The Farnborough Airshow, the most important international airshow of the year, is also the most important sales stage for Boeing and Airbus. This year, Boeing also historicly dispatched the 777-9 and 737 MAX 10 aircraft to make their first appearance at the Farnborough Air Show.
Both models are the largest members of the family and can accommodate between 230 and 426 passengers depending on the configuration. At present, neither aircraft has been officially certified, and the 777-9 and 737 MAX 10 participating in the Farnborough Air Show are used as flight laboratories, mainly for airworthiness certification.
777-9: The world's largest twin-engine airliner
The 777-9 is currently the largest model in the 777 family ever built, and it can be seen in terms of size. Its fuselage length is 70 meters, similar to the Boeing 747, however it has only two huge engines, instead of four like the 747.
To meet the 777X's strong thrust needs, GE has developed the most powerful commercial aircraft engine ever built, with a thrust of 134,300 pounds (about 60.9 tons), the world record holder for the highest thrust.
According to GE, the GE9x has improved fuel efficiency by 10% compared to ge90-115B and 5% more fuel efficiency than any dual-channel engine.
Ge9x uses 65 ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), the most of any commercial engine to date, and these CMC components weigh only 1/3 of conventional parts, but are twice as strong as traditional parts, thus improving durability. GE also used additive technology to streamline the original more than 300 engine parts into 7 3D printed components, which greatly reduced the weight.
The huge engine and huge main landing gear are also unforgettable.
The first test aircraft to fly to the Farnborough 777-9, numbered WH001 and registered N779XW, flew first on January 25, 2020. Engineers also installed pressurized water tanks inside the aircraft to control the aircraft's center of gravity as it flew without the weight of passengers and cargo.
There are also locations for engineers, equipment and sensors in the cabin, as well as seats in Economy Class. About 10 to 25 people participated in the test flight work. Interestingly, Boeing also deliberately dug deeper into the cabin, labeling the "A350" — they reminded visitors that the Boeing 777 was wider than its European competitors.
The 777X also has a "trick" - its wings can be folded. Due to the limited width of many airports, The solution given by Boeing was to retract the wings while on the ground. When retracted, the 777X had a wingspan of 64.82 meters.
The 737 MAX 10 with variable-height landing gear
The 37 MAX 10 is the largest of the Boeing 737 MAX family, with a body length of 44 meters, 13.3 meters longer than the older 737 -200. This is also a product that Boeing uses to compete with the Airbus A321neo. Although the plane carried fewer passengers, it had a longer range. For airlines operating the 737MAX, this can effectively expand their route network.
Boeing brought a second 737 MAX 10 prototype to Farnborough, and now Boeing is producing a third 737 MAX 10. Compared to the 777X, the 737 MAX 10 has a narrower fuselage width and a variety of equipment that basically fills the cabin.
Like the 777X, Boeing has made unusual innovations on the 737 MAX 10, which has solved a number of problems caused by the aircraft's lengthening. For example, the landing gear is too short.
Manufacturers wanted the 737 MAX 10 to keep more in common with other similar models, so the MAX 10 needed to be farther from the ground to avoid accidents during takeoff, so Boeing decided to lengthen the landing gear.
The height of the 737 MAX 10 landing gear will be increased by 45 cm during takeoff to avoid the tail of the fuselage from scratching onto the runway surface.
Although Boeing has high hopes for the 737 MAX 10 and 777X, it still worries future customers, these two aircraft are still in the certification stage, and it remains to be seen how reliable the future will be.