Flight deck

The Boeing Company has revealed details of the flight deck of its new 787 Dreamliner.

The first thing that pilots will notice is that the display screens are much larger than on any previous aircraft. The five 12-by-9.1-inch screens offer 546 square inches of display space - twice that of the Boeing 777 - allowing pilots access to more information.

Other key features of the new 787 flight deck are the dual head-up displays (HUDs) and dual electronic flight bag. Boeing has offered HUDs and electronic flight bags on other models, but with the 787 they come as standard.

HUDs display information on clear screens mounted at eye level so the pilots can see flight data while looking out the windows. Electronic flight bags are the digital equivalent of the pilot's flight bag and include maps, charts, manuals and other data.

Another instrument on the 787 offers pilots a moving map of an airport for safer ground taxi operations, while yet another provides a ‘vertical situation display’ providing a rendering of  terrain profiles.

But the flight deck also retains a lot of commonality with the 777, and the company says that pilots who fly the 777 will need only five days of training to be ready to fly the 787.