Free Paper Example on The History and the Development of the Boeing 787

Introduction

The advancement in technology has widely improved the transport sector. Moreover, this has made transportation more affordable and faster as compared to the first few decades of the 19th century (Pandian et al., 2020). In the modern world, power, and speed have become the final key points that determine the degree of profits in any logistic company Boeing has remained a step ahead, when it comes to the maximization of profits, though integrating speed, capacity, and power in the aviation industry. According to Nowacki, and Olejniczak, (2019), Boeing has remained to be one of the largest airplane suppliers across the globe, with the company occupying over 56% of the market shares due to the competent and skillful ideas integrated into the company's inventions. Like the other predecessors of the Boeing Company, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is deemed as the king of the sky not only due to its capacity but due to an array of elements, that have made the series, an iconic figure in the aviation industry. Thus, the research seeks to capture and elaborate Boeing 787, from its incept, development, and how the plane has remained undisputedly competent and influential in the skies.

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Historical Background

When Boeing gave a development designation to name the new project, a modernized, super-efficient airplane, the Boeing 7E7, it came to no surprise to many aviation industries across the globe, especially judging from Boeing predecessor's models such as Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 functionalities (Boeing, 2020). The company outlined its commitment to providing a breakthrough in an array of areas that would benefit the company.

The 7E7 series development theme was geared towards current and future development, starting with the letter "E," which stands for "Economical, Efficiency, Exceptional, Environmental friendly, and Exceptional." Boeing 787, which belongs to the 7E7 series, was developed with a total capacity that ranged between 200-250 passengers, depending on the customization of the airline company, which helps the airplane achieve point to point services at similar airspeed to its predecessors Boeing 777, and 747 (Boeing, 2020).

Inception Into the Market

Even though Boeing intended to offer the new model to customers by early 2004, and entry into commercial services by 2008, it took longer than expected. One of the significant challenges faced with the company was the integration of technology within the series, which required several stages of testing before it was deployed into mass production. Never the less, stiff competition also faced the company from their great rivals the Airbus, which had worked around the clock to ensure that they attain a better and fair share of the aviation market. In response to Boeing's 787 design and market entry, Airbus retaliated by launching the Airbus A350 XWB, a long-range family with a wide-body airplane. The Airbus A350 would have composite wings and new engine designs. As a result, this challenged Boeing's proposal and development of its Boeing 787. However, the market support did not fully favor Airbus in 2006, making them switch to a clean-sheet "XWB" (eXtra Wide Body) design, paving the way for Boeing to develop their model (Waluszkiewicz, 2018).

Boeing 787 production also received more enormous challenges from the market, and financial support in the company. According to Pandian et al., (2020), Boeing highly depends on the preorders and completed orders before the company can fully swing into production. Therefore, delays in orders from its global customers slow the company's production and innovation. In this case, the market for the Boeing 7E7 series received a more significant challenge in-market support, adding to the delays of the model into the market until 2008.

The Development of the Boeing 787 Series Development

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner series comprises of a series of three distinctive airplanes, with similar characteristics, and performance. Never the less, capacity and distance covered in nautical miles (mi) tell the planes apart. According to Boeing, (2020), the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is made up of three distinctive series planes, which includes, Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10. Both the three airplanes vary in an array of elements, as presented in the table below.

According to Boeing, (2020), 787 Dreamliner has dictated the way modern airplanes in the aviation industry are made, especially considering the commercial airlines' quest for efficiency. The inception of Boeing 787 Dreamliner is deemed as a game-changer, especially considering the numerous benefits to airlines around the globe, where are incorporating a point to point stopovers. The airplane is deemed as cost-friendly, especially considering the capability of the plane saving over 25% fuel consumption per passenger (Nowacki, & Olejniczak, 2019). More so, Boeing 787 Dreamliner has unprecedented fuel efficiency, with a 10 percent overall fuel efficiency than its competitors (Boeing, 2020). As a result, this makes the Boeing 787- Dreamliner the ideal commercial airplane for many aviation companies around the globe.

As Waluszkiewicz (2018) observed, the 787 Dreamliner incorporates a life-cycle design that has unified numerous yet effective changes in the aviation industry. One of the frequent and notable changes that have been widely depicted by the series is the use of composite in the primary structure and the airframe. More so, the series utilized an electric system structure, which is a reliable design, especially when it comes to the maintenance program. These changes were geared towards guaranteeing a reduction in maintenance cost with over 30 percent (Boeing, 2020).

According to Nowacki & Olejniczak (2019), statistics from the Boeing 777 model provides a distinctive labor-intensive experience for customer maintenance. With the statistics from 777, composite structures require less schedule in the maintenance section as compared to the non-composite structures. For instance, the Boeing 777 composite tail is 25 percent larger compared to the 767 Aluminum tail. Never the less, this requires 35 percent fewer schedules in maintenance labor. As a result, the decline in schedule has been attained due to the reduced corrosion risk, and fatigue of composite compared to the metals (Nowacki, & Olejniczak, 2019). Therefore, the use of composite in the 787 Dreamline, proves to be much far beneficial to the customers, since the maintenance schedule is deemed to be less time consuming, making the plane cost-efficient when it comes to maintenance.

The Manufacturing Process

Boeing utilized one of the ingenious business moves to help meet the pilling orders and reduce competition threats from its great rivalries Airbus. One of the tactics employed in developing and modeling of the new aircraft included the subcontracting of numerous certified companies to help build different parts and components. As a result, this limited the possibility of building the airplane from the ground-up method. Therefore, this meant that efficiency and timely deadlines could be met, and secure Boeing a higher market share, especially with numerous airlines, making more significant numbers of orders.

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Development

Since the first speculation of Boeing bringing a customer-friendly, economically efficient, and powerful airplane model, different draws affected the model. Moreover, the first 787-8 series, which received numerous delays, until in December 2009. As Pandian et al. (2020) outlined, the 787-8 prototype was rolled out without significant systems. More so, new features that were being implemented in the model were still in their early development stages, which included the possibilities of replacing the traditional aluminum body, for efficiency, and operational cost. Never the less, despite the significant delays and draws, the series received its approved certification in August 2011, before the first delivery of the 787-8 model in the following month. The perseverance, delays, and determination later paid off, making the 787-8, one of the iconic airplanes in the aviation industry, not only because of its first selling large body jet but because of the engineers pushing the laws of physics and engineering to the brim.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Development

Having achieved cutting edge technology in the development of the Boeing 787-8 model, the company flexed its creativity once more in fulfilling a prolonged model design. The inception of the 787-9 Dreamliner model, came in with numerous benefits in the series. One of the benefits included the increased capacity of passengers. This made it easier for point-to-point commercial flights for many aviation airliners. Even though the new model increased the number of passengers, the model retained its primary engine as many anticipated the change of engine to offer more thrust, and power, for the 205ft long aircraft, with a capacity of 285 passengers. However, the company decided to stick with the GEnx-1B / Trent 1000 engine model, which remains to be cost-efficient in operation and maintenance. Moreover, the series increased its range of performance from 7356nmi in the 787-8 model to 7630nmi (Boeing, 2020).

Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner Development

The Boeing 787-10 ceiled the model series in the production of the Boeing 787, making it one of the largest, efficient, and maneuverable airplanes. The model, which increased its passengers' number to 336 in two classes, offered numerous characteristics similar to 787-8 and 787-9. Despite the larger size, and increased capacity of passenger, the model development stacked with the primary engine model GEnx-1B/Trent 1000 for efficiency and performance. However, there were several significant trade-offs made to ensure effective performance. One of the trade-offs included the range, which subsided from 7630nmi in the 787-9 to 6420nmi in the 787-10 (Boeing, 2020). As a result, these trade-offs affected the model and its production.

Benefits to the Consumers

Noise and stress are among the challenges commercial flight passengers have to cope with. As Paul (2018) observed, over 72 percent of reported cases of fatigue and sickness during air traveling is caused by noise. In addition to the above, 30 percent of the cases occur during take-off, 60 percent during the entire flight, and 10 percent in landing (Boeing, 2020). While the statistics may vary depending on the airplane model, noise and stress, are undoubtedly the leading causes of these sicknesses. Boeing 787 Dreamliner series offed an improved concept that has been mimicked by different companies and different Boeing models that later followed. The model has paid particular attention to ensuring that airline customers travel in style, with fewer sickness cases being reported.

Conclusion

As Pandian, et al., (2020), outlined, the Dreamliner aircraft are designed to offer the passengers with a calmer cabin experience. The special attention, call for equipping the models with a quitter air conditioner integrated with sophisticated advanced technology, whose purpose is to isolate noise from vibration. The implemented technology has been to ensure that passengers do not experience any noise on the ceilings and the sidewalls, which emanates from engine noises.