B787-9

I love those damn swept wings, what a marvelous design...so unbelievably graceful. Reminds me of albatross wings. When they flex.......it's breathtaking. I wish my Dad was still around to see her.

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Here's the routine today from Farns


 
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In my experience, the 788s I work are always able at least FL410 if I need it, and I have seen a few request FL430. Find any other airliner save the Concord that ever flew that high. Pick your airbi and on a good day I'm lucky if they can hammer out FL380 for traffic.
 
A Life Aloft said:
As Air New Zealand prepares to receive the first 787-9 next week, Boeing has increased the weight and clarified the range for the two largest variants in the Dreamliner family.
stuff...
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That's not horrible if the reporting is accurate. Did better than the old Starship, of course those same engineers were on the 787 project so maybe they brought a little help to a team completely out of their element. Someday I'll have to dig up the old -3 series and see what that looked like before it was cancelled.

jwp_145 said:
What is humerous is that if you watch the Errbus launch announcement from Farborough from today he basically says the exact Opposite, John Leahy that is... Hypes up the a330NEW (which they seem to forget is an airplane that all their customers said "WE DON"T WANT THAT) ten years ago, and talked about how much of a failure boeing is. The airbus guys are wankers.
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I've bemoaned the Airbus guys in the past, but Airbus is playing it smart letting Boeing carve the path on composites and then stealing their best engineers. This composite push will be the way forward for the next 50 years, it's ok if you miss 3-5 of them while Boeing trips over itself for almost 10 years to be "first". Let's not forget there was a 787-3 that was axed because it wasn't even close to a real airplane or what was sold to the airlines.
Boris Badenov said:
It's a neat plane, I guess. The pursefights over whose soulless multi-national conglomerate is "better" are less neat.
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Can't you just say 'Murica?
 
Some nice pics here: http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Dreamlin...ckland/tabid/815/articleID/49722/Default.aspx

Fri, 11 Jul 2014

Dreamliner Delivery: The 14-hour flight to Auckland

It's just another plane right? Wrong. Air New Zealand's new Dreamliner takes flying to the next level.

Maybe I was just captivated by all the newness, all the food and the really excited staff flying it home for the first time - but I seriously think kiwis will like travelling on this plane.
The features were impressive enough on the ground, but as soon as the 787-9 takes to the air, it's a whole different story.

It's quiet, incredibly smooth, light floods through the entire cabin from the big windows and my ears didn't pop as much as they usually do at take off and landing.

If you've got a window seat, watching the wings flex upwards during takeoff is a thing of beauty. Even during normal flight they're mesmerising to watch.

At 14 hours, this was the longest continuous flight I've been on but certainly the most comfortable (and I wasn't even in business class).

New Features
Boeing has long talked-up the high-tech innovations of the Dreamliner which were meant to make flying less exhausting and more comfortable for passengers.

For starters, the plane maker claims your skin won't dry out on the Dreamliner like it can on other planes because the carbon-fibre fuselage allows a higher humidity in the cabin. They weren't wrong - my skin loved the plane, as did those passengers wearing contact lenses.
Another innovation is the lower cabin pressure - set at 6,000 feet rather than 8,000 like Boeing's other planes meaning there's more oxygen in the air. I found it was less tiring, not as cold and I got off in Auckland feeling far less exhausted than I typically would. I certainly didn't feel as though I'd just spent 14 hours in the air.

The third fancy feature is the way the cabin air is filtered. The Dreamliner uses a special electronic purification system based in the belly of the plane, rather than taking air from the engines. It's meant to eliminate body odours, strong perfumes and bugs (from fluey passengers) circulating through the plane.

When you first take your seat - no matter where it is - the first thing that is apparent is how big the windows are.

They're 30 percent larger than the 767 and they flood the cabin with glorious light, giving vistas even to those seated in the middle section.

Boeing's done a great job removing physical sliding light shades and replacing them with digital tinters (which are cool to play with and will keep the kids entertained).

The engine noise is drastically reduced too, mainly because of the zig-zag chevron patterns around the nacelles of the turbine. Our captain, Captain Kirk, couldn't believe how quiet it was in the cockpit. Passengers will also notice the different sound the engines make at take off.

My Seat
Air New Zealand allocated me one of their new premium economy seats, which I was initially quite sceptical about because they're not the same as the popular SpaceSeat on the airline's Boeing 777-300ER planes.

But I was made to eat my words. It was nice and big. Had great back support. Recline was decent and didn't intrude into those seated behind. Adjustable headrest, big pillow and blanket made sleeping easy. Then there's the big screen with the best, most intuitive in-flight entertainment system in the skies + noise cancelling headphones. Bliss.

Other Seats
I unfairly slammed the economy seats in my earlier post this week, mainly for their lack of legroom which I based on a walk through of the plane at Boeing's delivery centre. I had a change of heart after spending 30 minutes in them, realising they're actually pretty comfy. They feel almost like a racing seat, with good back support, especially on the sides.

I never got a chance to give the SkyCouch a decent spin because of their popularity amongst others on the delivery flight (all 14 were taken!). I did have a 5 minute lie down and it's a pretty cool product for economy. If you're tall like me, you'd have to keep you legs bent though, which isn't the end of the world.

Food and Drink
Wowsa. A special menu was devised especially for the delivery flight and it was mind-blowingly delicious and extensive: two-course breakfast, three-course lunch and a three-course dinner just before touchdown.

I know this service was just a one-off and kiwis who fly on the Dreamliner won't get the same deal but it was too fantastic not to mention.

Brekky started with fruit, yoghurt and muesli, with a croissant and a glass of orange juice. Following this was one of six choices - I went for the scrambled egg quesadilla with Monteray jack cheese, zucchini and bell peppers topped with a tomatillo and roast corn salsa.

After a three hour sleep, the cabin was roused again for more kai - lunch began with a crab and smoked salmon salad with a selection of breads, followed by five main options.

I couldn't say no to the wood-roasted chicken breast with honey-roasted parsnips and carrots, and a paprika, almond pesto. It was one of the best meals I've had in the sky.

If that wasn't enough, a dessert round was offered and I went for the dulche de leche ice cream with caramel sauce and honeycomb. This was followed (what? more?) by a platter of cheese, crackers and fig relish.

I don't think anyone was hungry when the cabin crew announced dinner - but out rolled smoked duck entree, a salmon and couscous main with a orange coffee cake to finish.

If you fly with Air New Zealand in Business Premier or Premium Economy - these are the types of meals that'll turn up at your table, but just not the excessive volume given to us.

In-flight Entertainment
By far the biggest leap forward that most passengers will universally applaud is the entertainment system. Air New Zealand partnered with Panasonic to develop it, and every seat now has its own tablet/iPad-like screen.

What makes it so different is the speedy, responsive touch screen. Gone are the days when you feel like you'll break the screen by pushing so hard to choose a movie.

The content on the system is top-notch too, with a massive selection of films, TV shows, music, games, programmes for kids and all of Air New Zealand's themed safety videos + fleet information.

You can also order drinks and food to be delivered to you seat using your screen, and even send flight attendants messages (and get some funny replies).

There's a USB charging input on every seat and universal plugs for charging laptops etc throughout the plane - great for when the juice is low.
 
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A Life Aloft said:
As Air New Zealand prepares to receive the first 787-9 next week, Boeing has increased the weight and clarified the range for the two largest variants in the Dreamliner family.

Maximum take-off weight for the 787-9 and 787-10 rises to 253,000kg (557,000lb), or 1,810kg higher than previously listed.

Boeing attributes the weight growth to added range, saying the 787-9 can now fly up to 8,300nm (15,400km).

However, the company previously listed the range for the 787-9 as between 8,000-8,500nm with a lower maximum take-off weight of 251,000kg.

Boeing officials also have said that the 787-9 weight stayed below projections by “several hundred pounds” through the development process.

The 787-10 is designed to match the maximum take-off weight of the 787-9, so its specification also rose to 253,000kg, Boeing says.

Boeing also clarified the range target for the largest of the three 787 variants. The original target was listed at 7,000nm, but is now slightly higher at 7,020nm, according to a new Boeing fact sheet.

The new specifications also clarify Boeing’s listed seat counts for the three models, although actual seat counts vary significantly depending on the layout selected by each airline.

Where the 787-9 was previously described as 250-290 seats, the latest fact sheet says it is 280 seats, or 16% higher than the 242 seats on the 787-8.

Boeing also clarifies the 787-10 seat count as 323 seats instead of a range between 300 and 330.

The latest fact sheets also define the listed range of the 787-8 as 7,850nm instead of a range between 7,650 and 8,200nm.
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How about price? Are they offering any groupons deals if I buy at least 5? :)
 
While the 787 is no doubt a very nicely done a/c, my eyes are bleeding at the sight of the huge cruise yoke. What a setback, what a waste of space, what a stuck-in-the-80's statement... Anyone who has flown an Airbus cannot but adore the sidestick and the table.
I'm not totally convinced either by the battery fix either. Let's see how the A350 will do.
 
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