike any
other Boeing jet because it is one of the company’s first projects to allow for
so much help by international aerospace companies in its design and building.
The 787 comes in two different models: the eight and nine.
The two models vary in passenger capacity and range. The 787-8 can hold between
210 and 250 passengers from 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles and the 787-9 can
carry between 250 and 290 passengers 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles. This
aircraft does all of this while still maintaining about the same average speed
of today’s other wide bodies and has additional cargo capacity. The key to most
of all of these improvements is the fact this new aircraft has its primary
structure and other various parts made up of over 50 percent composite
materials. Also, the engines that you can have put on are from General Electric
and Rolls-Royce; these new engines are responsible for the new improved fuel
efficiency standards the 787 sets.
Finally, the jet is topped off with multiple state of the
art monitoring systems that allow it to self-monitor potential problems. This
system is used to find any potential problems and relay them to computers back
on ground that can inform maintenance crews of any repairs that need to be
performed on the 787. Boeing has put a lot of money and time in the 787
manufacturing; it shows in their reports that the new jet has reduced 1,500
sheets of aluminum and between 40,000 to 50,000 fasteners by producing a
one-piece fuselage.
"787 Dreamliner." Boeing: Commercial Airplanes. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/background.html>.
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