Photos: The Boeing 787-10 Completes Maiden Flight in North Charleston, S.C.

The first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner took to the skies for the first time at the manufacturer’s facility in North Charleston, S.C. Boeing’s Charleston plant will be the only facility for 787-10 final assembly.

The 787-10 is the third member of the Dreamliner family. With a slightly longer fuselage, the 787-10 maintains 95% commonality with the 787-9 variant, featuring additional cargo and seating capacity.

The upgraded Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines on the first 787-10 can provide up to 75,000 pounds of thrust each, yet 25% better fuel efficiency per seat and less emission than the Airbus A330, and 10% compared to the Airbus A350XWB. Holding 330 passengers at its maximum capacity, the 787-10 can operate flights up to 6,430 nautical miles which is more than 90% of the world’s twin-aisle routes.

Boeing has received 1207 orders for 787 family aircraft from 67 customers. As of March 27, 2017, Boeing has a total of 524 787 deliveries (329 for 787-8 model and 195 for 787-9 model).

“Boeing has successfully forecasted the market growth in the past 20 years,” said Justin Hale, Regional Director of Product Marketing of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“When I look at the airplane behind us, the 2nd -10 on the flight line, and the 3rd one in the factory, I think we nailed it. This is a great team effort,” said Ken Sanger, Vice President and General Manager of 787 Airplane Development.

787 Chief Pilot Tim Berg also commented, “We had a great flight today. It really showed the dedication of the team” with 787 Deputy Chief Pilot Mike Bryan added “Flawless. No squawks. Beautiful airplane.”

All three Boeing 787-10 aircraft will be based out of Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington for testing and to certify the airplane’s performance. The first two aircraft will serve as the major part of the flight test program, with the third being reserved for testing the new environmental control system and the engines’ performance.

Both the first and third test aircraft will be equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, and the second will be equipped with General Electric engines. The first 787-10 is expecting to arrive in Seattle next week.

After putting the first 787 variant into service in 2013, United will be the North American launch customer with delivery expected in Q4 of 2018. The airline currently has 14 Boeing 787-10 aircraft on order.

Photos from the first flight:

*Photos by Chuyi Chuang | AirlineGeeks.com

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