This is a bit larger than most of the gizmos I post about here, but I just wanted to share this video of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner arriving at this year’s EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI. I’m pretty sure I mentioned it before, but I’m a major aerospace fanboy. I got my pilot’s license during high school, but I stopped flying early on during college due to the old time/money issue – if I had the time I didn’t have the money, or vice-versa. I started out in college as an aerospace engineering major, though I ended up deciding it wasn’t the field for me so I switched majors in my fourth year. I’m still a fan though, and I read nearly every issue of Aviation Week cover to cover for fun.
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.
