Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Mark Wagner [30]
New details also emerged of the larger cabin windows, 30 percent bigger than conventional transparencies. These were made possible by the jump to primary structural composites, which did not require the local reinforcement around the cutouts used in conventional aluminum skins. “We’re just tryingw to make sure we have enough room for wire runs between the frames, but the good thing about composites is that this allows us to have large windows without penalties,” he said.
However, it was becoming obvious that composites were not necessarily the panacea they were sometimes made out to be, and the specter of weight was already raising its ugly head, as Bair admitted. “We are a bit overweight, although less so than we were on the 777 at this point in the process. We are roughly 50 percent composite now by weight. We don’t have an actual target in terms of either weight or percent for composite, we’re just doing what makes sense,” he added.
Farnborough also was buzzing with news of 7E7 orders, and by now ANA had been joined by other carriers in announcing commitments. Unlike the usual Boeing launch order group of mainline U.S. and sometimes European flag carriers, the early 7E7 customers were quite different. The Japanese carrier was joined by Air New Zealand, U.K. leisure carrier First Choice Airways, and Italian leisure/scheduled operator Blue Panorama. Typifying the broader appeal of the Dreamliner vision, First Choice had largely opted for the jet because of its cabin features as well as its economics, said the airline’s managing director, Chris Browne. The carrier planned to replace its fleet of 767s with 7E7s from early 2009 onward, and it was “the next logical step, it allows us to offer affordable holidays to long-haul destinations,” she added.
By the late summer of 2004, Boeing was focused on freezing the final high-speed aerodynamic lines, and with that milestone Mike Bair almost apologetically acknowledged that the fin shape would not be “nearly as sharkish” as the early artists’ renditions had indicated. By this stage, however, the rudder still retained a “hint of reverse curve,” he added. Boeing later acknowledged that pure mechanics overcame aesthetics, and the fin was straightened to maximize the rudder’s sweep radius. Mark Wagner
In June 2004 Air New Zealand joined ANA as a launch customer by ordering two 7E7-8s. It selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and just over a year later doubled the order to four. In February 2007 it became the launch customer for what was now the 787-9, but at the expense of the original 787-8s, which were converted into orders for the stretch. The numbers also were doubled, to a total of eight aircraft. Boeing/Air New Zealand
Key to the decision was the appeal of a comfortable cabin environment on long-haul routes from the United Kingdom to as far afield as the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, or South Africa. “There is no other aircraft out there to touch it,” said Browne, who had been offered the A330-200 as an option. “We believe the advantages of the 7E7 are compelling,” she added, pointing to its operating costs, low noise and emissions, and range.
By October 2004 ANA was ready to announce its long-awaited engine choice, and for most of the aerospace world the answer was unexpected. Confounding the pundits who predicted a GE victory in this first round, the Japanese carrier chose Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000. The decision made the Trent the lead engine on the 7E7, which became the first all-new Boeing wide body to be launched into service with a Rolls-Royce engine.
The ANA decision coincided with news that Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) had joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) as a risk-and-revenue-sharing partner in the Trent 1000 program. KHI was to assemble and supply the intermediate pressure (IP) compressor module under an 8.5 percent share, while MHI’s combustor and low-pressure (LP) turbine work represented a 7 percent share. Negotiations on the remaining partnerships were “well advanced,” said Rolls-Royce.
The following month, a “Progress Summit