787 Dreamliner makes international debut landing

According to Boeing, this is the first international flight made by a 787 Dreamliner after taking off from Seattle and flying non-stop to the Hampshire airfield.

‘We took advantage of the flying time to conduct some flight testing on the way,’ said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 programme, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. ‘We’re taking every opportunity to complete our testing requirements when we fly.’

The 787 Dreamliner is expected to provide airlines with a 20 per cent reduction in fuel use compared to similar-sized airplanes.

Capable of flying at up to Mach 0.85, the 787-8 variant will carry 210-250 passengers on routes of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles, while the 787-9 will carry 250-290 passengers on routes of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles.

As much as 50 per cent of the primary structure − including the fuselage and wing − on the 787 will be made of composite materials.

Net orders for the Dreamliner in 2010 stand at 12 to date.