Four years ago, Boeing promised a dream of an airliner; in fact it named its new B7E7 (subsequently redesignated B787) mid-size, wide-body passenger twin-jet, the Dreamliner. Among its claims was that this aircraft, super-light by virtue of its unprecedented 50% (by weight) composites content, would be 17% more fuel efficient than the metal B767 it was intended to replace, as well as more comfortable for passengers.
Reinforced Plastics reviews this high-profile composites programme.
(This feature was published in the November/December 2010 issue of Reinforced Plastics magazine.)
