DASH 10 DEBUT

Longer and with more capacity – the third, and largest, Boeing 787 variant has recently been unveiled. Mark Broadbent reports

The 787-10’s length compared to the other Dreamliners is apparent in this photo. The variant is 18ft (5.4m) longer than the 787-9 and nearly 60ft (18m) longer than the 787-8. All photos Boeing

Nearly a decade after the Boeing 787’s public bow, the first 787-10, N528ZC (c/n 60256), was rolled out at the Boeing South Carolina plant in North Charleston on February 17.

It was a big day for the factory. Although the facility produces the 787-8 and 787-9 alongside the other Dreamliner assembly site at Everett in Washington, the new Dreamliner variant will be produced exclusively in North Charleston.

The jet’s roll-out was therefore a moment in the spotlight for Boeing South Carolina, a feeling only reinforced by the attendance of Donald Trump. For the new US President, the 787-10’s public debut was a good opportunity to highlight one of his key messages, boosting American jobs – even if the interconnectedness of the aerospace industry means the 787-10 is far from a solely American-produced aircraft, with extensive involvement of overseas suppliers.

The 787-10’s first flight was due to occur a few weeks after roll-out. Following flight testing and certification, the variant is scheduled to enter service with launch operator Singapore Airlines in 2018.

Development

The 787-10, a stretch of the 787-9, was launched by Boeing at the Paris Air Show in 2013 following two years of conceptual studies and consultations with customers. Firm configuration was completed in April 2014 and detailed design in December 2015.

Boeing partner Kawasaki Heavy Industries at Nagoya in Japan installed the first circular frames into Section 43 (the mid-forward fuselage section) for N528ZC two weeks ahead of schedule in March 2016. Kawasaki also produces the aircraft’s wing box.

These subassemblies and Sections 44 and 46 (respectively the mid-centre fuselage sections fore and aft of the wings, which are made by Leonardo in Italy) were transported by Boeing 747-400LCF Dreamlifter to North Charleston. Other parts that arrived at the plant from supplier factories were Section 41 (the nose, from Spirit Aero Systems in Wichita) and the horizontal stabilisers (from Leonardo in Foggia and Boeing Fabrication in Salt Lake City, Utah). Sections 47 and 48, the centre-rear and aft fuselage sections, were produced at North Charleston by Boeing South Carolina.

All About Capacity

Boeing orders and deliveries data shows that at the time of the 787-10’s roll-out there were 512 Dreamliners in service. The type is now used on 530 routes and 140 million people have flown on it.

How does the 787-10 fit into the Dreamliner family? Boeing classifies the 787-10 as a medium wide body (a category it defines as 300 to 450 seats); the 787-8 and 787-9 are classed as small wide bodies (a category covering 200 to 300 seats).

Broadly speaking, the concept is that while the 787-8 is intended for initial route development and the 787-9 for adding new connections with its longer range, the 787- 10 is optimised to maximise capacity on established routes: for example, network airlines’ services between Europe and Asia, Europe and North America and within Asia.

The 787-10 will be able to seat up to 330 passengers in a typical two-class layout, nearly 14% more than the 787-9’s 290 passengers and 36% more than the 787- 8’s 242 passengers. The variant’s 6,200ft3 (175m3) total cargo volume is 41% bigger than the 787-8’s and 15% more than the 787-9’s.

Longest 787

The 787-10 is the longest Dreamliner. At 224ft (68.27m), it is 18ft (5.4m) longer than the 787-9, which is 206ft 1in (62.81m) long, and nearly 60ft (18m) longer than the 165ftlong (56.72m) 787-8. The extra length comes from two extra fuselage plugs.

With the 787-10 configured for capacity, it can’t fly quite as far as its stablemates. Its 6,430-nautical mile (11,910km) range is 925 nautical miles (1,713km) less than the 7,355 nautical miles (13,623km) the 787-8 can fly and 1,205nm (2,231km) less than the 7,635 nautical miles (14,140km) capability of the 787-9. Despite that, Boeing says the 787- 10 will still be capable of flying more than 90% of the long-haul routes today served by twin-aisle aircraft.

In addition, Boeing claims the 787-10 will burn 25% less fuel than previous generation twin-aisle widebodies and offer per-seat fuel burn reductions of 10% from the Airbus A350-1000, its principal competitor, and 30% from the legacy A330.

Commonality

Bob Whittington, Chief Engineer for the 787, told AIR International in 2015 the 787-10’s longer fuselage had led to small changes to the landing gear and tailfin, and the addition of more air conditioning packs to cater for the extra passengers aboard.

However, he added: “It’s a very common aircraft, and operators who use the 787-8 and 787-9 will see no difference.” The 787-10’s wingspan and height is the same as the other variants and it will have the same 560,000lb (254,000kg) maximum take-off weight as the 787-9.

Boeing says there is 95% commonality between the 787-10 and the 787-9, which for customers operating both variants should produce savings in operations, spares, maintenance and training. The big manufacturers – Airbus as well as Boeing – try to maximise commonality between the variants in each of their aircraft families and also between different models in their product ranges.

What the 787-10 brings to the Dreamliner product range in seating, range and payload is designed to complement the capabilities of the 787-8 and 787-9 and the larger 777 and 777X. The intention is to give customers different options across the entire widebody aircraft market.

BOEING 787-10 ORDERS AND COMMITMENTS

Air France-KLM Group: 7

Air Lease Corporation: 25

All Nippon Airways: 3

British Airways: 12

Etihad Airways: 30

EVA Airways: 18

GECAS: 10

Singapore Airlines: 49 (30 firm, 19 purchase commitment)

United Airlines: 14

Total: 168

Data correct to February 2017

Market

Many large airlines have embraced this concept of having multiple aircraft types that have complementary capabilities. All the customers in the 787-10 order book already operate other 787 variants or 777s or, in most cases, both Dreamliners and Triple Sevens.

Is a backlog of 149 firm orders in the four years since launch all that impressive, though? Despite the recent boost of Singapore Airlines signing a purchase commitment for 19 787-10s on top of the 30 it has on firm order, the sales pace for the ‘Dash Ten’ has clearly been sedate. There weren’t any orders or commitments at all in 2016.

However, aircraft ordering is cyclical due to wider factors. Falling oil prices have meant orders for the new generation of more fuel-efficient widebody airliners have slowed over the past couple of years. (There are only 211 aircraft in the backlog of the 787-10’s rival, the A350-1000.)

BOEING 787-10 CHARACTERISTICS

Wingspan: 197ft (60m)

Length: 224ft (68m)

Height: 56ft (17m)

Cross-section: 18.8ft (5.7m)

Max take-off weight: 560,000lb (254,000kg)

Seating: 330 passengers

Cargo volume: 6,200ft3 (175m3)

Cruise speed: Mach 0.85

Range: 6,430 nautical miles (11,910km)

Data: Boeing

Boeing nevertheless remains confident about the 787-10’s potential. Its latest annual Current Market Outlook, released in July 2016, unsurprisingly paints a positive long-term forecast. It predicts a market for 3,470 new medium widebodies from now to 2034. (Not all those aircraft will be 787- 10s because Boeing also puts the 777 into this classification.)

The company believes the greatest demand for medium widebodies lies in the Asia-Pacific region, estimating requirements for 1,490 such aircraft there, followed by the Middle East (850 aircraft). Emirates is a major potential buyer. The Dubai airline has been evaluating the 787- 10 and A350 for some time in advance of a major fleet replacement decision.

It’s this area, fleet replacement, where the 787-10 could score in the long term. Its seating and payload/range configuration position it for the 777-200, 777-200ER, 777-300 and older A330-300 replacement markets. At the time of the variant’s launch four years ago Steven Udvar-Hazy, the Chief Executive of Air Lease Corporation, predicted the 787-10 would be one of the best-selling commercial jetliners “for decades ahead”.

Time will tell, but for now the Dreamliner family has another member.

Service entry of the 787-10 is due with Singapore Airlines in 2018.