Boeing Triple 7
The Triple Seven is now the best-selling wide-body airplane ever, and it’s second only to the ubiquitous 737 as the best-selling Boeing jet. With so many of them around, it’s no surprise that they. The Boeing 777 'Triple Seven' comprises a family of large twin-engined widebody airliners. They fly 300 to 400 passengers over medium to ultra-long distances. Boeing started the development of the 777 in the late 1980s as a stretched version of the 767 with the intention to fill the capacity-'gap' between the 767-300 and the 747-400.
The Boeing 777 or Triple Seven as it is commonly known is the largest twin-engine jet transport in service, a role that was briefly held by the Airbus A330 prior to the Boeing 777s introduction into service in 1995.
Sporting the largest diameter turbo-fan engines of any aircraft, six wheels on each main bogey and a distinctive blade tail cone, the Triple Seven can carry over 300 passengers up to a distance of 17,370 kilometres (9,695 NM).
Boeing Triple 777 Drawing
The Boeing 777 was designed in consultation with eight leading airlines and was designed to replace the ageing McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L1011 Tristar. It also provided a capacity bridge between the Boeing 767 and the Boeing 747 in that aircraft builders stable of aircraft offerings. The original 777 offering was the Boeing 777 200 version which was followed up in 1997 by the Boeing 777 200ER where the ER stands for Extended Range. In 1998 Boeing introduced the stretched Boeing 777 300 variant which was 10.1 metres (33.3 feet) longer than the Boeing 777 200 series. The long range variant, the Boeing 777 300ER was added in 2004 with the longer range Boeing 777 200LR rolling off the line in 2006. Boeing has also introduced a freighter version which was first delivered in 2009.
Three engine offerings are available with the Boeing 777; the General Electric GE90, the Rolls Royce Trent 800 and the Pratt and Whitney PW4000.
The Triple Seven holds the record for the longest flight of a commercial airliner and is capable of flying more than halfway around the world.
The Popular Boeing 777
Boeing 7 Max
The Boeing 777 is Boeings’ best selling aircraft. In a market currently focused heavily on fuel savings, a large fuel-efficient twinjet is a very attractive offering. The main competition for the Triple Seven is the; Airbus A330, Airbus A340, McDonnell Douglas MD11 and the Airbus A350.
As Boeing deliver their 1,000th 777, they are working hard to ensure the longevity and relevance of this very popular air-frame. The next generation of 777s is on the drawing board and currently is known as the 777X. Many concepts used on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be adopted in the design concept of the 777X, including the use of composite materials. Boeing anticipates a 21 per cent improvement in fuel burn with a 16 per cent improvement in operating costs. A technology Boeing patented back in 1995 but no one to date has opted for, is the folding wing. The 777X is expected to have a wingspan exceeding today’s 777-300ER by 6 metres (6 feet). The folding wingtips are designed to enable the 777X to use airport gates designed for current 777 variants. They would be locked in place for takeoff and flight. The extended wings allow better fuel economy and speed.
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Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 'Triple Seven' comprises a family of large twin-engined widebody airliners. They fly 300 to 400 passengers over medium to ultra-long distances.
Boeing started the development of the 777 in the late 1980s as a stretched version of the 767 with the intention to fill the capacity-'gap' between the 767-300 and the 747-400. The new version was provisionally designated '767-X', but the airlines didn't show enthusiasm for it. Therefore Boeing switched to an all-new design with a wider fuselage. The first Boeing 777 made its maiden flight on 12 June 1994. Boeing delivered the first production aircraft to United Airlines in May 1995 and the airline introduced it on its Denver to Chicago O'Hare service on 7 June 1994, soon followed by the first international flight between Washington Dulles and London Heathrow.
The 777 was the first airliner completely designed with a computer aided design (CAD) system. This system eliminates the need to build an expensive full-size mock-up of the aircraft, which is usually made to prevent the misfits of parts during the development phase. The computer has a major role too in the cockpit, which was designed for two-man operation and features six liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to present flight data to the crew. The 777 was the first Boeing airliner with a full fly-by-wire control system. The airframe consists of 10 percent composite materials (by weight).
Engines
Boeing offered the 777 with engine options from all three major turbofan manufacturers: the Pratt & Whitney PW4084, the Rolls Royce Trent 895 and the General Electric GE90. In May 1995 the Federal Aviation Administration granted the 777 full 180 minutes ETOPS (Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operations) clearance to allow it to fly long over-water or desert sectors up to 180 minutes flying time on a single engine from the nearest diversion airport.
Initially Boeing developed two versions: the standard 777-200 and the 777-200IGW (Increased Gross Weight - later renamed 777-200ER) with higher weights and extended range. The first flight of the 777-200ER was on 7 October 1996 and British Airways became the first user in 1997.
The 777-200LR (Longer Range), named 'Worldliner', has an even much more extended range and higher take-off weights. This version can stay up to 18 hours in the air and with a range of 17,500 km (9,450 nm) it is the world's airliner with the 'longest legs'. Like the 777-300ER it has raked wingtips, additional fuel capacity and a new main landing gear. The aircraft's structure is strengthened to enable it to carry heavier weights.
The Worldliner performed its maiden flight on 8 March 2005 and the first example was delivered to PIA Pakistan International Airlines in February 2006. A 777-200LR performed a world record flight for distance travelled nonstop by a commercial airliner on 9 and 10 November 2005 from Hong Kong to London Heathrow over 21,601 km (11,664 nm). That is more than halfway around the world. The flight lasted 22 hours and 42 minutes.
777-300
A 10.13m (33ft 3in) stretched version is the 777-300, which was intended as a replacement for early generation Boeing 747s, offering almost the same passenger capacity and range but much lower fuel burn and lower maintenance costs. The 777-300 can seat up to 550 passengers in a high-density cabin layout. Compared with the 777-200 it has a strengthened undercarriage, airframe and inboard wing. Boeing also added a tailskid to prevent tail-strikes on takeoff and landing, and mounted ground manoeuvring cameras on the horizontal tail and underneath the forward fuselage. Further changes were kept minimal for the sake of commonality with the 777-200. The first flight of the 300 was on 16 October 1997 and the aircraft was simultaneously certificated by the US FAA and the European JAA on 4 May 1998. The first 777-300 was delivered to Cathay Pacific the same month.
Extended Range
The most successful 777-version is the 777-300ER (Extended Range), which first flew on 24 February 2003 and of which Air France took the first delivery on 29 April 2009. The 300ER has extended, raked wingtips, a new main landing gear, a reinforced nose gear, and extra fuel tanks. Many parts of the airframe are strengthened to carry the heavier loads, like the fuselage, the empennage and the engine pylons. Boeing offers only one engine option: the GE90-115B turbofan, the world's most powerful jet engine in service.
Many 777-300ERs replace the later 747-models. Airports with much long-haul traffic once dominated by 747s, are now visited by large numbers of 777-300ERs instead. The 777-300ER competed successfully with the four-engined Airbus A340-500 and A340-600. Airlines preferred the lower operating costs of the twin-engined 777 and Airbus stopped production of the A340. Airbus is more successful with the all-new A350 of which the biggest planned version, the A350-1000, is a little smaller than the 777-300ER.
777F
A freighter version, the 777F, flew for the first time on 14 July 2008. It is based on the 777-200LR airframe and it entered service with launch customer Air France on 19 Febuary 2009. The 777F was developed as a replacement for the Boeing 747-200F, the MD-11F and the DC-10F.