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787 Dreamliner Factory: North Charleston, SC

Virtual site tours.

See innovation in action with a series of Virtual Site Tours hosted by Boeing. Students will be transported around the U.S . to visit unique Boeing facilities, where they’ll learn more about the people and products leading the way to the future of air travel. Each video is paired with a companion activity that incorporates project-based learning, student collaboration, and hands-on STEM problem-solving.

Learn about the 787 Dreamliner

Want to know how aerospace innovations get off the ground? Get an inside look at the Boeing South Carolina facility where the energy-efficient 787 Dreamliner is built. Watch as many diverse teams come together to create an airplane that lives up to Boeing’s principles of safety, quality, and integrity. After watching the virtual tour, download the DreamLearners activity, to learn what it’s like to bring aircraft design to life with a fun paper airplane activity.

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Simple Flying

American airlines boeing 787-9: a full cabin tour.

Simple Flying got a chance to tour an American Airlines Boeing 787-9 in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Traditionally, the planes are used on the airline's long-haul international network flying far and wide to places such as Sydney, Tokyo, São Paulo, and more. Here's an inside look at the American Airlines Boeing 787-9 cabin.

American's Boeing 787-9s seat a total of 285 passengers. These aircraft are outfitted with lie-flat business class, premium economy, extra-legroom economy, and standard economy.

All seats on the aircraft have access to power, on-demand complimentary seatback entertainment, and live television. WiFi is also available across American's 787-9 fleet, but, in some cases, connectivity may not be available when flying over certain regions.

The 787-9s are one of the long-haul workhorses in American's fleet. With a maximum range of 7,530 nautical miles (13,950 kilometers), American flies these planes on some domestic missions, but also on long-haul international flights. Some of the longer routes the planes fly include Los Angeles to Sydney, Dallas to Shanghai, and, coming soon, Seattle to Bangalore.

Simple Flying got an exclusive chance to check out the cabin of the Boeing 787-9 while it was on the ground undergoing some maintenance before it reentered commercial service.

The Flagship Business cabin

American Airlines brands its business class cabin as "Flagship Business." There are 30 lie-flat reverse herringbone seats on the Boeing 787-9 in a 1-2-1 configuration. All 30 seats fit between doors one and two.

The seats in the cabin are Super Diamond reverse herringbone seats. Previously manufactured by B/E Aerospace, these seats are now under the Collins Aerospace family of seating. You can find this style of seat on many airlines, including onboard Aeromexico's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners .

The seats on the Boeing 787-9 offer a fair bit of privacy, unlike some other reverse herringbone products . The center seats do not have center dividers, so those ones are great for couples traveling together or families or friends who want to sit near each other and have a conversation. The solo window seats, however, offer much more privacy.

While all seats have an outer shell that extends out at the top to provide some more privacy from the aisle and person next to you and an armrest that can be raised or lowered, the window seats are some of the better options for solo travelers. As they angle toward the window, it means passengers are naturally angled away from other people.

The seats feature plenty of storage. Besides ample overhead bin space, each seat also comes with two storage compartments opposite the entrance to the seat. There is a larger storage compartment where the universal power outlet, headphone port, USB port, and handheld controller for the inflight entertainment system can be found. A second smaller compartment is just behind this larger one. The final storage compartment is actually inside the armrest.

The tray table is stored underneath the inflight entertainment screen. These screens were fairly big and had fantastic resolution.

The Premium Economy product

American Airlines does not have a special name for its premium economy cabin. On the Boeing 787-9s, the airline offers an intimate cabin of 21 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. These seats are similar to what you will find on American's retrofitted narrowbody Boeing 737s in domestic first class .

These seats offer additional legroom and recline compared to coach seats and also have an adjustable footrest. On a longer flight where business class is not available or priced too high for you, the premium economy cabin could be a great middle-ground with a little more room to stretch out.

There is not as much storage with these seats. There is only whatever you can fit underneath the seat, a little mesh pocket, and a literature pocket in the seatback.

The seatback screens available at all seats were not as large as the ones found in Flagship Business, but they were still larger than economy. You will also notice that the entertainment system is designed to blackout at an angle, so you will not be disturbing your neighbors too much if you decide to watch a movie or TV show while they try to nap.

These seats have 38" of pitch, according to American, and are 19" wide, giving you a few more inches in width and pitch compared to extra-legroom economy and a much more comfortable margin compared to standard economy.

The bulkhead seats seemed to have a little more room to maneuver and stretch out than the rest of the rows. While you have to sacrifice floor storage, this might be a great option for passengers who want some room to relax and do not mind being separated temporarily from their belongings during takeoff or landing.

The economy cabin

The first few rows of economy are branded as "Main Cabin Extra". These are extra-legroom economy seats. These seats come with 35" of pitch and 17.2" of width. So, the seats have a little less pitch and width compared to premium economy.

Beside the first three rows, there is also an exit row that is also branded as Main Cabin Extra due to its greater legroom by the doors. This last row of seats comes at the third set of doors on the aircraft.

The rest of the cabin is made up of 200 standard economy seats. Both standard economy and Main Cabin Extra are outfitted in a 3-3-3 configuration. Standard coach seats come with 31" of seat pitch and between 16.2 and 17.2" of seat width.

Every seat in economy comes with access to on-demand inflight entertainment. Each seat also features access to power, which could be fantastic on a nice long-haul flight when your devices start to lose charge.

Passengers can recline in all seats – even in the final row – which should offer some reprieve on a flight over 16 hours from Seattle to Bangalore. There is limited storage in these seats, but there should be plenty of overhead bin space for passengers.

The final verdict on the Boeing 787-9s

American's Boeing 787-9s are the backbone of American's ultra-long-haul fleet. With plenty on order, these aircraft will be around for some time to come and operate a growing number of the airline's long-haul international routes.

The planes are competitive. Few airlines offer a lighter configuration in economy class, but American has ensured its passengers can stay connected to entertainment, work, friends, or more. In business class, passengers will experience one of the best seats in American's fleet.

So, if you do plan to fly on American Airlines and have a choice of planes, the newer, quieter, and upgraded Boeing 787-9 is one to look out for and consider when choosing which flights you want to take.

Are you a fan of American's Boeing 787-9s? Let us know in the comments!

A Tour of American Airlines' Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Since taking delivery of its first Boeing 787 in January 2015, American Airlines has added to its fleet almost one Dreamliner per month. It's scheduled to bring another eight into its fleet in 2018-2019 before starting to take deliveries of a new order of 47 aircraft . In total, American Airlines will have 89 Dreamliners (42 of the smaller 787-8 model and 47 of the larger 787-9)

While the experience in economy is going to be practically the same between the 787-8 and 787-9, there are some noteworthy differences that make that last digit important for premium cabins. If you booked or are looking to book a 787-9, which is often considered better for business class passengers, you might be curious what to expect. So, let's take a look around inside one of those American Airlines Boeing 787-9s.

For reference, the aircraft was stocked for a flight to Seoul, South Korea (ICN).

Flagship Business

While there's a couple of passengers I know that prefer the business class seats on the 787-8, the Zodiac "Concept D" seating is generally disliked for the narrow and unstable seats — landing it #7 on TPG's ranking of the best American Airlines premium seats . However, on the 787-9, there are excellent B/E Aerospace Super Diamond seats installed in the business class cabin (which was #2 in those same rankings). And while you can find these same seats on select 777-200 aircraft, I prefer the window seats on the 787-9 thanks to the large electronically-dimmable Dreamliner windows.

The 787-9 business class consists of one large cabin arranged in eight rows of reverse-herringbone 1-2-1 seating. There are no middle seats in row 8, meaning there are 30 business class seats on the aircraft.

The aisle-side armrest can adjust upward and downward. This bulky-looking armrest can be opened to provide a storage area. In addition to this storage area, there are two compartments on the other side of the seat. The further-back one can be latched and is rated for storage during taxi, takeoff and landing. The forward compartment technically isn't supposed to be used for storage during the critical phases of flight.

Between having all forward-facing seats and strategically designed seat shells, these seats provide a good sense of privacy. However, when walking around the cabin, you can easily see over these seat shells.

There's a couple of downsides to this otherwise excellent hard product. First, American Airlines opted not to install the optional privacy divider between the middle seats. That must have been a very expensive option, as I can't see any reason not to allow passengers to have it. Also, my wife Katie isn't a fan of the storage position of the tray table on these seats, as she bumps into it when sleeping on her side.

For more about the in-flight experience, read the full review of this cabin on a flight from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to São Paulo, Brazil (GRU).

Premium Economy

The delivery of American Airlines' first 787-9 meant the debut of Premium Economy on the world's largest airline. As of March 11, the airline had 69 aircraft with the new product — including all 15 of its 787-9, all 15 of the Airbus A330-200s, 35 of its 777-200s and now four of its 777-300ER aircraft. The seats on all of those aircraft are virtually the same.

On the 787-9, there are 21 seats installed in a 2-3-2 arrangement.

Some passengers prefer the bulkhead seats, as they have a retractable leg rest and plenty of legroom. The downside is that the in-flight entertainment for these seats is on retractable arms and must be stored for taxi, takeoff and landing.

The non-bulkhead seats have a footrest instead of the legrest. I find the recline on all of the premium economy seats to be just enough to sleep comfortably.

In the seatback, there's a pocket for literature such as the airline magazines and the safety card. There's also a coat/purse hook. Below that, there's a mesh seatback pocket. While you might be able to store a tablet in the seatback, I've found neither storage area is large enough to hold even a small laptop.

While they surely give you more space than in economy, these aren't the most spacious seats. The space between them is 38 inches, and your workspace shrinks noticeably when the passenger in front of your reclines.

The premium economy seats have 11.5-inch in-flight entertainment screens installed. While bright and crisp from the seat, these screens are designed to fade when looking at an angle, providing a bit of privacy and reducing light pollution in the cabin.

While those aren't the best premium economy seats you'll find in the skies, the airline looks to make up for this with solid soft product. On international flights, each seat is stocked with a basic, but stylish amenity kit, Casper-branded pillow and Casper-branded blanket . On flights to Asia, Casper-branded slippers are also provided.

Stay tuned for a full review of American Airlines premium economy on an international flight. Here's my take from the first time flying this product when it launched in October 2016 on domestic routes.

Main Cabin Extra

Main Cabin Extra is American Airlines' designation for extra-legroom seats in the economy cabin . In addition to seats at bulkheads and emergency exit rows, most economy cabins on AA internationally-configured aircraft include a section of extra-legroom seats. These seats are complimentary for American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum, Platinum Pro and Executive Platinum elites. AA Gold elites get 50% off the standard price until check-in, when they too can select these seats for no charge.

On the 787-9, American Airlines has 36 Main Cabin Extra seats — 12 at bulkheads, 6 at emergency exit rows and 18 standard seats in a 3-3-3 arrangement. The bulkhead seats provide plenty of knee room, but limits your ability to stretch out your legs. The first row of economy (row 12) have bassinet holders at both the window and middle sections.

The emergency exit window seats on some aircraft can have restricted legroom due to the protruding slide. That's not much of an issue on the 787-9. However, there isn't much of a view from these seats either.

At each of the bulkhead and emergency exit row seats, the in-flight entertainment screens are on retractable arms and must be stored for taxi, takeoff and landing.

The standard Main Cabin Extra seats are installed with 35 inches of pitch but are otherwise identical to standard economy seats. There are no additional service elements either. However, American Airlines is planning to add free beer, wine and liquor for these seats on all routes soon.

AA's 787-9 has 200 standard economy "Main Cabin" seats. These seats are installed with 31 inches of pitch. As is now the de facto standard on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the economy cabin is arranged with 3-3-3 seating. (Only a few airlines opted for the Boeing-recommended 2-4-2 seating ). This arrangement necessitates a rather narrow 17-inch seat.

Thankfully, there's plenty of overhead space. So, you shouldn't have to worry about having to gate-check your carry-on bag.

Unlike other aircraft that American Airlines flies internationally, AA installs bright in-flight entertainment screens with plenty of content on its 787-9. There's also a universal power plug installed at each seat.

Unlike on some planes which narrow in the back and thus have fewer seats installed, the 787-9 has 3-3-3 seating throughout. If you get stuck in the back, the good news is that even the seats in the last row of economy can recline fully.

And if you're going to recline to sleep, these seats have an under-appreciated feature: adjustable headrests. The headrest has adjustable wings to help support your head in place while you sleep.

Overall Impression

The American Airlines 787-9 is one of the better options in the airline's international fleet. The economy seats are a bit narrow, but it's no worse than the width on AA's retrofit 10-wide 777s . And, having power and in-flight entertainment screen makes the 787 a better option than AA's internationally-operated 757s and 767s.

The premium economy section provides a solid improvement from economy, giving extra legroom, seat width and soft product elements that can justify the ~$200 each way premium for some passengers.

Up front, this is one of my favorite business class cabins in the fleet. The cabin is large — but not massive — and separated from the premium economy by a galley, giving it a more exclusive feel. Combining that with one of the best business class seats in the AA fleet, it's worth seeking out this aircraft when possible.

This article has been updated to reflect American Airlines' order of 47 new Dreamliner aircraft .

About this tour

This is a tour of 19,922 nm (36,895 km) divided into seven legs.

To complete this tour, you will need to fly at least one route of each of the legs listed below. You will need to fly all legs using one of the aircraft types listed below. The type can differ between the different legs, as long as each individual route is flown using one of the aircraft types listed below.

You will need to fly all legs of this tours between 1 Jan 1990 00:00 and 29 Apr 2020 23:59 . Your last leg should have been submitted no later than 29 April 2020 23:59:00 UTC .

All legs need to be flown using one of the following aircraft types :

• Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (B78X/781)
• Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (B788/788)
• Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (B789/789)

Leg 1: ZGSZ-ZSAM

This is a leg of 264 nm (489 km) from Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX/ZGSZ) to Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN/ZSAM) (Hub) .

Eligible routes

Choose any one of the routes below. Please take into account the conditions listed at the top of this page.

Leg 2: ZSAM-EHAM

This is a leg of 5,037 nm (9,328 km) from Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport (XMN/ZSAM) (Hub) to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS/EHAM) (Hub) .

We are not aware of any eligible routes. Please create a support ticket to notify us, so we can resolve this issue. Please note that there may still be eligible routes, which could be found by searching on our routes page .

Leg 3: EHAM-HKJK

This is a leg of 3,610 nm (6,685 km) from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS/EHAM) (Hub) to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO/HKJK) (Hub) .

Leg 4: HKJK-EGLL

This is a leg of 3,698 nm (6,849 km) from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO/HKJK) (Hub) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) (Hub) .

Leg 5: EGLL-VVNB

This is a leg of 4,994 nm (9,249 km) from London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) (Hub) to Noi Bai International Airport (HAN/VVNB) (Hub) .

Leg 6: VVNB-ZBAA

This is a leg of 1,261 nm (2,335 km) from Noi Bai International Airport (HAN/VVNB) (Hub) to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK/ZBAA) .

Leg 7: ZBAA-ZGSZ

This is a leg of 1,058 nm (1,960 km) from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK/ZBAA) to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport (SZX/ZGSZ) .

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Antonov An-2

Boeing 247D

Boeing B-17F

Boeing B-29

Boeing VC-137B "Air Force One"

Boeing 727-022

Boeing 737-130

Boeing 747-121

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Douglas DC-2

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About this tour

Circumnavigate the globe using the 787.

This is a tour of 32,394 nm (59,993 km) divided into eighteen legs.

To complete this tour, you will need to fly at least one route of each of the legs listed below. You will need to fly all legs using one of the aircraft types listed below. The type can differ between the different legs, as long as each individual route is flown using one of the aircraft types listed below.

All legs need to be flown using one of the following aircraft types :

• Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (B788/788)
• Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (B78X/781)
• Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (B789/789)

Leg 1: NZAA - NTAA

This is a leg of 2,211 nm (4,094 km) from Auckland International Airport (AKL/NZAA) (Hub) to Faa'a International Airport (PPT/NTAA) .

Eligible routes

Choose any one of the routes below. Please take into account the conditions listed at the top of this page.

Leg 2: NTAA - KSFO

This is a leg of 3,653 nm (6,765 km) from Faa'a International Airport (PPT/NTAA) to San Francisco International Airport (SFO/KSFO) (Hub) .

Leg 3: KSFO - KIAD

This is a leg of 2,097 nm (3,884 km) from San Francisco International Airport (SFO/KSFO) (Hub) to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD/KIAD) (Hub) .

Leg 4: KIAD - HECA

This is a leg of 5,066 nm (9,383 km) from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD/KIAD) (Hub) to Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA) (Hub) .

Leg 5: HECA - OEJN

This is a leg of 657 nm (1,217 km) from Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA) (Hub) to King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN) .

Leg 6: OEJN - HAAB

This is a leg of 763 nm (1,413 km) from King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED/OEJN) to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD/HAAB) (Hub) .

Leg 7: HAAB - VABB

This is a leg of 2,071 nm (3,835 km) from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD/HAAB) (Hub) to Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM/VABB) (Hub) .

Leg 8: VABB - VIDP

This is a leg of 615 nm (1,139 km) from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM/VABB) (Hub) to Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) (Hub) .

Leg 9: VIDP - VTBS

This is a leg of 1,592 nm (2,949 km) from Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) (Hub) to Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK/VTBS) (Hub) .

Leg 10: VTBS - WIII

This is a leg of 1,240 nm (2,297 km) from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK/VTBS) (Hub) to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) .

Leg 11: WIII - RJTT

This is a leg of 3,123 nm (5,784 km) from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK/WIII) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) .

Leg 12: RJTT - ROAH

This is a leg of 840 nm (1,555 km) from Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) to Naha Airport (OKA/ROAH) (Hub) .

Leg 13: ROAH - RJOO

This is a leg of 654 nm (1,212 km) from Naha Airport (OKA/ROAH) (Hub) to Osaka International Airport (ITM/RJOO) (Hub) .

Leg 14: RJOO - RJTT

This is a leg of 218 nm (404 km) from Osaka International Airport (ITM/RJOO) (Hub) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) .

Leg 15: RJTT - WMKK

This is a leg of 2,889 nm (5,351 km) from Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK) .

Leg 16: WMKK - WSSS

This is a leg of 161 nm (298 km) from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL/WMKK) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS) (Hub) .

Leg 17: WSSS - WADD

This is a leg of 903 nm (1,672 km) from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN/WSSS) (Hub) to Ngurah Rai (Bali) International Airport (DPS/WADD) .

Leg 18: WADD - NZAA

This is a leg of 3,640 nm (6,741 km) from Ngurah Rai (Bali) International Airport (DPS/WADD) to Auckland International Airport (AKL/NZAA) (Hub) .

About this tour

The latest Boeing widebody aircraft travel the globe in the 787.

This is a tour of 25,431 nm (47,099 km) divided into thirteen legs.

To complete this tour, you will need to fly at least one route of each of the legs listed below. You will need to fly all legs using one of the aircraft types listed below. The type can differ between the different legs, as long as each individual route is flown using one of the aircraft types listed below.

All legs need to be flown using one of the following aircraft types :

• Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (B788/788)
• Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner (B78X/781)
• Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (B789/789)

Leg 1: OTHH-EGLL

This is a leg of 2,834 nm (5,248 km) from Hamad International Airport (DOH/OTHH) (Hub) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) (Hub) .

Eligible routes

Choose any one of the routes below. Please take into account the conditions listed at the top of this page.

Leg 2: EGLL-KPHL

This is a leg of 3,076 nm (5,697 km) from London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) (Hub) to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL/KPHL) (Hub) .

Leg 3: KPHL-KCLT

This is a leg of 390 nm (723 km) from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL/KPHL) (Hub) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT/KCLT) (Hub) .

Leg 4: KCLT-MMUN

This is a leg of 908 nm (1,682 km) from Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT/KCLT) (Hub) to Cancún International Airport (CUN/MMUN) .

Leg 5: MMUN-KDFW

This is a leg of 896 nm (1,660 km) from Cancún International Airport (CUN/MMUN) to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW/KDFW) (Hub) .

Leg 6: KDFW-KLAX

This is a leg of 1,072 nm (1,986 km) from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW/KDFW) (Hub) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) (Hub) .

Leg 7: KLAX-RJTT

This is a leg of 4,764 nm (8,823 km) from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) (Hub) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) .

Leg 8: RJTT-RJOO

This is a leg of 219 nm (405 km) from Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) (Hub) to Osaka International Airport (ITM/RJOO) (Hub) .

Leg 9: RJOO-RJAA

This is a leg of 250 nm (463 km) from Osaka International Airport (ITM/RJOO) (Hub) to Narita International Airport (NRT/RJAA) (Hub) .

Leg 10: RJAA-YBCG

This is a leg of 3,914 nm (7,249 km) from Narita International Airport (NRT/RJAA) (Hub) to Gold Coast Airport (OOL/YBCG) .

Leg 11: YBCG-YSSY

This is a leg of 368 nm (681 km) from Gold Coast Airport (OOL/YBCG) to Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD/YSSY) (Hub) .

Leg 12: YSSY-WADD

This is a leg of 2,499 nm (4,628 km) from Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (SYD/YSSY) (Hub) to Ngurah Rai (Bali) International Airport (DPS/WADD) .

Leg 13: WADD-OTHH

This is a leg of 4,241 nm (7,854 km) from Ngurah Rai (Bali) International Airport (DPS/WADD) to Hamad International Airport (DOH/OTHH) (Hub) .

• Behind the Wheel
• Checking In
• Personal Tech

Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – Virtual Tour and Review

Boeing almost didn’t build the Dreamliner. It saw the future of air travel as one in which planes would circumnavigate the world at close to the speed of sound and, accordingly, planned an aircraft called the Sonic Cruiser that could attain Mach 0.98. In part due to rising fuel costs at the turn of the century, airlines had something else in mind: long-range planes that were more fuel efficient and light weight. Boeing ditched the Sonic Cruiser idea but used one aspect of it, that of a lightweight, composite airliner, as the basis for the Dreamliner. Speed was out, efficiency was in.

INTRODUCING VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S 787-9 DREAMLINER

Virgin launched its first Dreamliner route, London-Boston, last year in October, operating its first Dreamliner, “Birthday Girl.” The second route links London with Washington using “Dream Girl,” its second 787, and the airline expects to take delivery of 14 more by 2018.

At 260 feet (79.2 meters), the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is a stretch version of the 787-8, which is 210 feet (64 meters) long. It can seat 280 passengers, 16% more than a 787-8.

The aircraft is a long-range, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner. It has a maximum takeoff weight of 557,000 pounds (252,651 kilograms) and total cargo volume of 5,400 cubic feet (153 cubic meters), a significant increase over the 787-8, which in turn is a 10% increase over a similarly sized Boeing 767-300.

The Dreamliner’s typical cruising speed is Mach 0.85. This is slightly faster than the Mach 0.80 for a Boeing 767-400ER and 0.84 for a Boeing 777-200ER. At 30,000 feet altitude Mach 0.85 translates to 577 mph or 929 km/h. It has a range of 8,300 nautical miles (15,372 kilometers), some 450 nautical miles more than the 787-8, despite having nearly identical fuel capacity.

Virgin’s 787-9 is configured with 264 seats in three separate cabins. Thirty-one of those seats are in business class, which Virgin calls Upper Class. Aft of this cabin are the airline’s Premium Economy section with 35 seats, followed by coach, with 198 seats.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Designing Virgin’s Dreamliner

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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Coronavirus daily news brief – march 7: biden’s sotu, last day to order free at-home tests, masks are off at china’s national people’s congress.

Good afternoon. This is Jonathan Spira, director of research at the Center for Long Covid Research, reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on its 1,457th day. THE LEDE Public Service Announcement: Tomorrow is the Last Day to Order Free At-Home Covid Test Kits in the U.S. The federal government’s offer for free at-home Covid test kits will soon be discontinued. The on-again/off-again offer was most recently made …

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Operational woes continue to plague united airlines as three additional flights encounter issues after departure.

United Airlines’ operations are under great scrutiny these days and not for naught. Indeed, anytime a United Airlines aircraft sneezes, it tends to make the news. This past week, a United flight from San Francisco International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was diverted to Denver on Thursday after the flight crew observed an issue with one of the Boeing 777’s engines. The following day, several people were hospitalized after a …

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This innovative aircraft joined the Virgin Atlantic fleet in October 2014. The 787s (and A330s) represent a huge leap for us and our whole industry in improving our carbon footprint.

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KLM’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner Virtual Reality Tour

Have you received a Virtual Reality headset as a gift? Big chance, since the VR Goggles were one of the most popular presents these days.  These goggles are a cool gadget that you’ll be hearing a lot more about in future. But what exactly do they do? Well, for one thing, you can use them to sneak aboard KLM’s Dreamliner.

My name is Jacob Post and I helped develop the “Royal Dutch 787 VR Experience” together with a company called The Virtual Dutch Men. It’s an interactive game that takes you aboard KLM’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, challenging you to track down as many of the latest innovations as possible. A fun way to get to know our newest aircraft. Download the Cardboard app ( iOS – Android ) if you want to experience it yourself.

Almost real

Virtual Reality (VR for short) is a simulated environment in which you get a 360-degree life-like experience. It’s like being in a completely different place, without actually moving.

VR isn’t new. It’s been around since the 1980s, but has only really found its way to the broader public in the past year. In 2014, Google launched a cardboard model – aptly called “Cardboard” – selling more than a million pairs in that year. Since then, Oculus have been doing well with their Oculus Rift and Gear VR goggles, which were developed in cooperation with Samsung and are available for around EUR 100.

A whole new world

KLM also recently began experimenting with VR. Why? Because VR is going to change the way of flying. We can create new worlds on board. Imagine if you could get a true cinema experience while watching a movie on board, or if we could offer people with fear of flying a more relaxed environment while in flight. Or how about presenting our products from the inflight magazines in a virtual shopping mall? Or if we virtually move you to a nice little french terrace during the meal on-board? The possibilities are endless.

The arrival of KLM’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner presents an ideal opportunity to experiment with virtual reality. This plane has so many innovative features, so we went in search of a great way to put this across to the public. This led to the “Royal Dutch 787 VR Experience”, a Cardboard VR app that gives you the feeling you’re really aboard the Dreamliner. You can sit in a new World Business Class seat, test one of the new 11-inch monitors in Economy Class, and a whole lot more.

Can you believe what you just saw?

The response has been fantastic! People can’t believe their eyes when they put on the goggles. “It’s like actually being there!” When you remove the goggles, it really takes some time to readjust to reality.

Would you like to share this experience?

If you already have Cardboard VR goggles, then you can download the app on your phone and get on board! You can also use the app without goggles. The experience is less intense, of course, but still pretty brilliant. We challenge you to find 15 innovative features aboard KLM’s new pride and joy: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The app is available for both iOS and Android .

SANJAY KUMAR

VERY NICE AIRLINE. I LOVE IT

I am trying to download the below app via Samsung Oculus Store for a Note 5 Phone Please let me know if these links are only compatible with Samsung S6 or can they be downloaded on other samsung phones too

Ron Feenstra

Op welke stad / land wordt er met dit toestel gevlogen?

So I have the googles but where do I get the video? There are. No instructions

Michael Trahan

Mike Trahan

Great Article! Love the integration of technology in aviation! I wrote a similar article and featured you in it. Check it out! http://www.woveon.com/blog/5-ways-companies-have-used-vr-for-marketing

nooooo puedo creer lo increíble que es esta pagina de verdad se las recomiendo es fabulosamente perfecta

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Boeing Tours

Boeing future of flight and boeing everett factory tour.

Boeing Future of Flight is one of Washington State's premier aerospace attractions, welcoming guests to enjoy the Boeing Everett Factory Tour, Gallery, Sky Deck and Boeing Store. Boeing Future of Flight is located in Mukilteo, WA next to Paine Field and the Boeing Everett Factory, just 25 miles north of downtown Seattle.

Step inside the world's largest factory for a behind-the-scenes look at the Boeing Everett Factory and 777 assembly line. Each tour is an 80-minute guided experience with a front row view of current airplane production, the Everett site’s history, and the central role it plays in the future of commercial aviation. Tours are available Thursday–Monday.

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James S. McDonnell Prologue Room Air and Space History Exhibit in St. Louis

The James S. McDonnell Prologue Room Air and Space History Exhibit showcases the pioneers of aviation, their achievements and those of the thousands of workers who turned dreams into reality. The Prologue Room is located in the Boeing-St. Louis headquarters adjacent to Lambert-St. Louis International airport. The Prologue Room is open for self-guided tours weekdays during June, July and August only. Guided tours are available to groups of 10 or more throughout the year.

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Boeing says no 787 safety risk after whistleblower raises troubling claims

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — At its 787 Dreamliner manufacturing complex on Monday, Boeing responded to damaging new whistleblower allegations by detailing the results of testing it has done since small gaps between fuselage pieces on the jets were discovered four years ago.

Boeing has made meticulous, time-consuming changes to the way it manufactures the 787’s carbon composite airframe to eliminate the gaps. It must do so to meet the specification.

More important, Boeing insists that extensive testing overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration and inspections of the current 787 fleet show definitively that the gaps, which exist in nearly 1,000 Dreamliners flying today, pose zero safety risk.

“We haven’t identified any safety issues,” said Steve Chisholm, chief engineer for Boeing Mechanical and Structural Engineering. “We have not seen anything in service related to [the gaps] that would indicate that there is an issue with the in-service fleet.”

In a news briefing and tour of the 787 fabrication and final assembly facility in North Charleston, S.C., Boeing scrambled to respond to the allegations by Sam Salehpour — an Everett engineer who worked on the 787 and 777 programs, now a public whistleblower — that it has not eliminated the gaps and that they pose a risk of “catastrophic failure.”

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Salehpour’s allegations come as Boeing continues to face fallout from a Jan. 5 midair blowout that saw a panel pop out of a 737 MAX 9. That incident prompted ongoing inquiries into the 737 program and raised fresh questions about Boeing’s broader safety culture.

In response to Salehpour’s claims, Boeing described its testing and manufacturing changes to journalists during a visit to its North Charleston facility.

Engineers smashed 300-pound spheres swinging on a pendulum into a fuselage section to deliberately damage it, causing one of the stiffening rods to break. They then applied loads 15% greater than those typical in flight and repeated the load tests 40,000 times. Boeing found “there was no growth in the damage,” Chisholm said.

He contrasted this with what happens on a metal airframe, such as the 737 or the 747. If a crack develops in the thin metal skin, it can propagate and tear through the structure as if it were unzipping.

While metal fatigue might result in such cracks, Chisholm said fatigue damage to a composite material would take the form of delamination, when the plies of carbon fiber separate.

But no delamination was observed. The localized damage Boeing deliberately inflicted did not spread.

The engineers also cut through a pressurized fuselage with a guillotine blade, slicing a 4-foot section and severing one of the circumferential frames.

The fuselage didn’t even lose pressure, and testing showed the tear did not propagate. The fuselage was able to maintain its structural integrity well above the loads expected in normal operation.

Boeing said the gaps were present in the first Dreamliners ever built, including the ground-test airplane that over five years starting in 2010 was cycled through the loads and pressurization of 165,000 simulated flights — 3½ lifetimes — without showing any structural damage.

Salehpour, the whistleblower, claimed last week that Boeing’s own data from detailed inspections of 26 airplanes showed nearly 99% had gaps larger than the specification of 5 thousandths of an inch, about the thickness of two sheets of paper, and the small filler pieces of glass fiber material used to fill such gaps — known as shims — were not inserted.

At two of the main circumferential joins on those 26 airplanes, “98.7% of the time, the gaps exceeding 5 thou are not shimmed,” Salehpour said at a virtual news conference last week with his lawyers. “Nearly 8,000 gaps exceeding 5 thou were not shimmed.”

Chisholm said the result was “exactly opposite.”

He said Boeing removed every fastener on each of the five circumferential joins on all of those airplanes, about 2,000 fasteners for each join, and measured the gap at each hole — a so-called through-hole inspection.

“Close to 99% were fully conforming and met the 0.005 inch requirement,” Chisholm said.

Boeing also addressed a second claim by Salehpour: that Boeing’s use of a technique to join the airplane sections called “One Up Assembly” left drilling debris in the gaps.

Historically, Boeing would mate two sections together and drill holes, then separate them to clean the holes and smooth out any metal edges on the holes, and only then put the sections back together and insert fasteners.

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One Up Assembly, used for some 787 joins, means drilling and fastening the sections together precisely in a single pass, without separating them to clean the drilled holes.

Salehpour said drilling debris was found “80% of the time” on those 26 airplanes Boeing studied in detail.

But Chisholm said the technique is used only when it can be demonstrated that it doesn’t cause debris in the gaps. Furthermore, he said Boeing did tests deliberately inserting both composite and metal drilling debris into the gaps at the interface to assess the impact.

Those tests “show that it’s not detrimental,” Chisholm said.

Meticulous new checks

On a tour of the building where the two aft fuselage sections are fabricated and joined, Lisa Fahl, Boeing’s vice president of airplane programs engineering, described the steps Boeing has taken to eliminate any gaps above the 5 thousandths of an inch specification, adding considerable work and delay to the assembly process.

New laser measuring devices are used to detect surface unevenness at the edges of the fuselage sections where they are joined, which can result in gaps.

And since 2020, as part of what it calls the “Join Verification Process,” Boeing has inserted a time-consuming extra step at certain difficult joins.

In the normal process, after pulling the sections together, temporary fasteners are inserted and the gaps are measured. After any necessary shims are inserted, permanent fasteners are then tightened.

Since 2020, there’s now an extra step for certain joins with complex contours such as the join of the two aft body sections: a “through-hole” inspection. Each of the 2,000 fasteners at each join is removed by hand and a small tool is inserted to measure the gap. When it is within specification, a new permanent fastener is inserted.

All the 787s previously built and still parked now have to go through this process before they can be cleared for delivery.

A Boeing engineer on the tour said the hope is that as control of the gaps is tightened in the build process for new 787s, this extra check can eventually be dropped.

Chisholm said Boeing is heartened by the data from the 787s in service.

He said 671 have completed their heavy maintenance check required after flying for six years. Another eight have completed their 12-year check.

Boeing sent teams of engineers to take a close look at 10 of those maintenance inspections.

“Through all of this, there’s been zero airframe fatigue findings on the 787 fleet,” Chisholm said.

Boeing said it is up to the FAA, once it has all the data from Boeing’s tests and from the in-service fleet, to decide if anything needs to be done about the fuselage gaps on the 787s flying today.

“It’s a long, very deliberate process,” Chisholm said. “We do expect to complete it this year.”

In addition to discussing the 787 in detail, Boeing also responded to Salehpour’s critique of a new 777 build process that was introduced in 2015 .

Salehpour said the 777’s metal fuselage panels that are fastened together into fuselage sections in Everett don’t come together easily and that machinists sometimes jump on the panels to force them into position.

“That’s not part of our process,” said Boeing’s Fahl.

And Chisholm said: “I would expect any employees who are seeing other employees jumping up and down on panels to let us know.”

He added that 27 airplanes built in the new process have completed their eight-year heavy maintenance checks with no issues found.

On Wednesday, Salehpour is due to speak at a U.S. Senate hearing.

After the Boeing briefings finished, his lawyer, Debra Katz, issued a statement saying that Salehpour had tried for years inside Boeing to see data that would allay his concerns but was rebuffed and managers retaliated against him for raising the issue.

“Boeing has always said ‘just trust us,’ when it comes to safety,” Katz wrote. “It’s clear that standard is no longer sufficient, and any data provided by Boeing should be validated by independent experts and the FAA before it is taken at face value.”

The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times.

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