Boeing’s New 787 Dreamliner Flies In, Out Of Denver

I love flying, in all of it's forms!  This is the latest example of what to expect when you travel commercially.  I think it is aptly named and just chock full of inovations too!  I caught the story in the Denver Post this morning and thought you might like it?  Let us know what you think!

The Denver Post writes;

The Boeing Co. quietly brought its newest plane, the 787 Dreamliner, into Denver International Airport on Tuesday for a series of landings and takeoffs as part of the test program for one of the world's most advanced aircraft.

The company is in the midst of a rigorous testing program with its first six 787s.

The plane made three landings and three takeoffs on DIA's runway 16Right/ 34Left to test the interaction between the aircraft and runway instrumentation, according to airport officials. The runway is DIA's longest at 16,000 feet and one of the longest runways among major airports throughout the world.

In November, Boeing halted its 787 flight-test program when one of the planes, on a flight near Laredo, Texas, suffered a fire in a power-distribution panel. The fire "self-extinguished" and the plane landed safely, according to the company.

Boeing resumed flight testing of the 787 on Dec. 23.

The plane, which will seat between 200 and 300 passengers depending on cabin configuration, is fabricated using 50 percent composite materials and only 20 percent aluminum, according to the company. The structure is 15 percent titanium and 10 percent steel.

In comparison, the Boeing 777 — the company's newest plane before the 787 — is 50 percent aluminum and relies on composites for about 12 percent of its makeup.

Boeing claims the 787 will be 20 percent more fuel efficient than similarly sized planes and produce 20 percent fewer emissions.

Major assembly of the 787 began in June 2006.

DIA has been courting Japan's All Nippon Airways, or ANA, to operate nonstop service between Denver and Tokyo using the 787, once the carrier takes delivery of the long-haul jet and certifies its use for trans-oceanic flights.

"ANA is still saying Denver is one of the top markets," DIA communications and marketing chief Sally Covington said about the airline's assessment of which U.S. cities it might serve with the 787.

Officials from DIA, the state of Colorado, the city and county of Denver, and the metro Denver business community have made a number of trips to meet with ANA executives in Japan in an effort to win the Tokyo nonstop service.

"It's about having face time and building relationships," Covington said.

"Tokyo brings us all of Asia," she added, referring to the ability of passengers arriving at Narita International Airport from Denver to connect with major destinations in China, South Korea and elsewhere in the region.
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