At Boeing’s Everett factory, the 777X waits to take off commercially

Welcome to “the largest building on the planet by volume,” says Jason Clark, director of the Boeing plant in Everett (Washington State), home of the largest twin-engine jet currently manufactured in the world: the 777X, still without passengers.

Below the visitors’ walkway, nestled one inside the other’s wings, are lined up a handful of future giants of the air at various stages of assembly.

On the horizon, through the hangar door a few meters ajar, the snow-capped mountains of this state in the northwest of the United States, bordering Canada, appear.

The site currently manufactures older-generation 777-200 freighters as well as the 777-9, Boeing’s new flagship. It is also set to produce the smaller 777-8.

Inside the Boeing 777-9 certification test aircraft in Everett, NW, on June 26, 2024 (POOL/AFP/Jennifer Buchanan)

“The 777 program is the most popular (…) twin-aisle airplane of all time,” Brad Till, chief marketing officer of Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes (BCA), told reporters during a recent site visit.

According to him, more than 2,250 units have been ordered since the family was launched just thirty years ago.

This family has already carried 3.9 billion passengers on 15.9 million flights.

The latest generation, the 777X program, was presented in 2013. Its first deliveries were to begin in 2020 but it stumbled over certification snags, and they are now expected for 2025.

Boeing’s 777X assembly line is the world’s largest building by volume, June 26, 2024 in Everett, northwest. (POOL/AFP/Jennifer Buchanan)

Good news for Boeing, which has been plagued by production and certification problems in recent years: the American aviation regulator (FAA) has finally granted a crucial authorization, called TIA (Type Inspection Authorization), for the 777-9.

This green light is issued when the examination of the required technical data is completed or is sufficiently advanced to estimate that the device will satisfy the applicable regulations.

– Airshow –

This milestone was reached at just the right time, just before the Farnborough International Air Show (United Kingdom), scheduled for July 22 to 26, where Boeing plans to showcase this aircraft.

Workers at the Boeing plant in Everett, northwest, June 26, 2024 (POOL/AFP/Jennifer Buchanan)

Visitors will have access to a full-size section of the cabin, which has gained 30 to 40 cm in additional width compared to its predecessor, the 777-300 ER, thanks to a thinner fuselage.

The portholes are larger, the luggage compartments more spacious, the LED lighting offers an infinite combination of colours and even a starry sky or the possibility of following the sun to facilitate long-haul trips with a lot of jet lag, explains Mr Till.

On the technical side, the new engine designed by General Electric has fewer blades, which reduces noise in and out of the plane, and it consumes less fuel.

According to Mr. Till, “its CO2 emissions are 20% to 30% lower than those of the A350”, from the European manufacturer Airbus and direct competitor of the 777X since the end of the large A380 and B747. And its “sound signature” is 40% lower than the planes it will replace, he continues.

To be able to circulate in airports, the tips of the wings of the 777X fold, in Everett (northwest) on June 26, 2024 (POOL/AFP/Jennifer Buchanan)

“For our airline customers, this will truly be the flagship of the future of the industry,” he said, expecting a “large portion” of its market to be replacements for existing aircraft.

At his side, Ted Grady, chief test pilot of the 777/777X, is excited about a special feature: the wingtips pivot, “in about twenty seconds,” so that the aircraft can maneuver smoothly through airports despite its 240-foot wingspan. This trick shortens it by about six meters.

Mr. Grady is in charge of the test campaign, conducted with four 777-9s each assigned to certain tests (propulsion, flooded runway, strong crosswinds, noise pollution, etc.). One of them was in Everett that day.

From the outside, it looks like a plane ready to take on its passengers, but its cabin is nothing more than a huge shell with ripped open walls.

The interior of one of four 777-9s used by Boeing for aircraft certification, in Everett, northwest, on June 26, 2024 (POOL/AFP/Jennifer Buchanan)

A few seats for engineers and mechanics in front of instrument cabinets, monitors, a few cameras, lots of cables. And about ten black tanks, but what for?

They are filled with water to weigh down the plane, Grady explains.

“We flew 3,500 hours,” he says. “We tested it for 40,000 fatigue cycles, which is well beyond its design life.”

© 2024 AFP

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