2024-09-09 15:00:00
EHigh-end, Boeing has chosen to modernize the 777 twinjet (and replace the B747 quadjet) to upgrade the current aircraft renamed 777X, available in two versions B777-8 (350-375 seats) and B777-9 (400 – 425 seats). ). The American aircraft manufacturer wants to update the existing aircraft, as it has already done for the 737 (Classic, NG then MAX). However, the design office may have started from a “blank page”, as is the case for the 787 Dreamliner or, in Airbus, for the A350.
The B777X, the third generation of the Boeing 777 model, after the 777-200 and 777-300 models, uses among other things the same wide fuselage that allows the economy class to be arranged with ten seats separated by aisles two (3-4-3). Externally, it is distinguished mainly by the size of its wings, which are equipped with folding ends, in order to limit its mass in airports. With a fully extended wingspan of 71.8 meters, the new 777X falls within the ICAO aerodrome code F, which indicates a restricted number of international airports.
But with wings, wings (and a wingspan of 64.8 meters), the type can use taxiways and storage areas designed for the most common code E, such as the current aircraft (777 in service, B787, A350, etc.). Boeing 777X has a wingspan of 71.8 meters; Therefore each wing will be 3.5 meters longer than a Boeing 777 with a wingspan of 64.8 meters. This allows for a higher transmission-to-traction ratio, which increases the amount of fuel that can be used. In practice, for equal use, the 777X carries more cargo (fuel and/or passengers). The target range is more than 14,000 kilometers. Note that, in June 2018, the FAA, the American civil aviation authority, approved Boeing’s new wing system.
Titanium part
Access to the service of the 777X may take a little longer. Boeing has been forced to land its fleet of three 777X test aircraft in service. The manufacturer, in fact, discovered technical problems with a critical part during a routine maintenance visit during a stop in Hawaii. Inspections performed on two other Boeing test planes also reportedly revealed microcracks of the same type. This structural weakness concerns one of the major engine mounting features. Made of titanium, they are designed to carry from front to back the mechanical stresses produced by the mechanical push. The defect was also noted on the fourth 777X test plane that has been parked since November 2021. “We are keeping the FAA fully aware of the matter and have shared the information with our customers,” Boeing said.
Customers are genuinely concerned about collection delays of up to five years. To ensure traffic growth, they must juggle aircraft in service, increase bookings and even put stored aircraft back into service as in the case of Lufthansa’s A380s. The largest customers are, in order of order date, Lufthansa (27 airlines), Etihad Airways (25), Cathay Pacific (21), Emirates (262), Qatar Airways (94), ANA (19), Singapore Airlines (31), British Airways (18), Korean Air (20). In total, 517 777X on order.
The American Civil Aviation Authority, FAA, has authorized the airline manufacturer to begin certification flights of the B777-9, with FAA teams on board. For the first time in a long time, the B777X also received around twenty additional orders at the Farnborough air show.
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