First introduced in late October 2011 with Japanese carrier ANA,
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner is famous for many of its initial technologies. Extensively using
composite materials, packing various fuel-saving features such as hybrid laminar flow control,
and utilizing several advanced electronic controls, the widebody jet is an incredible
piece of engineering. And for passengers, those electronic windows continue to be a
feature unique to the aircraft type and is not yet found on any other aircraft!
Yet, it’s not without its set of issues. In some ways,
the Boeing 787 is infamous for multiple series of incidents, failures, and, most recently,
quality control issues. Given the Everett-based manufacturer’s long history in the business,
it’s not surprising that, in due time, these things get worked out.
For today’s video, let’s take a look at a few things that have changed over the
last 13 years regarding the widebody jet’s production and development.
#1: A redesigned battery
Many people familiar with the 787’s early history will know that within a couple of years
of the Boeing 787’s introduction, multiple onboard fires were caused by an issue with the aircraft’s
Lithium-ion battery. After three incidents, the last one involving an emergency landing leading to
multiple sustained injuries, the type was grounded until the manufacturer could devise a solution.
Though the three incidents happened in January 2013, Boeing was able to provide a solution
in just a few weeks that would eventually appease the FAA and un-ground the airliners.
According to a statement issued at the time, aircraft production and testing procedures
would incorporate more strict screening of the battery cells before assembly. For
thermal and electrical adjustments, the system’s voltage range would be enhanced,
and a specialized enclosure would prevent fires from ever even starting.
#2 Changes to Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines
In 2019, several Boeing 787s had to be grounded
for extended periods of time because of an engine issue.
Rolls-Royce provides its Trent 1000 model to power the widebody airliner. It had even been
enhanced over the years, with the British engine manufacturer producing the “Trent
1000 TEN.” This update provided better fuel burn than the older Package C. The
power plant would be a highly competitive option against General Electric’s popular GEnx engine.
Unfortunately, much farther ahead of expectations,
customers noticed corroding and cracking engine blades on their Trent 1000-equipped Dreamliners.
It took awhile but Rolls-Royce was able to fix its issues by solving the sulfidation issue of
the Intermediate Pressure turbine blades and redesigning the High Pressure turbine blades.
Notably, Rolls-Royce was able to get through the entire backlog of grounded 787s within a year,
overlapping with the pandemic and massive travel restrictions around the world.
#3: A Wing manufacturing adjustment
According to various US news networks reporting in March 2014, Boeing reported that hairline cracks
were found in current-production examples of the widebody aircraft. Confident the production issue
did not affect any Dreamliners operating at the time, something had to be done about the
dozens of models that were not quite at the end of their manufacturing process.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the firm in charge of making the carbon composite wings in Japan,
was the company that tipped off the Washington-based planemaker. It was
realized that something about its manufacturing process was the root cause of the cracks found
in a number of shear ties on 787 wing ribs. A couple of weeks were spent inspecting the
suspected damaged wings while the Japanese manufacturing process could be altered.
#4 All-new titanium parts
Although the 787 is made up of 80% composites by volume, this is only about 50% by weight.
Another 15% of the weight comes in the form of titanium, an incredible yet extortionate metal.
To save a significant amount of money, in 2017, Boeing partnered up with the
Norwegian-based Norsk Titanium to come up with a solution to its titanium needs.
By utilizing 3D-printed metal parts, Boeing estimated a cost saving of up to $3 million
USD per Dreamliner. We should note, however, that 3D printing is not a novel industry solution, with
companies such as GE utilizing this manufacturing process to reduce 300 engine parts to just seven.
Interestingly, though somewhat unrelated, Boeing had an issue with other titanium parts
found in one of the 787’s fuselage sections. These components were provided by a different 3rd party
supplier, who confirmed the problem upon an audit carried out by the US-based aircraft manufacturer.
And #5: Improving commonality across the family
In order to enhance product value for operators, aircraft manufacturers try to keep some sort of
commonality among airliner families. This helps airlines save time and money since pilots and
crew members will be able to easily work on more than one specific type or variant of aircraft.
As reported by Leeham News and Analysis, the Boeing 787-9 and -10 were designed with an
impressive 95% commonality. However, the -8, which came before the others, had much less commonality.
In order to rectify this, Boeing implemented manufacturing adjustments
in 2018 that would see the Dreamliner variant’s structural design change to
ensure it builds in a very similar way to the other two. As a result,
customers could very easily operate two or three variants without much extra thought.
A bonus point has to do with Boeing’s earliest 787 models.
As we mentioned in an earlier long-haul video,
some of the early production 787 airframes are heavier than current production models.
These jets are known as the quote-unquote “terrible teens” - a name bestowed on them
due to the fact that many of these nonconforming
aircraft were between the 10th and 20th Dreamliners ever built.
Some sources state that there are 12 airframes in this group, while several others note 11.
As some of the first Dreamliners to be built, Boeing had yet to complete
the development process of the plane. As the website Airport Spotting notes,
these ‘terrible teen’ jets were part of the testing and early production
run prior to certification. The Seattle Times reported that these jets had faults including
structural weakness where the plane’s wings melded with the fuselage. Needing to meet
federal standards (particularly if they were to be sold), the planemaker installed
custom-fitted reinforcements. Its these modifications that made the jets heavier.
While authoritative and reliable technical data has been difficult to come by, a contributor on
the forum Airliners.net states that each ‘terrible teen’ Dreamliner is six tonnes
overweight, with all of them having their maximum takeoff weights limited to around 220 tonnes.
Sifting through other sources, ch-aviation.com data shows that some earlier 787-8s have an
M.T.O.W. set at just under 216 tonnes while others have a 219.5 tonne maximum takeoff weight.
Meanwhile, as per EASA’s Type-Certificate Data Sheet published in April 2022,
the 787-8’s MTOW is now set at nearly 228 tonnes.
Yes, in many ways, the Boeing 787 is quite a different aircraft from
what it was back when it was first introduced.
So what do you think of the Boeing 787 and the changes and improvements that have been
made over the years? Do you think that many of these improvements - or fixes - indicate
that development was rushed? Share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment!
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