Contributor

Harry Weisberger

Boeing’s 787-8 Dreamliner is wrapping up a weeklong visit to the FIDAE 2012 airshow in Santiago, Chile, where all the airplane’s technological wizardry, including the most comprensive array of Honeywell equipment on any Boeing airliner, went on display.


During the 787’s recent visit to Phoenix,&nbsp;Honeywell on March 9 showed AIN the&nbsp;dozen avionics and other systems it contributes to the Dreamliner. The list includes flight control electronics, liquid-crystal display (LCD) electronic flight instrumentation, dual flight management systems, navigation radios, air data and earth reference systems, external and internal lighting, engine anti-ice valves and air/oil heat exchangers for oil and generator cooling. Rockwell Collins provides the five 15.1-inch diagonal primary flight and multifunction displays on the 787 flight deck as well as dual head-up displays, pilot controls, communications radios, integrated surveillance system, common data network and other systems.


Operators can display and control Honeywell flight management system functions on the primary flight and multifunction display screens as well as on pedestal-mounted control display units (CDUs). Boeing flight-test pilot Ed Wilson noted that the 787-8 offers operators the option of RNP 1 approach and autoland capability. Circuit-breaker controls also appear on the flight management CDU, because the Dreamliner flight deck does not have mechanical breakers.


Dave Douglas, Honeywell vice president for Boeing business, pointed out that the 787 flight control system saves several thousand pounds compared with the 777 FCS by eliminating long cable runs between flight control electronics and control surface actuators, which also provides a higher level of integration and faster response to control inputs. A coordinated Boeing-Honeywell effort to achieve automatic flight control system functionality involved engineers from Boeing’s Apache attack helicopter facility in Mesa, Ariz. Overcoming schedule challenges, the team met or exceeded first flight schedule milestones, including exercising the autoland capability, according to Honeywell.


The interior of the world-tour aircraft, the third of six in the Dreamliner certification fleet, remains largely devoted to certification flight testing except for sample passenger seating and accommodations in the forward section. ZA003’s arrival in Santiago last Monday marked the 22nd stop on a four-continent odyssey that has included 12 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, three each in China and Africa, and stops in Dublin, Bangkok and Singapore. The trip has included demonstrations for many of the 49 airline and 10 VIP transport customers of the Dreamliner, including Chile’s own LAN Airlines. The largest 787 customer in Latin America, LAN holds orders for 26 Dreamliners from Boeing and another six via leasing companies.


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