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Boeing’s latest and greatest, the £120 million 787 Dreamliner, is expected to change long-haul air travel just as much as the 707 and A380 Airbus models that preceded it. Here are just a few of the new systems and conveniences on board.
The first thing passengers are likely to notice are the huge new windows—30 per cent larger than the norm—that don’t require one to squish his face against them to see the ground below. They’re so big that even the folks in the center aisle will have a decent view. And instead of those ghetto plastic sliding shades, electrochromic glass will darken within 30 seconds to minimize glare.
Passengers will also notice how cavernous the overhead storage area is—the 787′s overhead bins are the largest ever. They’re reportedly large enough to fit a store a carry-on bag from each of the plane’s 240 passengers. What’s more, the bins are angled increase the perceived space in the cabin. What they probably won’t notice is that the plane’s hull is composed of composite material rather than the traditional aluminum, which saves weight and better resists corrosion.
Once in flight, the flight’s luxuries can really be seen. During long flights, the interior lights gradually adjust color to minimize jet lag. The cabin air is also more moist than other airlines—16 percent humidity vs. the normal eight and it will be pressurized to only 6,000 feet—2,000 less than other planes.
The 787′s engines reduce both interior and exterior noise thanks to a specially-designed wave pattern around the exhaust. And, due to the hull’s weight reduction, additional sound dampening has been added to quiet the in-cabin noise even further. And to compensate for turbulence, an accelerometer in the nose cone measures for sudden altitude drops and signals an adjustment to the wings—reducing potential dips by as much as 60 per cent.
These are fine and good improvements, but they still miss the biggest problem most people have with flying—the oversized account executive from Birminggam in the seat next to them who smells of stale cheese and won’t stop SNORING. [Fox News - Top image courtesy of the AP]
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Does it properly recycle the air though. It is all well and good having higher humidity but unless they completely recycle the air every 15 minutes it won’t make much difference. If anything it may actually encourage virus etc which will enjoy the more moist conditions.
Congrats on Boeing for finally getting this one out.
viral infection is of minimal risk because all recirculated air is passed though HEPA filters, take that into account and the cabin is usually completely refreshed ever 5-6 minutes.
this higher humidity is purely for passenger comfort and the only reason its taken this long to arrive is because usually there is corrosion associated with it (something the 787 gets around with composite)
i also believe, typical humidity is less than 3% as opposed to 8%
good article, enjoyed reading it
MOAR PLANE STUFFS!
I was of the impression that the air was constantly entering the cabin and to maintain cabin altitude, released into the atmosphere gradually.
Here is a neat trick for you, if a jet were to ever land on water – they automatically have “ditching” valves that’ll close in order to prevent water coming on board. Genius.
yup, there are 2 release valves for letting old air out, (at the back of the cargo hold) which are fitted with pressure grommets (both low and high), so for both ditching over water, or failure of the pressurisation system, the cabin will remain pressurised.
fun fact, the 787 is the first large airliner to not take air from the compressor stages of the engine for electrical systems or the air con, it takes it from dedicated ram air then warms it up
This begs the question about aircraft conditioning at low airspeeds, traditionally the reason for taking air from two compressor stages was to counter-act the effect of low airspeed and thus low air input. How have they combated this?
(We most definitely need an aviation version of Giz.)
its done via electric compressors as far as i am aware, i know for a fact on the ground, a ac cart(just a compressor) can be connected, i may be wrong but i think on some aircraft(not sure of 787 applies) the air starters can be connected too (used for engine start-up)
i can only assume, when taxing, the electric compressors have enough power to condition the cabin (but not pressurise it) and pressurisation begins after take-off, as it does on other aircraft to avoid a negative pressure differential
chances are, this is less efficient than bleed air, but when balanced against the large fuel savings, thrust gained, and simplification of the engine, i can only assume it leads to a net gain in efficiency,
however bleed air(the 787 being bleed free) is used for wing front anti-ice too (the heat of the air), i would be interested to see if they have switched to electric heaters for this
You must be an engineer, because as a line pilot this is the extent of my knowledge! Bravo to you.
haha, cant reply to your last comment, but yeh, im about half way though my aircraft engineering course, so not quite hands on yet, but when it comes to technical stuff,
reasonably well clued up
Birminggam? I’m offended xD (Even though thats how we say it)
Only if you’re Melvyn Bragg
British Airways have heard your plea about cheesy individuals, with this new seat design for their club world business class
http://www.ausbt.com.au/real-world-photo-tour-british-airways-club-world-business-class
just remember, those screens are translucent from where your sitting, but the air hostesses can see straight though them (for safety purposes) so i don’t want to hear any more stories of having a *cough* good time *cough* behind them and getting politely asked to stop