In addition to being a frequent traveler I’m also a3,400-hour pilot, so I have a very keen interest in this revolutionaryairplane.
Much has been written aboutthis jet since the program launched in April 2004, thanks to a record orderfrom ANA. Writers have waxed rhapsodic about the innovations the plane wouldemploy, and how riding in it would be a newtype of passenger experience. If you’ve followedthe development of this aircraft, you likely know some of the high-level facts.If not, allow me to bring you up to speed.Probably thebiggest, and most pivotal, innovation in the Dreamliner is the use of carbonfiber composite material rather than aluminum. The composite makes up 50% ofthe primary structure including the fuselage and wings, thus making it strongerand lighter than comparable mid-sized commercial jets. Recently, one ofBoeing’s salespeople gave me a promotional 787 pen with its pocket clip made ofthat very same carbon fiber material (pictured at right).
The strength of thecarbon fiber makes several additional features possible.Because it’sstronger, the fuselage can accommodate higher cabin pressure, meaning lessfatigue for its passengers. Typically, airliners are pressurized to altitudesequivalent to 6,500 to 7,000 feet above sea level, or the altitude ofFlagstaff, Ariz., or Lake Tahoe. Its stronger structure allows the 787 to bepressurized to the equivalent of 6,000 feet above sea level, or the altitude ofColorado Springs.
Studies showed that reducing the cabin altitude to 6,000’ dramatically reducedthe level of fatigue passengers experienced. Interestingly, lowering thealtitude further provided almost no additional benefit, according to Boeing.
Because it’sstronger, the fuselage can also accommodate larger windows. Although passengersclearly preferred larger windows, they caused engineering challenges. The loadsthe airplane structure must carry are more easily handled when a fuselage hasfewer, or smaller, cutouts for doors and windows. With its stronger fuselage,the 787 can manage the loads despite the larger cutouts.
With a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 500,000 pounds, the787 falls into the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classificationof a “heavy” jet (anything over 300,000 pounds MTOW), but it’s stillconsiderably lighter than a 777-300ER, which has a MTOW of 774,600 pounds, a747-8 freighter, with a MTOW of 975,000 pounds, or the massive AirbusA-380-800. With a MTOW of 1,254,000 pounds, the A-380 has its own designationof “super.”
The aircraft’s comparatively lighterweight and use of engines that are among the most powerful manufacturedtoday allow the Dreamliner to achieve Mach 0.85 (85% of the speed of sound),the same top speed at the 777. Most other commercial jetliners top out at Mach 0.8. Despite that, theengines are fuel-efficient, and the plane uses 20% less fuel than any otherairplane of its size, according to Boeing data.
As of this writing, neither Rolls-Royce nor GE, the twoengine manufacturers for the 787, has offered me a sample turbine blade from either engine...
The speed of sound, by the way, varies depending almostentirely on the temperature of the air. The colder the air, the denser it isand the slower sound travels. To determine the speed of sound in knots, multiplethe square root of the absolute temperature in degrees Kelvin (Celsius + 273° to obtain the absolute temperature), by38.94. To obtain miles per hour, multiply by 45. But I digress.
I said I was geeking out; I will not apologize.
The Dreamliner’s interior is reportedly quieter than moreconventional aircraft; the air is cleaner and less drying; and the cabin ispressurized to a lower altitude, all of which reduce fatigue. The aircraft usesLEDs and mood lighting in the cabin and, as if to add icing to the cake, itswindows are 30% larger and provide passengers with a better view than any othercommercial aircraft.
Its wingspan of 197’ is just slightly smaller than the199’11” wingspan of the 777, a wide body that can carry over 300 passengers ina three-class configuration. The Dreamliner can carry between 210 and 250passengers.
But, just as the map is not the territory, words do not anaircraft make, nor can they adequately describe the experience of riding inone, as even one of Boeing’s P-R people acknowledged.
“There are no words we could put on paper to explain howspecial the airplane is,” Lori Gunter wrote to me in an e-mail. In fact, shesaid, passengers have found that “[T]he new high level of comfort andconvenience becomes the new norm about 20 minutes into the flight and it’s notuntil they fly on another airplane following their 787 flight that they realizehow important all the new features are.”
Since the first delivery about a year ago, 20 moreDreamliners have been delivered, including another dozen to ANA and five toJapan Airlines. However, only a few of that already-small number are carryingpassengers to and from the United States.
Japan Airlines put its firstDreamliner on its new Tokyo-Boston route on April 22. ANA will introduce the Dreamliner on its Seattle-Tokyo route onOct. 1, and will operate the 787 on the San Jose, Calif.-Tokyo (SJC-NRT)non-stop route that kicks off Jan. 11, 2013.The other 787s are operating inthe eastern hemisphere.ANA’s other 787s currentlyoperate out of Haneda airport (HND) and fly to Okayama; Hiroshima; Beijing,China; and Frankfurt, Germany. HND, located 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) south ofTokyo, handles almost all domestic flights to and from Tokyo, while NRT handlesthe majority of international flights. Ethiopian Air is using its sole787 on the route between Addis Ababa and Tel Aviv, Israel, while Air India isusing its just-delivered Dreamliner for domestic service.For all these reasons, plus (honestly) getting to dosomething before a whole lot of other people, it was with great pleasure that Iaccepted an offer to be part of ANA’s media tour to introduce the Dreamliner topassengers traveling between Seattle and Tokyo. The tour – and my reports,however inadequate my words and photos may prove to be – will take place nextmonth.
I can’t wait!
Click on photos to view larger size images.
Seattle Travel Tips
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder