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Aviation History
2004
2004-02 - 0030.PDF
Flight test: Boeing 777-3QOER FAST AND HEAVY Boeing has retained the 777's excellent flying gualities with the heavier, more powerful -300ER, while adding range and fuel performance gains MICHAEL GERZANICS / SEATTLE Boeing's original game plan for the 777 family always included longer-haul variants to satisfy an embryonic point-to-point mar ket with massive potential. But 10 years ago, even the keenest visionaries could not have foreseen the sheer size and power of the 777-300ER, the first of two variants developed to attack this growing global network. The 777-300ER is the largest and most powerful twin-engined aircraft ever devel oped. In a little over a year's time it will be joined by its stablemate, the even longer- range 777-200LR. Both form the ultimate expressions of Boeing's payload and range growth strategy for the 777 family. Building on successive weight, power and stretch developments, the extension into the longer-range market was entirely dependent on engine growth to an almost unbelievable 115,0001b thrust (512kN). After several false starts, Boeing defined the -200X/300X pair and held a "winner takes all" engine competition in 1999. General Electric won with the GE90-11X and formal launch took place in February 2000. Boeing and GE projected a potential market of up to 600 "longer-range 777Xs". Five months later, the 300-passenger, 17,200km (9,300nm)-range 777-200X was redubbed the -200LR, while the 365-passen- ger, 14,250km (originally 13,280km)-range -300X was designated the -300ER. Development began and the -300ER first flew in February 2003. Now approaching Gerzanics on the 777- 300ER flightdeck, which is essentially unchanged from that of the-200/300 Tt It IT t : 1 MB ' O-d j&. the end of a year-long, two-aircraft flight- test effort, with Boeing on the verge of certi ficating the 777-300ER in the first quarter of 2004, Flight International was invited to fly the aircraft at Boeing Field in Seattle. I was accompanied by Boeing captain Suzanna Darcy. External power was con nected to the aircraft as we performed the preflight walk-around. In general arrange ment, the 777-300ER is nearly identical to the basic -300, with the exception of the 2m-long raked wingtip extensions and the engines. The aircraft has been strengthened to accommodate higher gross weights and there are changes to the landing gear. The 777-300ER is powered exclusively by General Electric GE90-115B turbofans, each" producing 115,3001b (512kN) of thrust at sea level. Large composite blades, with their distinctive wavy leading edges, give the fan section a diameter of 3.25m, larger than the fuselage cross-section of some narrowbody airliners. Inside story With its 10 exterior doors, the aircraft could seat nearly 550 passengers in a sin gle-class configuration, but Boeing uses a baseline of 365 passengers in three-class seating for marketing and comparison pur poses. The cabin of our aircraft featured flight-test equipment and economy-class seats. The forward portion featured a con ceptual advanced cabin design. The flightdeck is essentially identical to that of the -200/300. Six large liquid-crys tal displays are arranged in the now famil iar format, with side-by-side primary flight displays (PFD) and navigation displays (ND) for each pilot and two centre stacked multifunction displays (MFD) for the engine information and crew-alerting sys tem. Each ND can also function as an MFD for added versatility and redundancy. On each side of the centre pedestal is a cursor control device (CCD) - a touchpad, not the trackball used in Dassault's EASy advanced flightdeck. One nice feature: the ie ability to reach cruise altitude rapidly reduces the risk T being stuck at lower than optimal initial cruise height 28 20-26 JANUARY 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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