787 makes date with history - literally

Seattle: Boeing deliberately chose yesterday, 7/8/07, to unveil the 787 Dreamliner, suggesting that a lot of thought had gone into selecting the launch date of the plane as well.

The company invited 15,000 guests, VIPs, journalists and delegates to witness the launch of the 250-seat mid-size jetliner - its first rollout in 13 years following the launch of the hugely successful B777 series in 1994.

For Boeing it was important that the event pass off without hiccups and it would have been entirely understandable if the engineers, technicians and officials managing the rollout were tense.

Boeing cannot afford to let anything go wrong, as the stakes are high.

Company officials remained confident throughout the rollout programme.

"It's a good weekend," said Mike Bair, Boeing's vice-president and general manager for the 787 programme at the media briefing on Friday, while one public relations official rubbed his forehead to clear the beads of sweat in an airconditioned ballroom of a hotel.

Tension was clearly visible on his face, although all the preparations were in place for the mega event.

Although the Dreamliner is a mid-size jet with half the passenger capacity of the A380 superjumbo, its launch is highly significant for the global aviation industry.

First, about 50 per cent of the Dreamliner is made of composite carbon fibre materials, which make the aircraft significantly lighter. Boeing officials said the company is committed to enhancing the use of composites in future models.

The Dreamliner, besides reducing noise and emissions, also enhances fuel efficiency to boost its performance by at least 20 per cent compared to other jets - a fact that helped Boeing to secure 697 firm orders from 47 customers in pre-launch orders spanning just three years.

These orders virtually filled its production capacity to 2015 and Boeing expects to reduce the final assembly time to just three days per aircraft at peak production period, around 2010. This will enable the company to deliver 100 Dreamliners per year.

The assembly of the first Dreamliner began in April, taking three months, leading to the unveiling yesterday.

Significant aspect

Another significant aspect of its production is massive outsourcing and international collaboration.

About 70 per cent of the Dreamliner is manufactured outside the US. Japanese and Italian companies are sharing this huge responsibility and the final assembly is going to be something of a "plug and play" model once the Dreamliner reaches its peak production.

"Initially, we will bring down the production time to six days apiece. However, it will be significantly reduced to three days when the programme reaches its peak production level, around 2010," Bair said.

"There were challenges during the production stage. We've overcome them. It's truly global in terms of supply chain."

The unveiling of the Dreamliner is also significant for Boeing as it was developed against the backdrop of the company's failed attempt to launch the technologically advanced Sonic Cruiser, which the company abandoned earlier this decade.

"This [Dreamliner] is a Sonic Cruiser; in terms of fuel efficiency and performance, this is 20 per cent more efficient than the B767," Bair said.

Following yesterday's rollout, the Dreamliner will enter a flight test programme from August, spanning eight months before commercial deliveries begin in May 2008.

Six Dreamliners will participate in the flight test programme - four powered by Rolls Royce Trent engines and two others powered by General Electric engines.