Boeing 787 Dreamliner Arrives in Thailand

[KarenBravo]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

[newermonkey]

Its only the sexy paint job that makes this aircraft look different otherwise its quite boring in my opinion. pity designers cant think outside of the box or in this case "outside of the tube"!

[Familyonthemove]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

Good to hear that the cracks are not serious as I'll be using an A380 in April .... but any cracks in the wings of a 600 Tonne aircraft are a tad worrying.

But I'm not sure I fancy a plastic plane either? My old carbon composite windsurf board delaminated after a few weeks use.

[newermonkey]

I wonder if Being would let our prince fly it to Chiang Mai.

Our prince did fly their Boeing 737 on a special charity event from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The event was a big success. Millions was donated for good cause. TG sales immediately rocketed.

http://www.thaivisa....y-flight-today/

IThai government might also award the Garuda sign to Boeing, which is a real sales booster.

Yes that would be wonderful, if his gracious royal highness would consider such a generous act, perhaps he could show off some of his brilliant flying skills and really put the aircraft through its paces to see if it will hold together. Splendid, I look forward to this joyous day.

[wxyz]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

Obviously you are not watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel.

Edited February 10, 2012 by wxyz

[KarenBravo]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

Obviously you are not watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel.

Yes I do watch it........and most of the time it's pilot error. The fix has to meet approval from the FAA amongst others.

The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way.

The lightness of the plane is one of the main reasons for its improved fuel economy.

[newermonkey]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

Obviously you are not watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel.

Yes I do watch it........and most of the time it's pilot error. The fix has to meet approval from the FAA amongst others.

The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way.

The lightness of the plane is one of the main reasons for its improved fuel economy.

I am totally non technical don't you know, so perhaps you could tell me why don't they make planes out of wood, that is light and strong?

Perhaps the Genius Thai scientists could invent one made of wood and perhaps Thai silk as I have confidence in the Khon Thai as they are the best and lead the world in brilliant ideas.

Edited February 10, 2012 by newermonkey

[wxyz]

Going by the number of AirBus 380s being laid up with substantial wing panel cracks even after such a relatively short lifespan, I would seriously question what carrier I used and what aircraft I was booked on.

The wing cracks are easily fixable. The skin is cracking where it meets the composite wing-spacers. They are not cracking where the skin meets the wing-spacer made out of alloy (they alternate down the length of the wing).

All they have to do, is change the composite to an alloy.

Obviously you are not watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel.

Yes I do watch it........and most of the time it's pilot error. The fix has to meet approval from the FAA amongst others.

The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way.

The lightness of the plane is one of the main reasons for its improved fuel economy.

"The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way."

from the OP

"The 787 Dreamliner is made of 50 percent composite materials, which Boeing officials said is more fuel efficient."

Many of the airline disasters have been caused by cracks as well.

Edited February 10, 2012 by wxyz

[Joeb]

Did a tour of the Boeing factory in Seattle last August. They were assembling the 787's there, pending resolution of some court cases based on them wanting to build in South Carolina, with non-union labor.

The plane looks really interesting. With their other planes, they are completely assembled in the Boeing factory. A 747 take many weeks to build. The 787 is built in modules at a number of different locations and these modules are assembeld at Boeing. Their goal is to be able to assemble the plane in 3 days. There is a fleet of modified aircraft that fly in the fuselage modules and wings come in 747 cargo planes. Very interesting to watch the process.

Among the features they were touting was the ability to operate the cabin at a higher pressure, which is supposed to make passengers more comfortable. Also has sexy things like larger windows that darken on demand, instead of using curtains.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Joeb

[KarenBravo]

"The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way."

from the OP

"The 787 Dreamliner is made of 50 percent composite materials, which Boeing officials said is more fuel efficient."

I stand corrected. Thanks.

[NowImEasy]

Why did Boeing choose Thailand as the first country to fly its new 787?

Maybe Batman fans in Seattle.

"Robin, get me the Bat Plane."

"But Batman.. we got rid of that old gas guzzler plane. Now we have 'Jet. Bat Jet' "

[lubbkis]

I don't know why you people winge about Thai's older planes. I snapped this fine example flying out of Heathrow to the Twighlight Zone about two months back. Flightradar24 had told me that it was on it's way in so I just had to grab the camera and get down there.

OK, I used photoshop it to make it look like it was from the twighlight zone.

Retro livery is all the rage.

[lubbkis]

This is what it the retro liveried Thai 747 really looked like climbing out of Heathrow in December.

[Shiver]

If there are going to be so many VIP's on board the flight, I can't help wondering whether they'll do a 'Titanic' to get rid of a lot of people all at the same time, and Rockerfeller conveniently manages to miss the journey, taking out all his opposition?

[rubik101]

Doubtless the savings in fuel will be passed along to the passenger...

Agree look forward to 20% reduction in fares

Unlikely, as the fuel, as a proportion of the total fare, is somewhere around 25% of the total costs. You could expect a 4-5% reduction in fare with a 20% saving on the fuel bill.

[rubik101]

Why did Boeing choose Thailand as the first country to fly its new 787?

Maybe Batman fans in Seattle.

"Robin, get me the Bat Plane."

"But Batman.. we got rid of that old gas guzzler plane. Now we have 'Jet. Bat Jet' "

It hasn't! The 787 did a tour of Asia in 2010. It has been in service with All Nippon since October 2011.

[sparebox2]

I wonder if Being would let our prince fly it to Chiang Mai.

Our prince did fly their Boeing 737 on a special charity event from Chiang Mai to Bangkok. The event was a big success. Millions was donated for good cause. TG sales immediately rocketed.

http://www.thaivisa....y-flight-today/

IThai government might also award the Garuda sign to Boeing, which is a real sales booster.

Yes that would be wonderful, if his gracious royal highness would consider such a generous act, perhaps he could show off some of his brilliant flying skills and really put the aircraft through its paces to see if it will hold together. Splendid, I look forward to this joyous day.

No joke. At 1 million baht a seat, all the seats were snap out almost instanly and some over-booking.

In all, almost 200 million Baht went to charity. Very good deed indeed.

[Ricardo]

Why did Boeing choose Thailand as the first country to fly its new 787?

I suspect that it first flew in the USA, where it was assembled, rather than in Thailand.

It's quite normal for a manufacturer to bring their new plane, to show it off to its firm-order customers like Thai Airways, as indeed Airbus did with the A380. in 2006. Wasn't then-PM Thaksin on that particular BKK-CNX familiarisation-flight ?

Good to see the airline ordering new equipment, the B787 for longer/thinner routes, as well as the A380 (first one due for delivery later this year AFAIR) for long busy routes like Europe. I hope this may help the new management-team turn the airline round.

[HerbalEd]

Well lets hope this time the Biz class of TG will be acceptable in those new aircrafts.

Don't know who you find better, but I think TG business class is great service.

[HerbalEd]

Its only the sexy paint job that makes this aircraft look different otherwise its quite boring in my opinion. pity designers cant think outside of the box or in this case "outside of the tube"!

When it comes to airplanes that I'm flying in, I'll take function over form every time.

[tombkk]

Doubtless the savings in fuel will be passed along to the passenger...

It would probably be put into the path of making TG profitable again.

If you mean to say that TG is too expensive, think for a moment. If they were consistently too expensive for the market, they would lose customers to the extent of flying empty.

Supply and demand determine the price, and while the price might be too high for you, other customers still choose to fly TG at the prices they offer. If the seats are upgraded and the fleet rejuvenated, I'll go back to using more TG flights again.

[tombkk]

so the total number of 787s will be 8-but this update tell us it's spread over 5 years. so in 5 years they will have 8. different from the first post on the thread. I 5 years what will be efficient??? and they are leasing over 12 years. I wonder how much it will cost to lease-compared to buy, so the fuel efficiency aircraft will be the same as the old style--as they will be spending more on lease percentage. Crap thinking. So if I buy a car for 1 million--and compare it with rental--2 million over the years....say 10 years.

then with a 20 year life we can say another 10 years of rental

Khun Piyavasti has a plan, which outlines exactly which of their aircraft will be refurbished and which replaced which what new model, over the next 12 years. He presented this at a luncheon meeting sometime last year at which I was present. The presentation also included why some airplanes should be leased and others bought. He argued very well and clearly knew what he was talking about.

However, you seem to know more about this than him. I wonder why you were overlooked at the time and did not get his job.

[tombkk]

What's all the fuss about this aircraft?

I'm sure the airlines will again pack as many seats as possible into economy class, so you won't miss the nice feeling of your legroom shrinking to zero when the pax in front makes full use of the reclining capability of his seat.

- And when the seat in front, in economy is fully back, you can't use your notebook, read a newspaper etc.

- And will these aircraft have individual movie screens in economy? Still waiting for that on Thai.

- And if this is the standard, nobody would use TG,. In fact, I prefer TG over LH when flying to Germany, because TG has the much wider pitch between the rows.

- Yes, all TG aircraft will have individual screens. The existing aircraft are being refurbished (unfortunately, this will still take some time), and new aircraft will be equipped with them from the beginning. Khun Piyavasti is well aware of the current weaknesses and why people choose certain Middle-East airlines.

Remark: Unlike my other post, this one is about economy class.

Edited February 10, 2012 by tombkk
Added remark

[tombkk]

It's going to be interesting to see how successful it is.

A number of years ago, when the 787 was on the drawing board, Boeing and Airbus had radically different views on where the future in aviation lay.

Airbus bet on a plane that would meet demand for increased capacity on main, established long-haul flights. They made the A380 to meet that demand.

Boeing decided that new point-to-point routes were the future. A long range, fuel efficient, medium size airplane would be best. They made the 787.

Correct. At an air show a few years ago, I had exactly this discussion with representatives of Airbus and of Boeing (separately). My take is that the Europe-USA market will call for more point-to-point flights (with smaller aircraft) while the Europe-Asia market requires more large aircraft to fly to the Asian countries' capitals.

[tombkk]

Its only the sexy paint job that makes this aircraft look different otherwise its quite boring in my opinion. pity designers cant think outside of the box or in this case "outside of the tube"!

It's not quite boring when you are interested in technology. I'll be at the Singapore Air Show and will try to visit the exhibit.

[tombkk]

Well lets hope this time the Biz class of TG will be acceptable in those new aircrafts.

Don't know who you find better, but I think TG business class is great service.

Service is good. The seats are not: These days, I expect a 180-decline.

[Samsonite]

...The 787 is entirely made of composite materials, the first airliner constructed this way.

The lightness of the plane is one of the main reasons for its improved fuel economy.

In a way, you are not too far wrong.

As you will see in the attached photo, the entire fuselage, i.e., the body of the plane, is made of composite barrels. There are 5 barrels in total and in the photo it appears 3 of them have already been joined together. The wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizers are also made of composite materials. From the angle the photo was taken the joined barrels look shorter than they really are, but to give you some perspective the nose section on the right includes not only the cockpit, but the first 8 or 10 rows of windows. It is a large airplane.

Where something has to be attached to the inside of the fuselage or the wings, metal is used. The composite material and aluminum do not get along so where the composite touches metal, titanium is often used. That certainly drives up the cost. I've read that where aluminum has to be used a fiberglass "gasket" is put between the composite and aluminum parts. Throw in the landing gear and all the other metal parts that have to be attached to the aircraft and that is how they get to the 50% composite figure. The whole manufacturing process is quite interesting, IMHO. The barrels are made on a huge "lathe" type of machine, dried, put into another "lathe" type of machine that cuts out the windows and doors and drills any necessary holes that will be needed later as the plane is being put together.

Airbus has taken a different approach. Instead of barrels, their A350 will use a frame and panels made from composite, instead of aluminum, but joined together in a more "traditional" assembly process.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Samsonite

[LPCustom69]

It should be a nice plane.

I'm still waiting for flying wing passenger planes.

[MaiChai]

If there are going to be so many VIP's on board the flight, I can't help wondering whether they'll do a 'Titanic' to get rid of a lot of people all at the same time, and Rockerfeller conveniently manages to miss the journey, taking out all his opposition?

You mean like Taksin's plane blew up? That was going to Chiang Mai too. Some of us older TV members will remember this.

Hopefully the 787 will be better in the sun than Thai plastics. Once had a ballcock disintegrate in a water tank here; the plastic just crumbled away.

NHK TV tonight had a beam made out of composite used to hold the upper floor in place on the A380. It was pretty huge looking and you can pick it up with one hand!

Edited February 10, 2012 by MaiChai

[OBLEDUT]

Well lets hope this time the Biz class of TG will be acceptable in those new aircrafts.

I hear you have never been flying with SAS.

TG have a very good biz class,in my opinion