Boeing 777
American Airlines Boeing 777. For more images of the 777 see list at bottom of page
The Boeing 777 is a family of long-range widebody twin-engine airliners built by Boeing Commercial Aircraft Corp. It carries between 305 and 550 passengers and has a range spanning from 5,600 to 8,870 nautical mile (10,400 to 16,400 km).
Distinguishing features of the 777 include the set of six wheels on each main landing gear, its perfectly circular fuselage cross-section, and the blade-like rear tailcone.
In the 1970s Boeing unveiled its new models to replace and expand its then current line-up. They are the twin-engined 757, to replace the venerable 727; the twin-engined 767 to challenge the Airbus A300 and the 777 trijet to compete with the DC-10 and the Lockheed Tristar.
It was essentially a tri-jet airplane based on a re-winged 767 design, and it had two main variants: a transcontinental airplane transporting 175 on trips up
to 5,000km (2,700nm) as well as an intercontinental version capable of flying over 8,000km (4,320nm) with the same passenger load.
The twinjets were launched and the 777 trijet was cancelled. Boeing's choice to not proceed with the 777 was influenced by the design complexities of trijet aircraft, the absence of an engine with thrust in the range of 40,000 lb (178 kN), and the success of the 757 and 767, particularly with the benefit of ETOPS regulations of the 1980s.
But Boeing had a big gap in its product line between the 767-300ER and the 747-400 in terms of size and range, and realized the potential of such an airplane. The DC-10 and Lockheed Tristar, being of 1960s design, were also ripe for replacement. In the meantime, Airbus developed the A330 and A340 to fulfill that requirement.
The initial proposal from Boeing was simply to enlarge the 767, resulting in the 767-X concept. It was essentially a 767 with a longer fuselage and larger wings seating about 340 passengers and with a maximum range of 7,300 nautical mile (13,500 km).
The airlines were unimpressed with the 767-X. They wanted from short to intercontinental range capability, cabin cross-section similar to the 747, a fully flexible cabin configuration and an operating cost lower than any 767 stretch. The result was a totally a new design, the 777 twinjet.
The design phase of the 777 differed from all previous Boeing jetliners that had gone before it. For the first time, the airlines and their passengers had an integral role in the development of the plane, the so-called "Working Together" philosophy, as Boeing called it, meant that the 777 was the most customer-oriented aircraft ever built.
The 777 was also the first commercial aircraft ever to be designed 100% by computer. No paper drawings were ever produced; everything was created on a 3D CAD software system known as CATIA. This allowed a virtual 777 to be assembled in cyberspace, allowing engineers to examine for interferences, and to test if the many thousands of parts would fit together properly before costly physical prototypes were manufactured.
To satisfy the demanding airline requirements, a lot of technology new to Boeing had to be employed, although much of this technology was already in service on Airbus aircraft. These new features included:
The initial model 777 was the 700-200. The first customer delivery was to United Airlines in May 1995. It is available with maximum take-off weight (MTOW) from 229 to 247 tonnes and range capability between 3780 and 5150 nautical mile (7000 to 9500 km).
The basic 777-200 is powered by two 74,000 lb (329 kN) Pratt & Whitney PW4074 turbofans, 75,000 lb (334 kN) General Electric GE90-75Bs, or 75,000 lb (334 kN) Rolls-Royce Trent 875s.
The increased weight, longer range 777-200ER features additional fuel capacity, with increased MTOW range from 263 to 286 tonnes and range capability between 6000 and 7700 nautical mile (11,000 to 14,300 km). The first 777-200ER was delivered to British Airways in February 1997.
The 777-200ER can be powered by any two of a number of engines: the 84,000 lb (374 kN) PW4084 or Trent 884, the 85,000 lb (378 kN) GE90-85B, the 90,000 lb (400 kN) PW4090, GE90-90B1, or Trent 890, or the 92,000 lb (409 kN) GE90-92B.
On April 2, 1997 a Boeing 777-200ER, tail registration 9M-MRA (dubbed the 'Super Ranger') of Malaysia Airlines, broke the Great Circle Distance Without Landing record for an airliner by flying east (the long way) from Boeing Field, Seattle, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, covering the distance of 20044.20 km in 21 hours, 23 minutes.
Boeing claims the 777-200LR will be the longest ranging airliner, capable of flying 8865 nautical mile (16,400 km) for 18 hours. It will achieve this with huge 110,000 lb (489 kN) thrust GE90-110B1 turbofans, a significantly increased MTOW and optional auxiliary fuel tanks in the rear cargo hold. Other new features include raked wingtips, a new main landing gear and additional structural strengthening.
The stretched 777-300 is designed as a replacement for 747-100s and 200s. Compared to the older 747s, the stretched 777 has comparable passenger capacity and range, but burns one third less fuel and demands 40% lower maintenance costs.
It features a 33ft 3in fuselage stretch over the baseline 777-200, allowing seating for up to 550 passengers in a single class high density configuration
and is also 13 tonnes heavier. The 777-300 has tailskid and ground manoeuvring cameras mounted on the horizontal tail and underneath the forward fuselage to aid pilots during taxi due to the aircraft's enormous length.
It was awarded type certification simultaneously from the US FAA and European JAA and was granted 180min ETOPS approval on May 4 1998 and entered service with Cathay Pacific later in that month.
The typical operating range with 386 three class passengers is 5720 nautical mile (10,600 km). It is typically powered by two of the following engines: 90,000 lb (400 kN) PW-4090 turbofans, 92,000 lb (409 kN) Trent 892 or General Electric GE90-92Bs, or 98,000lb (436 kN) PW-4098s.
The 777-300ER series is a long range version of 777-300, and is designed as a replacement for the 747-400. This is a result of Boeing's strategy to target the 747 series as cargo freighters rather than passenger aircraft.
The 777-300ER contains many modifications, including the GE90-115B engines, which are currently the world's most powerful jet engine with 115,300 lb (513 kN) thrust. Other features include raked wingtips, a new main landing gear, extra fuel tanks, as well as strengthened fuselage, wings, empennage, nose gear, engine struts and nacelles. The range has increased to 7,250 nautical mile (13,400 km) with a 365-passenger three-class configuration. The 777-300ER programme was launched by Air France.
Early History
Technological features
The 777 first flew on June 14, 1994 and underwent a flight-test programme more extensive than any other Boeing models. Boeing pioneered the Early ETOPS process giving the 777 180-min ETOPS rating entry into service. The FAA awarded full 180 minutes ETOPS clearance for PW4074 777-200s on May 30, 1995.Variants
777-200 series
777-200ER series
777-200LR Series
777-300 Series
777-300ER Series
General Characteristics
Some Boeing 777 facts
External links
List of 777 images
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