Lots of big news this week. At 9a PT today, Southwest will announce what changes (if any) they’ll be making to their boarding process. I’ll write about that tomorrow. But for today, let’s focus on the 787, and the new claims that it is going to be unsafe.

Last night, Dan Rather had a special report on the safety of the 787. (Believe it or not, he’s still on TV. You just have to try hard to find him on HDNet.) The focus? A former Boeing employee is claiming that the composite materials being used on the plane aren’t as safe as the metal used on other planes. You can read a good summary of the interview in this Seattle Post-Intelligencer article. This is one that will inevitably get blown up to increase the scare factor, so let’s start with the facts here.

As I mentioned, all of the allegations come from the fact that the airplane is made from composites instead of metal. This is the first time the fuselage of an aircraft has been made from composites, but parts as large as the tail have been made of composites before. And the military has planes made from composites as well. Still, we don’t know nearly as much about composites as we do about metals, so there are questions to be answered. According to the former employee making these claims, here are the potential issues:

• In an accident, the composite fuselage will shatter into a bunch of tiny pieces instead of staying together like metal. This will prevent people from being protected from fire for a few minutes as they are with metals, and it may mean they can’t get out in time to survive.
• In an accident, the composites will create toxic fumes when they burn so people will die before they can escape to find fresh air.
• The mesh used to conduct away lightning is “too light and vulnerable to hail damage,” so strikes could bring down the plane.
• Lastly, there was just an overarching concern about composites being damaged in general. You can’t always detect composite damage with the naked eye so other tools need to be used, like ultrasound, to detect problems and those machines may not be readily available.

This employee was apparently “fired last year under disputed circumstances.” You can read the details in the article, but could it mean he’s just a disgruntled employee? Sure it could, but I don’t think that matters. It’s still a good special, (except for the reappearance of the perennially-wrongMary Schiavo. Ugh.) because this sort of questioning can only help in the long run.

The FAA is going to require that this plane meet the same standards of survivability that metal aircraft face, so we might as well get all of these issues out in the open before something bad happens. If this is a disgruntled employee and they aren’t really issues, that’s great. Tests will show that his concerns are unfounded and we can move on. If not, well, then Boeing is going to have to come up with some solutions here.

The thing I worry about most is that damage occurs to composites that can’t be seen with the naked eye. A lot of training and expensive equipment will be required for people to be able to identify that damage, and we must be really vigilant until we know more about how composites behave over long periods of time. Whenever you do something new like this, there’s always a learning curve, and we need to do whatever we can to make sure that learning curve doesn’t kill people.

I can’t help but think back to the introduction of the Comet, the first production jet aircraft, more than 50 years ago. That plane suffered multiple catastrophic failures in flight due to what was eventually determined to be metal fatigue. At the time, people just didn’t know the effect of pressurization on metal as well as they do now. The design of the windows left weak spots in the corners that ended up buckling in flight. They figured it out, but a lot of lives were lost.

I’m not suggesting that we’re going to see the same thing with the 787. I think it just underscores the idea that extreme testing that doesn’t end with the entry into service must be mandatory for an aircraft made differently than in the past. That’s why Boeing’s decision to have a truncated testing schedule in order to deliver the 787 on time seems highly suspicious to me. In a way, I really hope we have delays so that there is no rush get the airplane out there. Let’s make sure it’s safe.

If you’d like to watch the Dan Rather special, tune in to HDNet (if you can find it) over the next few days. It’s showing on “Dan Rather Reports.” For times, click here.

Yesterday was a day for which I had been waiting a long time . . . 7/8/07. Sadly, instead of sitting in front of my computer watching the rollout of the 787, I was busy twiddling my thumbs in Denver Intl Airport for hours on end. (I’ll have that story in the next couple of days.)

That being said, once I got home I started scanning the internet to find everything I could about the rollout. Unfortunately, I still haven’t been able to get Boeing’s official rollout video to work. Maybe you’ll have more luck by clicking here.

So instead I went to the old standby. The Seattle media always does a great job of covering Boeing, and sure enough they have some good stuff. Start with this video from KING5 (unfortunately it doesn’t seem to like working in Firefox) and then surf around from there. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also has some great stuff including this photo below taken by the paper’s own Grant Haller.

As you can imagine, this was a huge day for Boeing, especially since they actually rolled it out on time. The next big test (and the more exciting event) is the first flight. That should be anywhere from the end of August to the end of September. Then the first delivery will be to Japan’s ANA in May of next year. ANA was so excited about this weekend that they decided to make an announcement of their own . . . they’re installing bidets on all the 787s. Um, ok. That’s definitely something that won’t be appealing to me. But it does beg the question . . . how much room is in that bathroom!?!

And the good news keeps rolling in. Air Berlin bought 25 of the 787s while Kuwait’s leasing company bought 10. Qantas says it will order another 20. ANA is said to be considering another 10 to 20. And, an eagle-eyed friend noticed that in the 787 rollout video, there was a picture of a 787 with a Qatar tail. Hmm, does that mean an order is imminent?

Overall, a great weekend for Boeing. I just can’t wait to fly on this plane.

I just came across this discussion thread on airliners.net that shows the first 787 all put together!

That is one awesome-looking airplane. Check out the size of those engines on that frame. It almost looks like the love-child of a 777 and a 757. (Yes, I know that thinking about airplanes mating means I should see a shrink.)

The rollout of the first 787 is only 46 days away, and I can’t wait. Really, what I’m excited about is flying on one, but the rollout obviously has to come first. As we get closer to seeing the plane for the first time, I keep learning more about why this plane is so cool.

That latest? The vertical gust suppression system.

Oh yeah, it sounds fancy. Actually, it IS fancy. It’s a system that actually reduces the turbulence you’ll feel while in flight. James Wallace over at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer had the opportunity to ride in a simulator once with and once without the system activated. You can find his report online here. Here’s a brief snippet to pique your interest.

Mike Sinnett, chief project engineer for 787 systems, said Boeing can’t reveal all the details about how the vertical gust suppression system works. It involves the plane’s entire “air data package,” he said. That includes sensors embedded in the composite skin of the Dreamliner that will detect tiny changes in pressure caused by wind gusts. The jet’s flight-control system automatically will make adjustments to smooth out the ride before the plane gets bounced around.

Boeing’s 777 has a gust-suppression system that reduces side-to-side motion, but it does not dampen the up-and-down motion of the plane during turbulence. The 787 system will dampen these motions by as much as 60 percent to 70 percent.

So cool.

A friend of mine passed along a Boeing presentation called “Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flight Deck Safety, Comfort, Efficiency” (also posted here in PDF format). Most of the information in there isn’t going to get the average traveler excited, but this picture was just too cool to pass up:

As you can imagine, this plane will be packed with all kinds of technology to help improve flight safety including dual heads-up displays (where they project the vital instruments in the window so neither pilot has to look down) and an airport moving map so the pilots can figure out where they on on the airfield. This is especially important when visibility is poor, and it could have helped prevent accidents like the Comair one in Kentucky last year. That aircraft took off on the wrong runway which unfortunately happened to be too short.

There’s a lot more than just that, of course, but you get the idea. They’ve also gone and cleaned up the cockpit layout as compared to the 777. What do I mean by that? Well . . .

As you can see, instead of 22 separate instruments/radios on the main control panel, there are now only 12. The ones that remain have bigger screens to make life easier for the pilots. The plane rolls out in less than three months, and the anticipation is building.

It’s incredible to me that the plane has already surpassed 500 orders from 43 companies and it hasn’t even rolled out yet. Boeing has a habit of beating expectations in terms of performance, and I really hope for their sake that’s the case this time. So far, they say all is good.  This is easily one of the most anticipated aircraft of all time.

I think it’s been a long time since people have been as excited about seeing an aircraft roll out as they are about seeing the 787. Part of it may be that the construction process if very different from any other commercial aircraft.  Read this to see what I’m talking about.  I think a lot of people just can’t believe it’s going to happen.  Meanwhile, this latest image from the Boeing Company looks pretty good.  Enough images though, I’m ready for the real thing!

Now word is out that it’s still running on schedule.  Apparently production will begin in the next three months and rollout may very well be on July 8.  (That’s 7-8-07, get it?)  The end of August is targeted for the first test flight.  Will it happen?  Airbus’ top salesman doesn’t believe it.  It’s getting relatively close, so I would think Boeing would have a good idea right now, but I guess we’ll find out in August if not before.

People have been talking about Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner for so long that first flight always seems so far away. That’s far from being the truth. Believe it or not, the first flight is scheduled for later this year, so they better be making some good progress on building the thing.

Pictures of the aircraft have been hard to come by, and many people have been wondering if delays are in store. Well yesterday, Scott Carson, President of Boeing Commercial Airplane, gave a presentation with a ton of photos.

How about this sexy shot?

Okay, so maybe that isn’t so sexy, but it is pretty important, as you can see by the velvet, uh, chain link rope. That’s the engine pylon - the thing that keeps the engine on the wing. Like I said, it’s pretty important.

Click here (PDF) to see the presentation with a bunch more photos. This plane is being assembled all over the world, so all you see now are bits and pieces being constructed. The biggest pieces will get a ride in that enormous modified 747 on slide 46 that looks like it has a massive tumor.

The bottom line is that the plane is still on time, and I can’t wait to see it roll out.

A friend of mine passed along a link to a column today from Gregg Easterbrook posted on ESPN’s website. (Click here.) I was surprised to see a pretty lengthy talk about the 787 and it’s impact on the customer, especially from an NFL writer. Even more surprising, it’s a pretty thorough, accurate, and funny piece!

If you’re interested, scroll down about 2/3 of the way down the page until you see the header “Your Seat Assignment Is Coach, But for an Additional Fee, You Can Upgrade to an Overhead Bin ” and start reading from there.

The only flaws I could pick out are the following minor ones:

• He says that after delivery airlines “rip out the interiors, shrink the ‘pitch,’ or fore-and-aft distance between seats, and jam in more chairs, eliminating legroom.” They definitely do not rip out the interiors after they’re delivered. They choose their interiors and have them delivered in the knee-crushing configuration right away these days.
• It’s noted that the 787 “will be pressurized to near ground level,” but that’s not true. He correctly notes that most airliners are pressurized to around 8,000 ft, but the 787 will be pressurized to around 6,000 ft (read this Popular Mechanics article). That may not sound like a big difference, but studies show that human performance doesn’t really start to degrade until you’re above that level and then it starts to drop off rapidly, so there should be a big difference for the customer at 6,000 ft instead of 8,000 ft.

US Airways announcement today that they’re adding winglets to their 757s made me think it’d be a good time to repost an old piece I wrote on winglets back on the PriceGrabber Airline Discussion Forums back on July 19. So, with a few updates, here it is . . .

Chances are good that if you’ve flown on a 737 or a 757 lately, you’ve seen some abnormally large pieces of metal sticking straight up off the end. These things, called winglets, look pretty funny if you’re not used to seeing them, but airlines are installing them like they’re going out of style. Why? Yup, you guessed it - they save fuel.

The real problem here is called a wingtip vortex. As airplanes fly through the sky, they obviously disturb the air. At the edge of the wing, drag is created becuase the shape causes the air to swirl around in a funnel shape. And when drag is created, it destroys efficiency.

Aircraft manufacturers realized that if you could reduce these disturbances, you could increase fuel efficiency and therefore range. Airbus was the first commercial manufacturer that I can recall to start tackling the problem with wingtip fences. These extend both above and below the wing and have been used on the A300/A310/A320 families. (A320 at left)

Boeing first got into the game with the 747-400 when it came out in the late 1980’s. They installed winglets, which just go above the wing (though most people use “winglet” as the generic term for wintip fences as well). These winglets weren’t very large, but they had the desired effect or reducing the amount of drag created in flight. Most recently, Boeing has moved toward the “raked wingtip” design. This is essentially a horizontal winglet. The 767-400 was the first Boeing aircraft to receive the raked wingtip, as shown at right.

Now, third parties have started to create after-market winglets that airlines can install themselves. The most popular of these is the Aviation Partners Boeing winglets for the 737s and now the 757s. They are blended, which means they curve directly into the end of the wing. These winglets may be really tall and funny looking, but they enable planes to fly further on each tank of gas. This is good for the environment, it saves money, and it extends the range of each plane, and that’s why US Airways is installing them now. It allows them to carry a full load year-round between Phoenix/Las Vegas and Hawai’i as well as from the East Coast to Europe.

So what’s the next evolution of winglets? Well, it may actually not involve winglets at all. Boeing has found ways to incorporate the drag-reducing technology into the wing itself. The new 787 has a pretty radical looking wing design, and the assumption is that winglets won’t be necessary. Look at this picture on the right to see the amazing curvature that you’ll find in the wing. This new wing along with other fuel saving features mean the 787 should see fuel savings around 30% over the 767 it replaces.