Boeing’s 787 Is as Innovative Inside as Outside

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/12/boeing-787-dreamliner-interior/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+(Wired%3A+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))&utm_content=My+Yahoo

by edw519 • 17 years ago

28 22 17 years ago

wired.com

jws• 17 years ago

I think the only innovation I care about is that the seats are 1 inch narrower than a 737.

btilly3• 17 years ago

Ugh. I'm 6'3", and I only squeeze so far when surrounded by a couple of overweight people who don't know how to tuck their elbows in. Losing 1" of width doesn't sound like much, but it will make those awkward flights a little more common and a little more awkward.

stcredzero2• 17 years ago

I'm 5'4" and I hate people who don't tuck their elbows in. But even worse: fatties who want the arm-rest up so that you can subsidize their air travel. (They want to be able to leak over into your seat.) Yes, I fly a lot, and yes, this happens.

JimmyL2• 17 years ago

For this and other reasons, SeatGuru.com should be your best friend when doing online check-in. I've just done an intercontinental trip to visit some family, and spending five minutes on there got me an extra three inches of seat pitch - which is definitely noticeable.

I'm also not sure about the benefits of the new fancy LED lighting system. The (very recently-overhauled) 767 I flew had such a system, and it was kinda...weird. Some of it was nice, like the gradual dimming and raising for the sleep phase of the flight (although it didn't get as dark as the old lighting). In the two hours before the meal, however, it seemed like the crew had it set on disco mode or something - over the course of ten minutes or so, the cabin color rotated through blue-red-yellow-green-white.

DavidSJ• 17 years ago

1 inch narrower than a 737, or 1 inch narrower than a 737's seats?

joezydeco• 17 years ago

You know it's just going to look like every other airliner on the inside when the carriers are done with them.

I'd be more impressed if they brought back the Tiger Lounge. RRRRooooowwwww..... http://www.flickr.com/photos/molly/223191766/

idlewords3• 17 years ago

Actually, it's the lack of innovation that's kind of striking. Airliners are such a mature technology these days that seems like the only improvements possible are these kinds of minor efficiency and cabin comfort tweaks. It's about as exciting as seeing the design changes on a modern city bus.

The last really innovative design I can remember is the scrapped 2001 Sonic Cruiser - ugly as sin, but at least kind of cool: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Sonic_Cruiser

If you asked me as a kid what kind of plane I thought I would be flying in 2010, the 787 not what I would have drawn you. The future is here, and it kind of sucks.

stcredzero2• 17 years ago

I'm surprised that there aren't more corporate jets built on the sonic cruiser plan. The ability to get there 20% faster, combined with an "unprecedented ability to work in the air" would make a compelling marketing message. The plane could be portrayed as faster, sleeker, and sexier than all other corporate jets.

staunch• 17 years ago

I'd be more excited about something like the Boeing Pelican http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/ground-eff...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Pelican

1) It flies close to the ground, which I think would comfort a lot of people that don't like flying (even if it's not actually safer).

2) It's so damn big and efficient every seat could be like first class.

idlewords3• 17 years ago

Ground effect planes are appealing for cargo, but would be far too slow to compete with airliners as passenger aircraft. Speeds for most designs I've seen top out at about half the cruise speed of a regular airliner, which makes sense if you consider that the thing is by definition flying around at sea level.

tjr• 17 years ago

I worked on the 787 (or, more precisely, on some networking simulation tools that were used in development). They've got some reasonably innovative technology in the cockpit, at least as far as innovation in avionics goes. The industry doesn't tend to race ahead very quickly, as a whole lot goes into certifying not only the avionics themselves, but even the tools used to develop them.

I was working on a project a couple of years ago, using an 8-year-old version of GCC, not being allowed to update because it would cost so much money to certify another C compiler.

But really, compared to a lot of current jet avionics, there's some pretty cool stuff on the 787.

idlewords3• 17 years ago

I don't even mean to be so down on the 787. For what it is, it seems like a cool step forward. I'm more upset about it being 2010 and there being no Mars bases, floating robot cities, etc. There were some pretty clear promises made about the future when we were kids that have really fizzled.

dimarco• 17 years ago

Looks great for first class at least. I like how they shy away from coach.

JimmyL2• 17 years ago

Most seat mockups are pretty worthless anyways - if you want to know what the cabin will look like on (for example) AA's new planes, look at the seating in their existing planes and change the backdrop.

Seating is often manufactured by third-party companies and installed "aftermarket", and is designed to either harmonize with a company's existing livery, or be outstanding enough that it becomes a marketing feature for the airline.

protomyth• 17 years ago

One of the interesting things is that due to the strength of the composites used in construction, the air cabin can be pressurized to 6,000 ft instead of 8,000 ft.

Boeing’s 787 Is as Innovative Inside as Outside

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