787 first delivery, Day 2

Here’s more on Boeing’s first delivery of the 787 to launch customer All Nippon Airways.

The first picture illustrates the fancy, new windows in the 787. The manual shade is eliminated in the 787 and the window is dimmed by the passenger or the flight attendant. This photo, taken aboard an ANA 787 Sunday on the sunny ramp at Paine Field, is a dramatic representation of this feature. Photo by yours truly.

One of the more creative things coming out of Boeing’s Corp Com department belongs to a personal effort by Denise Long. She (herself, not in a salon) painted her fingernails in Dreamliner colors. Photo credit to Steve Wilhelm of the Puget Sound Business Journal. The photo doesn’t do her work justice. There are thin, gold pinstripes separating the colors and Steve’s iPod camera focused on the wrong background. But you get the gist.

United Airlines’ first 787, line #45, is followed by the first airplane for Ethiopian Airlines. Photo by Leeham News.

This photo really doesn’t give you the full effect of the size of the RR Trent 1000 engine on the 787. It looks disproportionately large in person. The engines are so powerful that the 787 can exceed recommended cruising speed in level flight at 23,000 feet. The 737-200 would hit this only in a 20 degree dive, said test pilot Mike Carriker. Photo by Leeham News.

A shot of ANA’s second 787, airplane #24. Photo by Leeham News.

 

 

13 Comments on “787 first delivery, Day 2

  1. The 787, a very beautiful, fuel-efficient and passenger friendly airplane, which
    will finally grace the skies around the world and an airplane we, all Boeing
    engineers who designed it, the employees who built it, as well as the many
    retirees like myself, are proud to finally see this beauty go into service!

    Let’s hope that the airplane will perform well, so that we can all be proud of
    another major achievement and contribution to commercial aviation from the
    Boeing Co., irrespective of the financial burden the a/p will be to the Co. for
    many years to come.

    • @Rudy Hillinga – I’m agreeing fullheartedly.
      And lets fervently hope the 787 Dreamliner will earn money some day, hopefully long before Boeing will be churning out the 1,500th unit (as ominously prognosticated by Steven Udvar-Házy).

  2. Good to see a delivery finally, given the not inconsiderable embarressment with its protracted jestation, one would have thought Boeing would have arranged a much more low key circus.

    Setting aside the project woes it’s a genuine step forward for civil aviation.

    • As a guest at the “circus”, I found it to be exceptionally low-key. What did you think was excessive about the ceremony? I was actually surprised there was not a big production with all the hype we’ve come to expect (e.g. musicians, special lighting, crowd warm-up acts, dramatic curtains for suspense, etc at the 747-8i rollout). There were just a few speeches and a ceremonial handing over of the “key” to ANA’s CEO. Overall, I thought it was pretty tastefully done, even if very wet.

      I saw Scott there with the media block – Scott, Other than the obvious “handling” you all were receiving from the Boeing communications people (looked a bit like herding cats), did you find this to be less fanfare than we’ve become accustomed to at Boeing events?

      • I was not at the event Monday (just Sunday); I stayed dry and warm and was with KIRO TV in the studio. I have made it a point of not going to the grand unveilings because I can see better, hear better (and stay dry) on the web or studio coverage. This was true for first flight on that miserable December day, when I was in KIRO’s studio giving commentary.

        As for was this bigger, the same or less: less. Didn’t even have a rock star lined up as with 747-8. Fortunately U-Turn Al wasn’t involved.

        Scott

      • I imagine it depends on what criteria you consider appropriate for a much maligned product introduction, with another recent project launch being brought too an abrupt halt it’s quite reasonable to say that under the circumstances & by most cultural standards this launch was still rather OTT

        It’s unfortunate & I’m deeply sorry that on the day the elements were also against you.

  3. leehamnet :
    I was not at the event Monday (just Sunday);
    Scott

    Indeed. It was when they were herding you to the buses on Sunday when I spotted you. You made an excellent call avoiding the rain out there today!

  4. Phil :
    by most cultural standards this launch was still rather OTT

    OK, now I believe you haven’t even seen video of the event.

    The speeches by Boeing all had a conciliatory tone. Each speaker referenced the delays and the difficulty of bringing the 787 to this day, and followed it with a sincere thanks to ANA for their patience and loyalty to Boeing throughout some very bleak times.

    I’m not sure what “culture” you are from, but to say that “by most cultural standards this launch was still rather over the top”, is simply laughable. It was a 40 minute event with just about zero fanfare, and comments by Boeing leaders, which frankly were a bit self-effacing. Your eagerness to kick someone just as they are getting back on their feet is what’s OTT.

    • CM: Always willing to acknowledge an error, my sincere apologies, after having had opportunity to review the hand over cermony I concede that by Boeing standards it was indeed relatively low key.

  5. There are some people who just can’t be happy and congratulate others. I’ve seen both Boeing and Airbus management show more class towards each other.

    Oh well. Fortunately people’s lack of class wont’ stop either manufacturer from selling a lot of planes.

  6. I know this is late but a airline pilot told me that the 787 has such low drag the speed of the a/c has to be reduced far ealier than a 777. Testing has shown that when compared to a 777 desend the 787 a distance 30% farther from the airport, or the speed of the a/c will exceed the allowable landing. This guy was a United pilot who flys 777s and he said the CO/UA pilots are flying the 787 currently, and there is nothing but very high praise about the a/c. He said the trainers were amazed how the 787 felt so much like the 777 outside of drag.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *