29 years ago on April 9th 1994, the Boeing 777 would be first introduced to the public. Originally meant to complement quadjets such as the 747, the 777 and it's subsequent variants would eventually go on and replace the 747 and A380. And with the introduction of the 777X as well, it shows that this plane still has an importance in today's market. And just like with the previous entry in the series with the 747, I will go over its development, the different variants and its impact on aviation.
Development
The origins of the Boeing 777 occurred one early morning on October 15, 1990 in Chicago, Illinois when "Boeing and United Airlines agreed to a launch agreement worth $5 billion" (Norris, Guy; Wagner, Mark. Boeing 777: The Technological Marvel. MBI Publishing, 2001). The deal was agreed to between then Boeing CEO Phil Condit, his colleague Dick Albrecht with then United Executive Vice President James Guyette. Basically what the airline wanted was a plane that can offer this:
"In order to launch on-time a truly great airplane, we have a responsibility to work together to design, produce, and introduce an airplane that exceeds the expectations of flight crews, cabin crews, and maintenance/support teams and ultimately our passengers and suppliers." - James Guyette
From day one, this new plane needed to have these characteristics:
Best dispatch reliability in the industry
Greatest customer appeal in the industry
User friendly and everything works
Initially Boeing wanted to use the 777 as a plane to replace trijets such as the Lockheed Tristar and McDonnell Douglas DC-10/MD-11. Not to mention that Airbus was starting to enter the widebody market in earnest with the A330/A340 series.
With this new plane, Boeing had to find ways to reinvent themselves which would eventually change how aircraft would be designed in the future. This included expanding their existing facilities in Everett as well utilizing a computer system called CATIA (computer-aided, 3D interactive applications) developed by Dassault and IBM. The 777 would also be the first Boeing widebody to implement fly-by-wire controls first made popular by the F-16 fighter jet. Eventually on June 12, 1994 the 777 would make its first flight taking off from Everett for 3 hours and 48 minutes, which would be a record for a new Boeing jet at the time. Eventually on April 19th, 1995 the FAA would certify the 777 for delivery.
Variants
Eventually, there would be multiple variants of the 777 but we will mainly focus on the big three (777-200, 777-300, and 777X) beginning with the 777-200.
Boeing 777-200
The first variant that was introduced into service would be the 777-200. Initially these planes would be powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW4084 as requested by United and utilized low titanium with their engine blades fused with the crystal material PWA1480. These blades were also used in F-15/F-16/F-22 fighter aircraft. The engine would be tested on the first Boeing 747 on loan from The Museum of Flight for $1. Another engine that would power the 777-200 would be the GE90 from General Electric, which used all composite fan blades. Lastly the 777-200 would also introduce the Rolls-Royce Trent Series with the Trent 800.
The variants would be divided into two different subvariants "LR and ER." LR stands for long range, which adds an extra fuel tank to the airframe, adding to the plane's maximum takeoff weight. This would be the less popular 200 subvariant because of that. In addition, the range of the type was too long for an aircraft of its size. The 200ER would give airlines the best "bang for their buck" when it came to value. Airlines could fly from Seattle to London, Chicago to Tokyo or Newark to Dubai.
Boeing 777-300
While the 777-200 was a success, Boeing wasn't satisfied. Staying with classic Boeing tradition stretching their products with each subsequent variant... enter the Boeing 777-300. During the early 90s, many Asian carriers decided to think about replacing their classic 747s with a plane that had the capacity of early 747s but with the efficiencies of a twin-jet. It also made sense for Boeing because those 747s were starting to show their age at the time and Boeing decided to move forward with the project. It would eventually be introduced to the public on September 8th 1997 with a 4 hr 6 minute first flight on October 16 of that same year (longest first flight at the time beating the original 777-200). Due in part to their close relationship with Boeing at the time, Cathay Pacific would be the launch customer of the Boeing 777-300 and Asian carriers loved using the type.
Boeing 777-300ER
While the 777-300 was successful, unfortunately, it didn't have the range to compete with other widebody aircraft at the time. That's why Boeing decided to develop the 777-300ER. It would eventually make it's first flight on February 24, 2003 and was delivered to launch customer Air France on April 29th 2004. This plane would have a range of 7,370 Nautical Miles, a new composite wing design, modified undercarriage and the new GE 90-115B turbofan which was the most powerful jet engine until the new GE9x for the 777X. Eventually this plane would be a huge hit with customers and US airlines American and United would order them to replace older widebodies. Emirates would be the largest customer of the type with 124 aircraft in their fleet. It's the perfect plane for its fleet flying at more destinations than their A380s.
777X
By the late 2010s, airlines were beginning to look at their quad-jets and decided that they needed a replacement aircraft for the A380 as well as the 747-400. That's where the 777X comes in. The 777-9 would be the longer variant and the 777-8 would be the shorter variant but with a longer range. The 777X just like the 737 MAX would take a lot of influence from the 787 Dreamliner when it comes to design including a new pressurization system which would allow the pressurization altitude to be lower as well as a new larger composite wing than the 300ER. Because of this, Boeing took influence from Navy aircraft such as the F/A-18 Super Hornet to have retractable wingtips to fit in airports that don't allow A380s such as Seattle. The plane would be powered by the new GE9x engine which is actually less powerful than its predecessor due in part to having lighter wings. The story of this plane is still in its early developments so time will tell if it lives up to the hype.
Impact on Aviation
The impact the 777 had on aviation is a microcosm on how the industry would change in the 21st century, from being designed on a computer to eventually bringing 747/A380 sized capacity with the efficiency benefits of a twinjet. To make a football analogy, the 777 following the 747 isn't like Steve Young following Joe Montana. Not to bring my Packer fan bias into this but it's more like how Aaron Rodgers would follow in Brett Favre's footsteps.
Basically the heir apparent (Aaron Rodgers/Boeing 777) was required to do the things that its predecessor did (Brett Favre/Boeing 747) but more efficiently. And both the Boeing 777 and Aaron Rodgers did the same exact things that they were supposed to and created their own legacies. Maybe in this case Jordan Love will be the "777X" doing things that Aaron/777 classics weren't able to do.
Back to the original topic, the 777 is not only an important aircraft to Boeing but highly influential on the industry as we move into a new era of twinjets leading to the 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350. But what do you guys think of the Boeing 777? Let me know in the comments below and keep looking to the sky!
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