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UNMATCHED ECONOMICS, PERFORMANCE AND PASSENGER APPEAL

The new-technology Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which makes extensive use of composite materials, promises to revolutionize commercial air travel.


Picture this: You’re sitting in aneconomy-class window seat, jet-ting across the Pacific Ocean at41,000 ft. The aircraft’s widestpoint is at eye level, giving you asense of spaciousness in andaround your seat. When youturn to look out the window,you’re doing just that—lookingout, not down, with a vast viewof sky and Earth. And as nightdescends, the wash of color onthe ceiling deepens from sky blueto a deep nighttime purple. Youtake a deep breath of satisfactionand realize that, too, is different.The air feels cleaner and fresher,which leaves you more alert.

Sound like a dream? In fact,it will be the Dreamliner,Boeing’s ultra-modern, high-tech

787. When it enters service inthree years, the 787 will dramat-ically raise the bar in everyaspect of flight: aircraft econom-ics, fuel efficiency, systemsdesign, maintenance, the passen-ger experience and more. Thiswill be a whole new airplane inevery sense of the phrase.

JUST THE FACTSMore specifically, the 787

will be a family of three air-planes. The baseline version, the787-8, will carry up to 223 pas-sengers 8,500 naut. mi. in athree-class configuration. Theshorter-range version, the 787-3,will carry up to 296 passengers3,500 naut. mi. in a two-classconfiguration. Assembly on the

787-8 will start in 2006, withfirst flight in 2007 and certifica-tion and entry into service in2008. The 787-3 will enter serv-ice in 2010.

The final version, thestretched 787-9, will followabout two to four years after the787-8, with the capacity to carry259 passengers in a three-classconfiguration up to 8,300 naut.mi. The time between introduc-tion of the first version and thethird is Boeing’s normal interval,which should enable the latermodel to achieve an additional1% improvement in perform-ance through study of the firstmodel in real-world operations.

The airplane is designed tobe super efficient, using 20% less


In April 2004, All Nippon Airways launched the 787 program with an order for 50 aircraft. The Dreamliners are scheduled to begin replacing theJapanese airline’s fleet of Boeing 767-200s in 2008.

S4 AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY MARKET SUPPLEMENT/MARCH 14, 2005 www.AviationNow.com/awst

fuel on a per-passenger basisthan today’s airplanes of thissame passenger capacity. The787 is expected to offer operat-ing costs that are 10% lowerthan for today’s similarly sizedcommercial airplanes as a resultof the 20% savings in fuel,improvements in maintenanceand lower weights (which are afactor in determining airportfees). On the revenueside, airlines will enjoyapproximately 45%more cargo revenuecapacity.

Environmental per-formance will be a keybenefit of the 787. Sinceemissions are largelydriven by fuel use, the787 is designed to enablea 20% reduction in thatarea as well. By optimiz-ing the design, the 787will be quieter for com-munities, crews and pas-sengers. Additionally,new manufacturingmethods will result in amore efficient use ofresources, with less wastein production and fewer haz-ardous materials.

The 787 will replace twoBoeing aircraft—the single-aisle757, which seats 200-280 pas-sengers and is no longer in pro-duction; and the twin-aisle 767,which seats 181-345 passengers.The 787 will compete withAirbus’s A330-200 and therecently announced A350.Ultimately, Boeing projects the

market for aircraft in the 787class to be 3,500 units worthabout $400 billion during thenext 20 years. The companyanticipates winning more thanhalf of those orders.

By February 2005, less thana year after the manufacturerbegan offering the 787 for sale,the aircraft had racked up 62firm orders with four airlines

and 193 commitments from 16airlines. Also, Boeing has pro-posals out for 600 airplanes atapproximately 30 customers.

All Nippon Airways (ANA)helped launch the 787 programwhen it announced its order for50 aircraft in April 2004. AirNew Zealand, Blue Panoramaand First Choice Airways alsohave signed definitive agree-

ments, for two, four and sixunits, respectively. Otherannounced commitments for the787 include: Primaris (20), JapanAirlines (30), ContinentalAirlines (10), Vietnam Airlines(4), Ethiopian Airlines (5),Icelandair (2) and six Chinesecarriers—Air China, ChinaEastern Airlines, China SouthernAirlines, Hainan Airlines,

Shanghai Airlines andXiamen Airlines—which will take a totalof 60 787s.

Notably, the 787customer base includesa broad mix of opera-tors—start-ups, charteroperators, internationalairlines and long-estab-lished major carriers.They all cite the air-craft’s anticipated supe-rior economics as amajor driver of theirpurchase decisions.

Ralph Norris, AirNew Zealand’s manag-ing director and chiefexecutive, says the 787“will provide Air New

Zealand with lower operatingcosts and improved financialperformance over and above thatwhich could be achieved byexpanding the existing fleet of 10Boeing 767s.”

Similarly, ANA will reduceits operating costs by replacingits current fleet of Boeing 767-200s with the base 787-8 andshort range 787-3 derivative. Its787 deliveries are to begin in


20% lessfuel per personused by the 787than today’s aircraft

10% loweroperating cost thantoday’s similarlysized aircraft

45% morecargo revenuecapacity than simi-larly sized aircraft

$400 billionestimated size of themarket for a 787-sized aircraft duringthe next 20 years

50%portion of the 787aircraft that will bemade from compos-ite materials

10%percentage of com-posite materialsused on the 777


2008, one year before theplanned expansion of Tokyo’sHaneda airport.

THE COMPOSITE EFFECTThe key to the 787’s revolu-

tionary design, economics, man-ufacturing technique and morelies in the extensive use ofadvanced composites. It has beenwritten that the 787 is an all-composite aircraft; in truth,roughly 45% of the aircraft’sstructure is made of graphitecomposites and another 5% orso is composed of fiberglass, fora total of about 50% of the air-craft. The 777, Boeing’s mostrecent model and the first inwhich composites were appliedto the primary structure, is com-posed of about 7% graphite and3% fiberglass, for a total ofabout 10% composites.

The use of composites in the787 is expected to provide a 3%fuel savings over the 767. Butone of the real economic advan-tages of the 787 will be the addi-tional anticipated 17% in fuel-burn improvement, for a total of20% savings over the 767.Boeing says the engines will con-tribute 8% of that number. Animprovement in aerodynamics,including subtle changes to thecurvature of the wing and theshape of certain fairings, con-tributes another 3%. The finalcontributors are systems (3%)and integration, and the cyclingeffect of optimizing every aspectof the aircraft from scratch(3%). Altogether, the 20%

reduction in fuel burn shouldresult in a 10% improvement inoperating costs over the 767.

To determine where it wouldbe best to use composites andwhere it would use metal, Boeingand its suppliers went throughthe airplane piece-by-piece.

“We looked at how eachcomponent would be asked toperform and what the rightmaterial was,” says Tom Cogan,chief project engineer for the 787program. Thus, highly loadedjoints, such as where the wingconnects to the body of the air-craft, will be made of titanium.

The landing gear will be metalbecause its compression proper-ties are better suited to that par-ticular application.

But pretty much anything apassenger sees when observingthe aircraft parked on the rampwill be composite—the skin, the

tail, the wing box and wingskins—all the large surface areasof the aircraft.

The advantages of using somuch composite material insteadof aluminum are far-reaching.For starters, there’s the weightsavings. The 787 is about 10,000lb. lighter than it would be had


A Boeing employee works on the nose section of the 787 high-speed wind tunnel model, which hasbeen used to confirm the advanced aerodynamic characteristics of the Dreamliner.


aluminum been used instead ofcomposites. That’s the equiva-lent of 53 passengers. Comparedto the similar-sized 767-300, thelightness of composites is expect-ed to enable 3% in fuel savings.

Composites also offer innu-merable advantages from amaintenance perspective. Thealuminum used on aircraft flyingtoday, for instance, corrodes andfatigues. Boeing protects its alu-minum structures against corro-sion, but “physics is physics,”says Cogan. “If aluminum isrepeatedly exposed to the envi-ronment, it tends to corrode.”Likewise, it tends to fatigue withrepeated pressurization. And ityields fairly easily. So if a groundservice vehicle hits the side of anaircraft with any real force, thestructure will dent. All thoseproblems can be fixed, of course,but that costs money andrequires airlines to pull planesout of service for repairs.

Composites don’t corrode,and, in the design conditions forwhich they are being used on the787, Cogan says they won’tfatigue and are incrediblydurable. Take the structural areaaround an aircraft door, forinstance. If it were made of alu-minum and hit with a 3,500 in.-lb. force—the equivalent of

dropping a 10-lb. bowling ballfrom a three-story building—thedamage would require repair.Apply the same force to a com-posite structure and any result-ing damage would be insignifi-cant, not requiring repair. “Wetypically talk in terms of com-

posites having a 30% betterstrength-to-weight efficiencythan aluminum,” says Cogan.“That’s in the lab. On the air-plane, you get about a 15%strength-to-weight improvementby using composites.”

Boeing estimates mainte-nance cost savings of 32% atmaturity, thanks to the use ofcomposites. Most of the savingswill be realized after about the12-year mark, when structural

maintenance requirements be-come the real driver of airplaneupkeep costs.

Those estimates are beingproved out today on the 777,which has a composite horizon-tal and vertical stabilizer, as wellas other composite components

including floor beams, rudderand elevator, and gear doors.During D checks on all-metalairplanes, airlines typically findcorrosion under galleys and lava-tories, where leakage is almostimpossible to avoid. On the 777,Cogan says airlines are findingno corrosion under the compos-ite floor structure.

D checks on the 787, there-fore, “will become much easier,and we may be able to push


10,000 lb.reduction in theweight of the aircraftbecause of the useof composites

350 lb.weight reduction inthe new GEnx enginedue to use of com-posite materials

32% savingsin maintenancecosts saved at air-craft maturity due tocomposites

11% lessfuel consumption forthe Trent 1000 overthe Trent 800

30% moretime between over-hauls for the GEnxcompared to theCF6-80C2

General Electric’s GEnxpowerplant offers a host ofbenefits over current-gen-eration turbofan engines,thanks in part to compositecomponents, which makethe GEnx lighter than com-parably sized engines.


them out in time so airlineswon’t have to do them as often,”says Cogan. “We expect, work-ing with the FAA, that mainte-nance intervals will be improvedover the 767, possibly by asmuch as 60-100%.” In otherwords, where a 767 inspectioninterval now may be at six years,the 787 D-check interval couldbe as much as 10-12 years.

ADVANCED ENGINESThe durability and mainte-

nance advantages of compositesalso extend to the GEnx engine,one of the 787’s two power-plants. Both the front fan caseand the fan blades of the GEnxwill be made of carbon fiber andepoxy resin composites, an inno-vation that will reduce engineweight by 350 lb. per enginewhile substantially boostingdurability. Those fan blades haveracked up more than 5 millionhr. of operation on the GE90during the past eight years. Onlytwo blades have been removed,both for cosmetic reasons.Compare those numbers to sta-tistics for metal blades, whichhave about a 0.01% removalrate. An engine type operatingwith metal blades likely wouldhave experienced 50 removalsduring the same period of time,says Tom Brisken, general man-ager of the GEnx project at GEAircraft Engines.

“The GEnx outer case andfan blades are maintenance-free,” adds Brisken. “There areno life limits, no ADs, no service

bulletins.” At the same time, theengine has a 15% specific fuelconsumption advantage over the767’s CF6-80C2. And the GEnxwill spend more time on wingbetween overhauls—up to25,000 hr., versus around18,000 hr. for the CF6-80C2.Since the GEnx is a biggerengine, shop visits will costabout 25% more than the CF6-80C2, says Brisken, but theother advantages will make over-all maintenance costs equivalent:

It’s a bigger engine for the samemaintenance costs and substan-tially improved fuel savings.

Going head-to-head againstthe GEnx is Rolls-Royce’s Trent1000, which was selected byboth ANA and Air NewZealand. The 1000 is the fifthmember of the Trent series, thefirst of which entered service in1995. By the time the Trent 1000flies with ANA, previous ver-sions of the Trent will have accu-

mulated about 35 million flyinghours. With so much operationalexperience behind it, Rolls-Royce has designed the Trent1000 with the target of achievinga 99.95% dispatch reliability,says Richard Goodhead, Rolls-Royce’s head of marketing forBoeing programs.

All Trents share the three-shaft design common to all ofRolls-Royce’s large engines. Theavailability of an additional shaftcompared to more traditional

two-shaft engines has had signif-icant benefits for the 787’s moreelectric architecture. Rolls-Royceis taking power off the extrashaft to drive the plane’s electri-cal power with a feature calledIP (intermediate-pressure) off-take. By using the IP offtake,says Goodhead, “you’re allow-ing the HP (high-pressure) com-pressor to do what it’s supposedto do—compress air.” The HPcompressor, he adds, is more sta-


Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000engine has been selected topower the 787s ordered byAll Nippon Airways and AirNew Zealand. The power-plant has been designedwith the goal of achieving a99.95% dispatch reliability.


ble and more efficient whenyou’re not driving electricalpower with it.

The IP offtake solution offerssignificant fuel savings. On a500-naut. mi. flight, operatorswill use 6% less fuel with this

solution than with a convention-al two-shaft engine, saysGoodhead. Over longer flights,the benefits are reduced. Never-theless, the Trent 1000 on a 787will have about an 11%improvement in specific fuel con-sumption over the Trent 800used to power the 777.

The Trent 1000 is whatRolls-Royce calls an “intelligentengine.” It will have its ownhealth-monitoring capabilitiesand will be able to downlink keyoperating data to the ground.But even more significant is the

fact that the powerplant will beable to differentiate between thetypes of cycles being put on theengine. A 500-naut. mi. cycleand a 5,000-naut. mi. cycle, forinstance, affect engine compo-nents differently, says Good-head. So by understanding notonly the number but also the

type of cycles, Goodhead sayssome components will be able tostay on the engine longer thanthey do today, driving downmaintenance costs. In all, theTrent 1000 will have mainte-nance costs equivalent to the

767’s CF6, with much increasedperformance and fuel burn.

INSIDE THE CABINThe shape of the 787’s fuse-

lage is more oval instead of thetraditional round, putting thewidest part of the cabin at seatedeye level. After years of study,


Six Chinese air carriers—Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines—haveplaced orders for a total of 60 Dreamliners.


Boeing has found the amount ofspace at seated eye level has themost direct correlation to pas-senger satisfaction, says KlausBrauer, director of passenger sat-isfaction and revenue for BoeingCommercial Airplanes.

In other words, the historicalquest by commercial aircraftmanufacturers to provide moreroom at the armrest level was allfor naught; passengers perceive agreater sense of cabin spacious-ness if there’s room around themat eye level, not at hip level.Thus, Boeing targeted an insidewidth of 205.6 in. at 50 in.above the floor, a number thatmakes the aircraft 14 in. widerthan the competition at seatedeye level.

Composites provided someadditional advantages, mostnotably in the area of the cabinexperience. It enabled windows

that are 30% larger than on cur-rent commercial airplanes. “Wewanted to reconnect passengersto the flying experience,” saysBrauer. “As we explored the win-dow, we realized that what con-nects you to flying is lookingdown on the Earth and seeingsky touch land. Today’s windowsare good for looking down, butnot for seeing the horizon.”

So Boeing left the bottom ofthe window where it was andstretched the top by about 5 in.,resulting in a window that is 19in. tall and 11 in. wide. Thesenumbers mean that the manufac-turer’s tallest reference passen-ger, a 6-ft. 3-in. person, sitting ina window seat, will be able to see10 deg. above the horizon look-ing out. On today’s airplanes, hewould see sidewall. And sincethe top of the window will beabove seat-top height, travelers


ALENIA: FOUR DECADES OFAEROSTRUCTURE EXPERIENCE

Alenia Aeronautica S.p.A.’s extensiveaerostructures experience spans morethan 40 years and more than 6,000 com-mercial aircraft. Alenia perhaps is bestknown for its role in manufacturing theATR series of 50-70-seat regional turbo-props, of which more than 700 havebeen delivered worldwide.

For the 787, Alenia will producethe center fuselage sections 44 and 46,as well as the horizontal stabilizer. Thefuselage sections will be manufacturedin Alenia’s new 60,000-sq.-meter facili-ty in Grottaglie, Italy, then shipped toGlobal Aeronautica, a joint venturebetween Alenia North America andVought Aircraft Industries that has anintegration facility in Charleston, S.C.Global Aeronautica will integrate morethan 60% of the 787 fuselage, combin-ing sections provided by Alenia, Voughtand other partners. ■

EATON PROVIDES RAT PUMP ANDELECTRICAL CONTACTORS

Eaton Aerospace has won two 787 con-tracts, both in partnership withHamilton Sundstrand.

Eaton Aerospace will supply theRam Air Turbine (RAT) 5,000-psi pump,which provides back-up emergencyhydraulic power to the aircraft’s flightcontrol systems.

In addition, Eaton Aerospace willsupply the 270-volt DC electrical con-tactors for the 787’s power distributionelectrical system.

Eaton designs, manufactures andsupports higher-pressure fluid power,fluid control and fluid conveyance,electromechanical motion control, elec-trical distribution and control, cockpitcontrols and displays, and fluid monitor-ing and sensor products and systems.Eaton’s customer base is a global groupof civil and military original equipmentmanufacturers and air carriers. ■

Oversized windows and overhead storage bins, a vaulted ceiling, wider aisles, special lighting andother innovative interior design features promise to make the 787 appealing to airline passengers.

Continued on page S20



Boeing could create the lightest, most efficient and cost-effectivecommercial passenger jet ever made, but it would all be for naughtif passengers weren’t wowed enough to return again and again.That is why the 787 interior is designed to be just as striking topassengers as the plane’s economics will be to airlines.

It starts with the first step onto the plane. The entryway willbe a dramatically lit vaulted ceiling, designed to look infinitely tall,followed by a lower ceiling. The change in ceiling height is aimedat putting passengers into a dif-ferent space psychologically, con-veying to them that the problemsassociated with getting to the air-plane are behind them and theynow can relax.

The overhead bins weredesigned with the same goal—relaxation. Typically, passengersrush onto the plane at their earli-est opportunity to secure a spacefor their bags somewhere neartheir seats. And if they don’t findit, their stress level goes up. The787’s bins were designed toallow for one 11-in. x 16-in. x 22-in. bag for each passenger at hisor her seat. The goal, say Boeingofficials, is that when passengersat last sink into their seats, theyare stress-free and ready to fly.

From those seats, passen-gers will notice several improve-ments over the aircraft cabins oftoday. First, the 787’s interior willinclude a series of arches along the length of the fuselage, dividingit into smaller, room-like cabins that feel more spacious than a sin-gle long tube. The windows will be the largest on any commercialairplane. There will be more space at seated eye level, which shouldprovide a sense of more personal space per passenger. And therewill be more space in the aisles—typically 55 cm. of width in the787’s economy class, which is more than 6 cm. wider than for mosttwo-aisle airplanes. In business class, the aisles will be 65 cm.wide, which will allow passengers to move past serving carts with

ease. Finally, the lavatories will be more spacious as well, with eachaccessible by a standard-sized lav wheelchair.

Ever notice the ceiling on the aircraft you’ve flown? You willsoon in the 787. It will be illuminated by arrays of light-emittingdiodes, which flight attendants will be able to control to give pas-sengers a sense of bright daylight or, to help passengers sleep, sim-ulate a rich, dark nighttime sky. Flight crews also will be able to con-trol the amount of light coming in the windows. During a movie, for

instance, they will be able tolower the transparency level toaround 5%, which will blockmost of the light coming in whilestill enabling passengers to seethe passing terrain outside. Andindividual passengers will retaincontrol of their window shading.

Finally, the interior wasdesigned to maximize the poten-tial for passengers to have anempty seat next to them—a phe-nomenon that makes people per-ceive their seats are 4.25-in.wider than they really are, andthis has a huge impact on cus-tomer comfort and satisfaction,says Klaus Brauer, BoeingCommercial Airplanes’ director ofpassenger satisfaction and rev-enue. The mock-up of the eight-abreast economy cabin shows a3-2-3 seat arrangement thatmaximizes the use of emptyseats. Airlines can opt for a 2-4-2

arrangement in the eight-abreast section, says Brauer, but at a loadfactor of 70%, there will be 12% more passengers seated next toempty seats in the 3-2-3 arrangement than in the 2-4-2 arrange-ment. The 787’s nine-abreast economy-class cabin layout has 3-3-3 seating, which, says Brauer, is the most effective configura-tion in using empty seats.

With all these interior improvements, almost every passengershould have a better flying experience on the 787 than on the air-planes flying today. ◆

The Passenger Experience


in the center of the aircraft willat last have views.

“I think we’ll get a big buzzfrom the windows,” says JohnFeren, vice president marketing,sales and in-service support forthe 787 program. “It will be avisual cue that there’s somethingdifferent about this airplane.” Infocus groups, Feren says passen-gers consistently gave higher rat-ings to cabins with larger win-dows than to cabins with small-er ones, even though theyweren’t consciously aware of thesize difference.

Finally, passengers can thankcomposites for an anticipatedincrease in cabin pressurizationand humidity, which means theyshould arrive feeling more alert,more refreshed and less fatiguedthan they do today.

As with the windows, travel-ers may not know why they feelgreat about their experience onthe 787, but Boeing argues thata positive image will meanfuture bookings and increasedrevenues for operators.

“We believe that a goodexperience casts a halo over thewhole airline,” explains Brauer.

“They know they had a goodexperience with Airline X, andgiven two flights that suit theirschedule and have similar fares,they’ll choose the one on whichthey had a good experience.”

Since composites don’tfatigue like aluminum, the 787cabin will be pressurized at6,000 ft. instead of the 8,000-ft.level on most commercial air-planes flying today. In studiesdone during the past four yearsat Oklahoma State Universityand the Technical University ofDenmark, Boeing looked at vari-

ous levels of pressurization todetermine where the greatestbenefits occurred.

“We found a real knee in thecurve at 6,000 ft.,” says MikeSinnett, chief systems engineerfor the 787 program. “In thepast, the penalty to pressurize at6,000 ft. was too high—severalthousand pounds of structuralweight to overcome the fatigueproblems. But with a compositefuselage, fatigue is not one of thedriving concerns.”

At the same time, humidity isexpected to be higher becausethe 787 will have fresh, outside


GOODRICH GETS SEVEN 787CONTRACTS

Goodrich Corp. is a leading global sup-plier of systems and services to theaerospace and defense industry.

Goodrich has won seven contractson the Boeing 787, including the elec-tric braking system (which will be thefirst to fly on a commercial airliner),engine nacelles and thrust reversers,proximity sensing system, fuel quantityindicating system and fuel manage-ment software, exterior lighting andthe entire cargo handling system(which includes the mechanical sys-tem, power drive units, electrical con-trol system and floor panels).

In addition, Rolls-Royce selectedGoodrich’s engine control system for theTrent 1000 powerplant.

Goodrich expects these 787-relat-ed contracts to generate more than $7.5billion in original equipment and after-market sales through 2028. ■

GREEN HILLS SOFTWARE USED TODEVELOP FLIGHT CONTROLS

Green Hills Software, Inc., which isbased in Santa Barbara, Calif., will sup-ply its memory-protected Integrity-178Breal-time operating system (RTOS) andMulti development tools to HoneywellInternational.

The software will be used todevelop the 787’s flight controls elec-tronics system, including the new air-line transport’s fly-by wire system andautopilot.

The Green Hills operating systemwas designed from the ground up tomeet the safety and performancerequirements of flight-critical systems.Integrity-178B complies with the avia-tion industry standard Arinc 653-1applications software interface and hasbeen used in numerous systems certi-fied to the most stringent avionics soft-ware safety standard, RTCA/DO-178BLevel A. ■

Continued from page S14

“In the past, the penalty to pressurize at 6,000 ft. wastoo high—several thousand pounds of structuralweight to overcome the fatigue problems. But with acomposite fuselage, fatigue is not one of the drivingconcerns.”

— Mike Sinnett, chief systems engineer for the 787 program


air brought in on a per-passen-ger, not a per-seat, basis. Whenthat very dry air is brought in ona per-seat basis and there are fewpassengers to restore humidity,relative humidity can be as lowas 5%, says Sinnett. Flight atten-dants will ensure incoming freshair is always in balance with pas-senger loads using the 787’s dig-ital environmental control unit.

Also, less moisture is expect-ed to escape from the fuselagesince less heat is transferredthrough the composite fuselage.Plus, there’s higher moisture con-tent in 6,000-ft. air than in8,000-ft. air—enough to make a4% difference in relative humid-ity. Boeing’s goal for the 787 is16% relative humidity at 6,000ft., a number that would feel like20% at 8,000 ft.—substantiallyhigher than the 5-15% relativehumidity in aircraft today.

Still, Boeing engineers dis-covered that the impact of high-er humidity by itself wasn’t thatgreat. The real driver of passen-ger well-being is the removal of

organic compounds from the air.“Removing compounds hadmuch more of an impact on thesymptoms associated with dehy-dration than did humidity,” saysSinnett. “Removing the com-pounds was like raising relativehumidity 25-30%.”

So like today’s airplanes, the787 will remove particulatesdown to the viral and bacteriallevels, but also will use gaseousfiltration to remove alcohol—found in everything from drinksto hand wipes—as well as per-fumes and other gases. “Whenthese contaminants are removedthrough purification,” saysSinnett, “some of the symptomsof dehydration are relieved.”

SYSTEM INNOVATIONSSystems will contribute a 3%

savings thanks to a new architec-ture that reduces the powerrequired of the engines andreduces the structural weight,says Walt Gillette, vice presidentfor engineering, manufacturingand partner alignment on the


Continental Airlines was the first major U.S. carrier to order the 787. The Houston-based airline isscheduled to begin taking delivery of its Dreamliners in 2009.

MOOG TO PROVIDE PRIMARYFLIGHT CONTROL ACTUATION

Moog Inc. will supply the primary flightcontrol actuation system for the 787.The Moog system will control all of theprimary flight control surfaces on theairplane, as well as the spoilers and thehorizontal stabilizer.

Shipsets will include 30 actuatorsand associated control electronics.Design and development of the equip-ment will be done at the company’sEast Aurora, N.Y.; Salt Lake City;Torrance, Calif.; and Tewkesbury,England, facilities.

The company also will supplyrotary actuation components to SmithsAerospace for use in the high-lift sys-tem of the 787.

Moog’s high-performance actua-tion products also control military air-craft, spacecraft, launch vehicles, mis-siles, automated industrial machineryand medical equipment. ■

PARKER HANNIFIN TO SUPPLY5,000-PSI HYDRAULIC SUBSYSTEM

Parker Hannifin Corp., a leading makerof motion and control systems, will pro-vide the hydraulic subsystem for the787 through its Abex Div. The subsys-tem will operate at 5,000 psi, reducingequipment size and weight compared tothe 3,000-psi systems on commercialaircraft today.

Parker’s Nichols Airborne Div. willsupply liquid-cooling pumps and reser-voirs for Hamilton Sundstrand’s 787 pri-mary electronics cooling air manage-ment system. And Parker’s Gas TurbineFuel Systems Div. is working with both787 engine suppliers. With GE, it isworking on new low-NOx combustortechnology. For Rolls-Royce’s Trent1000, Parker will supply and managethe fuel system, including the fuelatomization nozzles. These contractsare worth in excess of $1.2 billion. ■


787 program. For starters, the787 combines roughly 80 func-tions into one computer system,more than any aircraft previous-ly. Altogether, there are just 30separate computer systems onthe 787, compared to 80—withabout 100 different devices—onthe 777.

Just as important, thosecomputer systems have beendesigned to a common stan-dard—Arinc 653—rather than aproprietary standard, which isexpected to reduce dramaticallythe cost of change downstream.Say, for instance, technologyevolves one day to allow pilotsto see and avoid clear air turbu-lence (CAT), says Sinnett. CATsoftware would be written toArinc 653 standards, whichmeans airlines essentially will beable to plug in the new softwareovernight. In today’s airplanes,installing new software means“tearing the airplane apart andputting in 30 different boxes,”Sinnett says. So the 787’s open,common architecture is designedto enable it to keep up with tech-nology changes in everythingfrom avionics to passenger enter-tainment.

Most striking, however, maybe that the 787 virtually willhave eliminated an entire aircraftsystem, replacing the traditionalengine-bleed-air-driven pneu-matic architecture with a moreefficient electric-motor-drivenair-compression system. Ratherthan using engine bleed air as thepower source for the environ-mental control systems, the 787will use electric power. Only theengine nacelle heat and cowlanti-ice will be provided byengine bleed air.

The shift is huge: Modernaircraft engines generate about60 kilovolts of electricity topower today’s electrical systems,according to GE’s Brisken. In the787, they will generate morethan a megawatt, which isenough to power 250 homes inthe middle of a Phoenix summer.

The biggest advantage of anelectrical system over a pneumat-ic system is that operators will beable to match the electricity theygenerate to the energy they need,says Bob Guirl, director of 787programs at Hamilton Sund-strand, which has won eight con-tracts on the 787, more than anyother company. During cruise,


Modern aircraft engines generate about 60 kilovolts

of electricity to power today’s electrical systems...in

the 787, they will generate more than a megawatt,

which is enough to power 250 homes in the middle of

a Phoenix summer.

— Tom Brisken, general manager of the GEnx project at GE Aircraft Engines

Continued on page S27

ROCKWELL TO PROVIDE PILOTCONTROLS, COMMUNICATIONS/SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS

Rockwell Collins, a leader in communi-cations and avionics, will provide the787’s pilot controls through its KaiserElectroprecision business in Irvine,Calif. In addition, Rockwell will supplythe aircraft’s head-up and head-downdisplays, communication and surveil-lance systems, and the core network,which include advanced VHF, HF andsatellite communication radios, terrainawareness warning systems, weatherradar, and traffic alert and collisionavoidance systems.

All the file servers, routers andavionics interfaces are included in a sin-gle cabinet, with growth slots for futureenhancements. Rockwell also is assist-ing Smiths Aerospace on the develop-ment of the common data network. Theawards could be worth up to $3.5 billionover the life of the program. ■

VOUGHT AND PARTNERS TOSUPPLY 60% OF THE 787FUSELAGE

Vought Aircraft Industries offers a fullrange of design, testing, manufacturingand support capabilities to aerospacemanufacturers. On the 787 program,Vought is positioned as a Tier IIntegrator, filling the gap betweenprime contractors and traditional sub-contractors by providing large, integrat-ed aerostructures on a turnkey basis.

For the 787 program, Vought andAlenia North America formed a jointventure called Global Aeronautica,which will join and integrate fuselagesections from Vought, Alenia and otherstructural partners. Together, the sec-tions represent more than 60% of the787 fuselage. Vought will produce itsaft fuselage sections 47 and 48 in anew 340,000-sq.-ft. building co-locatedwith the Global Aeronautica integrationfacility in Charleston, S.C. ■



If composites make so much sense, why have they not been usedextensively in commercial aircraft before? Quite simply, it’s been amatter of cost. The lay-up work for high-performance compositeshas been done manually, which is fine for applications such assatellites and fighter jets where performance is paramount, but theprocess didn’t make sense for commercial aircraft. No airline wouldhave paid the sky-high price tag for a manually produced compos-ite aircraft.

The trick for Boeing was to figure out a way to automate thecomposite lay-up process. In addition, the airframe manufacturerwanted machines to lay down composites at a rate of 10-30 timesfaster than previously possible, while still producing the highest-quality material. In mid-January, Boeing unveiledproof it had reached itsgoal with the rollout of thefirst full-scale compositeone-piece fuselage section.

Building the 22-ft.-long, 19-ft.-wide sectionstarted with computerizedlay-down of compositetape on an enormousmold. That mold wasmounted on a tool thatrotated the barrel as thetape was applied. Then thestructure was wrapped andplaced in Boeing’s autoclave for curing. The final steps wereunwrapping the structure, inspecting it and removing tools.

That single structure has enormous implications for aircraftassembly. Had the same section been constructed of aluminum, itwould have been made out of many pieces with “hundreds andhundreds” of rivets, says Walt Gillette, vice president of engineer-ing, manufacturing and partner alignment on the 787 program. Inall, the switch to composites is enabling a reduction of thousandsof parts and tens of thousands of rivets.

The fuselage sections will be built by various Boeing partnersand shipped to Seattle for assembly. One of the partners is AleniaAeronautica of Italy, which is responsible for constructing centerfuselage sections 44 and 46 and the horizontal stabilizer. Soon theEuropean company will break ground on a 60,000-sq.-meter facil-

ity in Grottaglie, Italy, where it will build the two fuselage pieces.The facility will be finished by early next year, and the machinery tomake the parts will start being delivered in April 2006, accordingto Alenia officials.

Alenia then will ship its fuselage sections to Charleston (S.C.)International Airport, where Global Aeronautica, the joint ventureof Vought Aircraft Industries and Alenia North America, will joinand integrate fuselage sections from Vought, Alenia and otherstructural partners, which together represent more than 60% ofthe 787 fuselage. From there, the assemblies will be sent to Seattle,where Boeing will join the parts, hook up the systems and put inthe interior.

The sections will be trans-ported in Boeing’s new LargeCargo Freighter, a modified747-400F that will serve asthe primary means of trans-porting 787 major assembliesfrom partner locations aroundthe world to the final assem-bly line.

The freighter airplane’sdesign enables the entire aftfuselage to swing open, thusallowing 787 fuselage andwing components to beloaded more easily. Theexpanded girth of the Large

Cargo Freighter will hold 300% more cargo above the main deckthan the current -400F.

Gillette says final assembly is as easy as it sounds becausecarbon fiber structure is very stiff and holds its shape. With metal,which tends to flex, assembly workers often have to install shimsto make everything fit. That won’t be the case with composites. “Itwill be like Fisher-Price on Christmas Eve. The parts just snaptogether,” says Gillette.

Consequently, final assembly time for the 787 will be cut by athird to a quarter, compared to metal airplanes. For airlines, thatmeans a longer time for making decisions.

“Today, airlines have to make final decisions almost a year inadvance of delivery,” says Gillette. “These manufacturing initiativeswill cut that time at least in half.” ◆

Manufacturing Success


engines today bleed off air inexcess of their needs, which ulti-mately means engines are burn-ing more fuel than they need to.Now, says Guirl, “you’ll use onlythe fuel you need to run the gen-erator to support the loads yourequire.”

The switch in systems waspossible because of recentadvances in electrical systems,most notably on the industrialfront. Hamilton Sundstrandengineers went to sister UnitedTechnologies company OtisElevator Co. to examine thework it was doing to electrifyhoists and lifts in elevators, and

from that they were able to puttogether affordable motor-con-trol solutions for the 787. Moreimportantly, “we’re getting outof an environment where we’remaking aerospace-unique solu-tions and aligning with a tech-nology path that is driven by abroader industry,” says Guirl.“This will allow us to harvest thebenefits and the technologyadvances that occur to allow forlower-cost solutions.”

HAMILTON SUNDSTRANDPOWER

Hamilton Sundstrand isresponsible for three of the elec-

trical system’s four main workpackages: the electrical powergeneration and start system, theprimary power distribution sys-tem (in partnership with ZodiacECE) and the remote power dis-tribution system. (The fourthpackage, awarded to Thales, isfor the conversion system.) Inshort, Hamilton Sundstrand willgenerate, distribute and use thepower, as well as cool the loadson the 787. And as a result, ithas found ways to optimize solu-tions and eliminate redundanciesin ways that would not havebeen apparent in a single-systemenvironment.


Continued from page S24


Take the company’s modulardesign for the motor controllers.“We will use like design practicesand circuit applications in themotor controls for the electricmotor pump controllers, themain engine start controllers andthe APU start controller,” saysGuirl. “This helps ensure com-mon requirements flow down,which drives re-use across theairplane, resulting in ease of usein service, standardized diagnos-tics, common spares and simplerrepair, all of which push the costof ownership down.”

THE SUPPLIER CONNECTIONThe fact that Hamilton

Sundstrand won so much of theelectrical work was no coinci-

dence; it represents a consciousshift by Boeing to reduce thenumber of Tier 1 suppliers andbecome more of anintegrator/architect, with part-ners providing more of their owndevelopment, design and manu-facturing funding. Suppliers onthe 787 program are true part-ners, offering their innovationand expertise to bring a superiorproduct to market.

As a result, Boeing reducedits supplier list from hundreds onthe 777 to fewer than 50 for the787, including internal Boeingdivision suppliers. And it select-ed most of its suppliers about ayear and a half earlier than onother programs so they “couldinfluence the Boeing team on

making the best design decisionsfor the lowest cost” from theoutset, says Gillette.

Boeing works with its suppli-ers in a real-time collaborativeenvironment, with every supplierusing the same methods, proce-dures and software.

“If we want to discuss a partof the fuselage with Alenia,Vought, Kawasaki andMitsubishi, we link in digitallyto every part of the world,” saysGillette.

Every participant sees on acomputer the component beingdiscussed, every participanttalks, and everyone else hearswhat is said. Any participant canmodify parts until everyoneagrees and the final design is


Boeing’s new production system for the 787 will include air transport of many major assemblies via the Large Cargo Freighter, a modified 747-400F thatwill feature an aft fuselage that can swing open during loading and unloading operations.


locked in. At the sametime, every change madecascades downstream,altering everything thatwould be affected by thechange right down to re-writing codes for therobots that will eventual-ly build the part. So ifBoeing changes a singledoor, everything associ-ated with that door ischanged automatically;even its manufacturingprocess is digitally rede-fined. Just as important,every partner knowsabout it.

Traditionally, part-ners designed their partson their own systemsand then shipped them to Boeingfor integration. The method tooktime and sometimes resulted incommunication errors.

“With everyone working inthe same way, in the same envi-ronment with the same systems,the problems associated with thetransfer of information, with theintegration of parts, are eradicat-ed,” says Michel Tellier, DassaultSystèmes’ vice president of serv-ices for PLM Americas. DassaultSystèmes calls the 787’s world-wide, single-system environmentthe Global CollaborativeEnvironment (GCE).

PUBLIC INPUT, TOO Boeing extended its global

collaborative efforts to the pub-lic as well, calling on a group ofabout 140,000 aviation enthusi-

asts, who are part of whatBoeing calls its World DesignTeam (WDT), to weigh in. It wasthe public, for instance, thatpicked the name Dreamliner.

When the name of the air-craft was announced at the Parisair show two years ago, RobPollack, vice president of brand-ing for Boeing CommercialAirplanes, summed up the mean-ing as follows:

“The name Dreamlinerreflects a new airplane that willfulfill the dreams of airlines andpassengers with its efficient oper-ations, enhanced cabin environ-ment and the ability to allowprofitable connection to morecities without stopovers. Thename also demonstrates how theairplane’s economics will enablemore people around the world to

fulfill their dreams of traveling tonew places, experiencing newcultures and staying connectedto one another.”

For operators worldwide,perhaps the name Dreamlinerwill mean the ability to increaseprofit margins through Boeing’screation of a new standard ofefficiency demanded by today’sultra-competitive marketplace. ◆


Boeing’s Global Collaboration Center in Everett, Wash., is a virtual workspace that enables engineers from part-ner companies around the world to make concurrent design changes to the airplane in real time.

WRITTEN BY:Heather Baldwin

PRODUCED BY:Aviation Week Strategic Programs

in association with RAS Enterprises

Aviation Week & Space Technology Market Supplementsare a product of Aviation Week, a division of TheMcGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. No partmay be reproduced in whole or in part without the ex-press permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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