History Of The Boeing 777

The twin-engine, wide-body 777 was launched by Boeing in October 1990 as the first in a new family of commercial transports designed for the difficult operating environment of the coming twenty-first century. It was kicked off as part of a $22 billion order from United Airlines and was intended to extend the economies of a wide-body twin into new, long-range markets, while utilizing features such as an optional folding wing-tip and quieter engines to help the transport adapt to ever-worsening airport and airway congestion. 

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On June 12, 1994 the 777 had its near flawless first flight. The first flight took place at 11:45 am across the skies of Seattle, where its large size and slow climb were comparable to the slightly larger 747. The two engines that were used were Pratt & Whitney’s 4084 turbofans and were set at the full 77,000lbs allowed due to the tailwind that day. Boeing’s chief pilot John Cashman described the flight as going “amazingly well…for a brand-new vehicle” and claimed it was one of the smoothest flights he had ever had on a new aircraft.

Read the article from the AWST archives in full here
 

A year later in June 1995, the 777 entered into service with three different aircrafts on three different routes on the London-Washington, Frankfurt-Chicago and Washington-Chicago. The 777 boasted a spacious feel, with additional seat-width and pitch.

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The prestigious prize was presented to Boeing Co. and the team from across the aviation and airline industries that helped it design the advanced technology 777 transport, for what was described as an engineering marvel. 
Described as perhaps most important, the 777 helped pioneer and prove the value of intensive, cross-industry cooperation starting at the earliest stages of design. For the first time, Boeing, the airlines, three engine manufacturers, dozens of vendors--as well as the FAA and pilot and maintenance communities--worked as integrated teams to set goals, hammer out requirements and address the inevitable development challenges that arose.

Read the article from the AWST archives in full here

The first stretched 777-300 had its “uneventful” inaugural flight on October 16, 1997. First launched at the Paris Air Show on June 26, 1995, the assembly began in March 1997. It was designed to be stretched by 20% and add additional seats.

Read the article from the AWST archives in full here 
 

Boeing launched its next-generation twin-jet program, initially called the 777-X. Development slowed due to an industry downturn in the early 2000s.

On February 24, 2003, the Boeing 777-300ER made its first flight. It was described as a smooth first flight, most notable to the obvious boost in power provided by General Electric’s GE90-115B powerplants. It began the year-long campaign to complete certification on Boeing’s largest twin-engine aircraft. Changes to the new model included, wingtip extensions of 6.5 ft, increased fuel capacity, new main landing gear, strengthened nose gear, new wheels, tires and breaks. Work on the other Longer Range 777 derivative, the 777-200LR was put on hold in September 2001 but plans to return to it were still in motion. 

Read the full article on the test flight here

The 777-200LR was the second transport in the 777-X family. It was the flight test program designed to check big wing on standard fuselage. Boeing estimated the -200LR would fly 8,800 naut mi. carrying 301 passengers in a three-class interior, which would make it able to connect most cities in the world. At the time of its flight testing, this was a niche offering, with Boeing only having sold five of the twin-jet engines so far. The main competition was the Airbus A340-500.

Find out more about the -200LR specifications in the archive article here

In the summer of 2008, the flight testing for the fifth member of the 777 family began. It had a 5,000 naut.-mi range and 100-metric-ton payload capacity. The testing began on July 14, but was interrupted by a failed transmitter that produced data drop counts and prevented the check-off of some high risk items, such as flutter and manoeuvre tests.

Learn more about the summer of 777F testing here

Process improvements that cut fuel burn and emissions during Boeing's aircraft delivery preparation process were under consideration across the company's product line after an especially “green” rollout in November 2011 of a 777-300ER for Air New Zealand.

The two biggest savings come in aircraft painting and pre-delivery engine testing. Boeing realized it was duplicating a significant amount of pre-delivery testing.

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In November 2013, the Boeing 777X was launched to orders and commitments totalling 259 aircrafts across multiple airlines. It is the third generation of the 777, with two models included in the launch, the 777-8 and 777-9. The 777-9 was another stretched variant, with a range of 8,200 naut.-mi and the 777-8 boasting a range of over 9,300 naut.-mi.
 

The 777X is already pivotal to Boeing’s future, but the newly begun flight-test and certification campaign for the long-range flagship has assumed even greater significance as the company strives to rebuild trust amid the crisis over the 737 MAX.
The success of the first flight on Jan. 25, after two days of frustrating bad-weather delays, therefore marked a significant boost for the beleaguered manufacturer as it prioritizes the return to service for the MAX and scours the market for new business to offset the recent slump in twin-aisle orders.

Read the article on the first flight of the 777-9 in full here