Also in Dreamliner news, on April 27th the first B787 from the secondary production line in Charleston, South Carolina was rolled out. The principal production line is in Everett, WA, but to meet production goals Boeing needs multiple lines. The current plan is to increase production to ten units per month, with seven coming from WA and three from SC.

The Robert J. Collier Trophy is awarded annually “for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.” The list of Collier winners represents a timeline of aviation, as many of the awardees mark major events in the history of flight.

Boeing has released two videos in celebration of the award. The first video examines the B787′s journey to winning the trophy. The second video is a look back at Boeing’s rich history of Collier Trophy awards, both within Boeing itself and in the ‘legacy companies’ they’ve acquired, such as McDonnell Douglas.

Most passengers are never aware of it, but on those long international flights the crew needs somewhere to rest. They certainly can’t get much rest in their jump seats since they don’t even recline. The traditional approach was to have a crew rest area in the lower fuselage, on the same level as the baggage hold, below the passenger cabin. But that cuts down on cargo space, which is important for airlines as it is a significant source of revenue. So a more clever approach was developed. Consider the shape of the fuselage as seen from the outside, now think of the cabin interior. The ceiling isn’t a high arc, is it? Right.

There is a lot of space between the passenger cabin ceiling and the outer skin of the fuselage. Traditionally this has been used for air conditioning ducts, cable runs, etc. But it was largely wasted space. Boeing re-arranged the ducts, cables, etc., and make room for a small area for the crew to get some sleep. In the B747 there is a crew rest area in the aft fuselage above the passenger cabin. Later models of the B777 offer an overhead crew rest area at the front, above the first class cabin. And the B787 offers this feature as well. It’s just something I think is neat.

They also released a video highlighting how quiet, relatively, the B787 is compared to legacy airliners in the same class:

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this I was going through my RSS feeds and I saw this post from Android Central, which linked to a report in Australian Business Traveler on these very same entertainment systems. It turns out they’re all Android based. Not only that, Android is the only option for the B787. Unlike other airliners which airlines select their choice of interiors, seats, entertainment systems, etc., on the B787 Boeing has a list of pre-approved options they must choose from. And both the Panasonic and Thales systems, the two options for B787 entertainment systems, run Android. Boeing has done this to increase efficiency in aircraft production, since it allows for more standardization which speeds things up. And it allows for everything to be tested out ahead of time so you don’t run into snags trying to integrate the disparate choices an airline may make on other products.

With 820 Dreamliners on order already, that’s a big win for Android. And Panasonic and Thales will certainly be marketing the systems they’ve developed for the Dreamliner for other airliner applications.

Boeing posted a couple of videos to commemorate the events:

Via the Aviation Week Things With Wings Blog.

I need to attend AirVenture again someday. I went twice during my teens with my family, and was fortunate to be there the year the SR-71 Blackbird made its last show appearance before its (first) retirement. I got a front row view of the Blackbird making a low pass down the flight line, just barely subsonic. The only word for it is ‘awesome’.

The B787 has suffered quite a few manufacturing delays, but it looks like it will finally enter service this fall as the newest and most advanced airliner in the world. Composite construction, all electric architecture, new ultra-high-efficiency turbofans, all kinds of high tech options for the cabin – from LED lighting to entertainment systems, etc. A flying collection of gadgets and gizmos. I hope I get to fly one before too long.

Via Aviation Week’s Things With Wings blog.