The new Boeing 787

[Slapdad]

I stumbled onto the Boeing website which talks about the new 787 and went through some of the features of the new aircraft and some of the things they've come up with look really cool.

Here's the site: Boeing 787 (http://787firstflight.newairplane.com/ffindex.html) - go to "Design Highlights" then "View Highlights"

Some of the things that stood out were:

Bigger windows that tint at the touch of a button. All the windows can be dimmed by the flight crew with one button to keep the plane cool on the ground.

LED lighting - very versatile, efficient and has a very long lifespan.

Composite materials - instead of metal, composites make the plane lighter and, as a side benefit, the cabin humidity can be quite a bit higher, which reduces the scratchy throat and eyes.

Cabin pressurized to 6,000 ft instead of 8,000.....should make it more comfortable for us low-landers : )

[Paw]

I saw the footage of the Dreamliner's initial flight from Boeing's facility yesterday. It looks to also have a very unique wing design. They seem to bend upward toward the sky.

[Stuck in Seattle]

Beautiful plane that will be extremely efficient. I don't know if you all are aware of this, but Boeing is opening a second assembly line for this plane in South Carolina due to the labor issues and crappy state government in Washington.

It's a huge issue up here and as it follows Boeing moving their corporate offices out of Seattle several years ago it's a pretty sure sign that they're slowly pulling out of the region. That's scary for anyone that lives up here as the loss of Boeing would affect the region like the collapse of the auto makers affected Detroit.

[PACKFAN22]

That is am impressive plane. I like the fact that it was a complete redesign from the ground up. People have been using composite materials for year what took the aviation industry so long to get on board?

[battle.borne]

At RNO we get antiquated MD-80s and smelly 737's. So you'll have to pardon me if I don't get too excited about the next big thing that's only available for international travelers originating from major hub airports! ;) :p

[Paw]

At RNO we get antiquated MD-80s and smelly 737's. So you'll have to pardon me if I don't get too excited about the next big thing that's only available for international travelers originating from major hub airports! ;) :p

I pray for an Airbus 320(?) every time I fly out of Reno. They are far more comfortable the the MD80s and the 737s. Leg room!

[battle.borne]

I pray for an Airbus 320(?) every time I fly out of Reno. They are far more comfortable the the MD80s and the 737s. Leg room!

I flew to New York's La Guardia via DFW on a MD 80 with no TV. Almost 7 hours of flight time and no movie. I hate you American Airlines and thank God for iPhones.

[backsthepack]

I'm flying DFW to Dulles Christmas Day and can only hope it's an upgrade over the kind of plan I'm used to flying from DFW. Getting to DFW is a different story! 27 seaters, woo! And I've flown on even smaller. That's what I get for living in towns of 50,000 or so.

[Slapdad]

I flew from Barcelona to Houston in May with the video system on an endless loop of 1) first 10 minutes of "Taken" 2) Windows Reboot 1) Repeat.

I wound up having to *gasp* read a book!!!

[nvbluewolf]

I pray for an Airbus 320(?) every time I fly out of Reno. They are far more comfortable the the MD80s and the 737s. Leg room!

Actually the plane manufacturer doesn't have much to do with the leg room issue. It's the airline that makes the call on what the leg room will be. Check out seatguru.com. They show how much leg room each seat has, which seats are bad, and which are good.

[nvbluewolf]

Beautiful plane that will be extremely efficient. I don't know if you all are aware of this, but Boeing is opening a second assembly line for this plane in South Carolina due to the labor issues and crappy state government in Washington.

It's a huge issue up here and as it follows Boeing moving their corporate offices out of Seattle several years ago it's a pretty sure sign that they're slowly pulling out of the region. That's scary for anyone that lives up here as the loss of Boeing would affect the region like the collapse of the auto makers affected Detroit.

Actually I seem to remember than Boeing has a plant in South Carolina because one of their part manufacturers (in South Carolina) went bankrupt seriously jeopardizing the production of the 787 and so they bought the facility to keep production only a year behind instead of having to get new contracts for the part.

[battle.borne]

I wound up having to *gasp* read a book!!!

Wow dude, that is rough. :eek: