There was a full-span leading-edge slat, in seven segments, and spoilers -- two just forward of the inboard flap, five ahead of the outboard flap. Tail flight surface arrangement was conventional, with a trimming adjustable tailplane.
Landing gear arrangement was like that of the , with two-wheel nose gear, retracting forward, and main gear retracting in from the wings towards the fuselage -- though in the case of the , each main gear had six wheels, in three rows of two. The was the first Boeing jetliner with a "fly-by-wire" flight control system, with a flight processor system, the "Aircraft Information Management System AIMS " at the core.
Incidentally, the was also the first such to be developed completely using a "computer-aided design" system. The featured a "glass cockpit" with six flat-panel color displays, and had other features such as a GPS-INS with laser gyros.
There were two flight crew, with typical passenger capacity of in a three-class arrangement; or in a two-class arrangement; and up to in a ten-across one-class "cattle car" arrangement.
There were four passenger doors on each side of the aircraft. Positioning of galleys and toilets fore, aft, and midsection was flexible, easily rearranged as per client request.
There was a cargo hold under the floor of the passenger compartment. An optional crew rest module could be installed in the cargo hold, complementing a default crew rest module with two bunks on the flight deck. Boeing has worked hard to keep the line up-to-date, adding small refinements to production and for upgrades. One was elimination of the tail bumper, as a minor aerodynamic improvement and for weight reduction; the aircraft's flight control system was revised to automatically spot a potential tailstrike, and compensate for it.
There were smaller aerodynamic refinements as well. Other changes have included lighter insulation blankets, lighter hydraulic fluid, and smaller weight-reduction measures; interior changes; and engine component updates. Over 1, jetliners had been built by the summer of Although the Boeing is seen as the heart of the company's future, for the present the is a good money-maker, and there are no plans to abandon it.
In fact, Boeing has introduced a a next-generation "X", featuring advanced GE9X turbofan engines and new all-composite wings, as well as weight reductions plus updated avionics and interior.
The first variant to fly was the "X". The initial prototype was rolled out in , with first flight of it and a second proto in early With an optional rear cargo door, it was able to haul 48 LD3 cargo containers in the lower hold, up from the 44 of the R. The X had a length of Its empty weight was only slightly less than that of a classic It had an extended wingspan of The cockpit had five large color touchscreen displays, up from the six smaller displays of its predecessors.
There was a holdup in development due to GE9X problems. Initial delivery was supposed to be early ; the COVID pandemic threw a lot of confusion into the airline industry, so introduction was delayed until There's no schedule at last notice, Boeing saying that introduction was dependent on customer interest. Industry observers have suggested there may not be enough interest to make it happen, the pandemic having led to resets of plans in the airline industry.
In , Airbus committed to development of the "A" super-jumbo jet, a giant aircraft that caught the imagination of the airlines. Boeing's reaction was clumsy, the company proposing major updates to the classic jumbo jet and a new high-speed "Sonic Cruiser" -- both of which the airlines greeted with indifference. Boeing officials ultimately decided not to match the A Boeing believed that what passengers wanted were more direct-to-destination flights, implying a smaller aircraft.
In addition, fuel costs were on an upward curve, and so Boeing needed to make sure the new aircraft was as fuel-efficient as possible. In early , Boeing committed to the "7E7", which became the " Dreamliner" in The was configurationally a twinjet along the lines, and roughly the size, of the , but it was a new-design aircraft, most significantly featuring widespread use of lightweight carbon-epoxy composite materials, the to be one of the first large civil aircraft to be largely built of composites.
A number of subcontractors were signed up for the project, with a consortium of three Japanese firms -- including Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, and Fuji -- coming on board as full risk-sharing partners, contributing about a third of the development cost. The Japanese had experience in construction of composite assemblies seen as critical to the project. Extensive use of composite materials allowed Boeing to consider new airframe construction concepts, abandoning the traditional aircraft framework and using large integral composite assemblies for strength.
The idea was to obtain the maximum reduction in airframe weight to improve fuel economy -- though by taking such a new approach, problems with the composite assemblies would lead to program delays, and the weight savings wouldn't turn out to be quite as much as expected.
However, along with being lighter, composites were also less prone to corrosion than traditional aircraft aluminum, and they were also easier to form into more aerodynamically-refined shapes. Three variants of the were planned initially, including the baseline ""; a stretched ""; and a medium-haul "", the last being canceled unbuilt. The first prototype of the Dreamliner, a , performed its initial flight 15 December -- about two years behind original schedule, development not having been entirely smooth.
Six aircraft were flown in the test program, with initial delivery of a production machine, to the launch customer All-Nippon Airways, on 25 September The first prototype of the performed its initial flight on 17 September It was, however, a completely new design.
Along with an airframe half composites by weight, it had optimized aerodynamics; modern avionics; all electric systems; plus fuel-efficient, clean-burning, and quiet fanjets. Very significantly, while traditionally jetliners have used "bleed air" from the engines to drive most aircraft systems, the was based on electric systems to perform cabin pressurization, de-icing, and other functions.
The engines still had to provide the motive power for these systems by driving electric generators, but the overall result was more efficient, and replacing the cumbersome plumbing of bleed air ductwork with electrical wiring meant less weight. The wings featured raked wingtips. Control surface arrangement was more or less along the lines of the 's predecessors, with full-span leading-edge slats in seven segments, inboard flaps, inboard aileron, outboard flaps, outboard aileron, and spoilers leading the flaps.
All flaps were single slotted; there were three spoilers ahead of the inboard flap, four ahead of the outboard flap. Sources have also mentioned a puzzling "sealing" leading-edge Krueger flap at each engine pylon, but details are unclear. The wings featured electrical de-icing. The tail surfaces were conventional, with rudder and elevators, the tailplane being adjustable for flight trim. Both were state of the art, providing high thrust-to-weight performance, improved fuel efficiency, low noise, and low emissions.
The engine nacelles had a zigzag edge around the rear -- reducing exhaust noise, which not only translated into less need for aircraft sound insulation for passenger comfort, but fewer complaints from people living near airports.
Incidentally, the X engines didn't get the zizag rear edge, since the GE9X were so quiet as to not need it. The had an APU for engine starting and ground power. There were fuel tanks in the inner wings and wing center section. There were two wheels on the nose gear, which retracted forward; there were four wheels on each main gear, in a 2x2 arrangement, with the main gear retracting inward, pivoting from the wings to the fuselage.
Passengers coming into the front of the aircraft entered through an open "lobby" instead of passing by a galley, being greeted by a blue LED lighting arrangement that suggested a skylight. The lighting was provided by LEDs throughout the passenger cabin; not only were the LEDs more reliable and less power-hungry, they also were more controllable, with lighting sequences designed to reduce flight weariness and, hopefully, jet lag.
Lighting remained standard during boarding and cruise flight, being adjusted to warmer tones during meals.
After eating, the cabin was bathed in a relaxed lavender hue, with the lighting fading down when it was time to sleep. The most impressive part was the wake-up, with the light rising in a sunrise sequence from purples and oranges to yellows, and then white light against a blue sky. As far as the annoyance of being hit in the eyes by the sun when somebody opens a window shade went, the didn't have window shades: the windows used an electrochromic dimmer system.
A passenger could change the transparency of a window with a switch, with the flight crew able to regulate the level of transparency of all the windows.
While coach passengers couldn't expect to get much more of a footprint to themselves than before, the ceiling was arched to give more sense of spaciousness. In addition, again thanks to the 's composite construction, humidity could be increased without worries about promoting corrosion, and cabin pressure could be increased as well -- to an altitude equivalent of about 1, meters 6, feet instead of the traditional 2, meters 8, feet.
The was designed for very quiet operation, both to improve passenger comfort and to meet public noise regulations, with features such as the serrated rear edge of the engine nacelles previously noted. Even the fan blades were designed to be quieter. Depending on configuration, the carries around passengers. Smaller s and As fall in the passenger range. But relative size is not always easy to determine when the plane is alone on a runway or in the air, so you must look for other features.
Another most distinguishing feature of a B is its flattened or bladed tail— which is quite different from the conical shapes found on the back end of a or A You can also look at the outer edge of the cockpit windows. On Boeing jets, the windows have a sharp diagonal corner while Airbus windows are more square along the bottom edge.
I must admit that spotting these three widebodies is tough…even for me, and even after writing this post. Overall, the is larger than the in every way. The i s just under eight feet shorter in length, while its tail height is just six feet shorter. The does, however, have over 40 feet 12 meters more wingspan, which is quite significant.
The presence of winglets is, again, a complicated characteristic and feature. Indeed, describing the difference almost sounds like a logic question on a test. All s lack winglets and instead have raked-wingtips. Some s have tall blended winglets, but not all. The only other common commercial aircraft to also have this is the Airbus A, which has many of its own defining features.
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