Posted on 02/02/2006 1:38:12 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
SEATTLE, Feb. 02, 2006 -- The world's longest-range commercial jetliner, the Boeing [NYSE: BA] 777-200LR Worldliner, now is certified by U.S. and European authorities to enter into passenger service with airlines around the world. The 777-200LR (Longer Range) is the fifth and newest member of the market-leading 777 airplane family.
Certification approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) formally recognizes that the 777-200LR has successfully completed all testing and safety requirements during its six-month flight-test program.
"The 777-200LR will revolutionize the way people travel with the ability to connect just about any two cities around the world," said Lars Andersen, vice president and program manager, 777 Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 777-200LR is more fuel efficient, has more range, and carries more passengers and cargo than the competition."
The FAA and EASA certifications grant an amended type certificate for the 777 and a production certificate authorizing Boeing to build the 777-200LR and deliver it to airlines for passenger service. The first 777-200LR will be delivered to Pakistan International Airlines later this month.
"The 777-200LR performed very well throughout its comprehensive flight test program for certification," said Bob Buchholz, chief engineer, 777 Safety, Certification and Performance. "In addition, the certification work will benefit us as we continue to develop the 777 Freighter."
Two 777-200LR flight test airplanes completed 886 flight hours on 328 flights, and 318 ground test hours. On both test airplanes, 27.8 miles of wiring were installed for the instrumentation used to record flight test data. More than 73 terabits (73 followed by 12 zeros) of data were recorded and analyzed. Boeing kept an online journal of the 777-200LR flight test activity, which is available at http://www.boeing.com/commercial/777family/200LR/flight_test/.
To develop the 777-200LR, Boeing strengthened the airplane's primary structure to accommodate an increased gross weight for takeoff and a higher engine thrust. Also, provisions were added to allow the 777-200LR to carry up to three additional fuel tanks. This work enables the airplane to carry more fuel, which allows it to fly farther and to serve as the platform for the 777 Freighter.
The 777-200LR uses many of the same advances developed with the 777-300ER (Extended Range), such as raked wingtips and other drag reducing improvements, and tail-strike protection. The 777-200LR is powered exclusively by the GE90-110B1L, a re-rated version of the powerful GE90-115BL used on the 777-300ER.
The 777-200LR is capable of connecting virtually any two cities in the world nonstop. In service it can carry 301 passengers up to 9,420 nautical miles (17,445 kilometers).
In addition to Pakistan International Airlines, EVA Air, Emirates, Air Canada, and Air India have ordered the 777-200LR. To date, 44 airlines around the world have ordered 827 777s.
Ah, but there's a little bit of optimistic specmanship going on here: The distance to a city that is exactly half-way around the world is the same, North Pole route or not.
Why would anyone want to fly around the world? You end up where you started.
Why would anyone want to fly around the world? You end up where you started.
Besides distance, you are also dealing with prevailing winds and other considerations.
I went to CH via DeGaul on 767 within a few months of the FAA allowing twin engine flights. Must have been around 1985.
IIRC, they had to fly further North to be within X amount of time of land at any given time.
When I was very new to flying I could land, take off, land, take off, land, take off and finally land, all if a very few seconds!
The arrival of the 777-200LR in airline service means that we are very close to QANTAS flying between Sydney and London non-stop using this plane.
heehee Thats quicker than 10 minutes!
Why would anyone want to go from St Louis to St Louis?
I don't right the headlines. I just ridicule them.
Thanks for the map site. Thats cool!
The let's pass laws prohibiting planes from having any engines. Then flying will be completely safe.
That being said, I've crossed the Atlantic on planes with 2, 3 and 4 engines. (707, DC-8, 747, A-340; L-1011; 767, 777.) Anything that's going to cause 2 engines to fail is probably going to cause all of the engines to fail.
For Boeing, all that matters for now is that the plane can fly from Sydney to London and back, non-stop, at all times of the year, and with a profitable load. The 777-200LR may be coming up a bit short for now, but Boeing will find a way to meet this goal for Qantas and British Airways.
Looking at a map, the distances seem roughly equivalent.
It may be able to take off and land in less than 10 mins but it still takes you 3 hours to get through security.
Lol, I have a remote control airplane that can do that...
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