The Inspector wrote:
If you look, on the website, you'll see the aft edges of the bypass cowls are pretty deep, rounded scallops or sort of spikes. The majority of noise you hear coming off a high bypass engine (CF-6, 4084, TRENT, CF-90) is the compressed air in the bypass cowl sleeve shearing as it escapes the sharp edged confines of the cowling, kinda like having the Green Giant blow across the open end of a bottle, or running shop air in a small diameter pipe but in extreme conditions and a huge expansion of the air. Around 89+% of the thrust from newer generation engines is cold thrust coming in the front end, bypassing around the core of the engine. The core takes in only enough air to sustain the big campfire in the turbine section, you'd be astounded at just how small and short the 14th stage blades are in a CFM-56 on a 737, like 1/2 in. by 5/8th in. so you get the sharp, hard shreeking as the air leaves the fan cowl. Thats why the cowls on a triple 7 are 13&1/2 feet in inside diameter.
The 787 WILL NOT take any air from the engines for anything except cowl inlet anti ice control. No more bleed air for A/C, starts, any of that stuff! Bleed air steals fuel mileage and range to cool you off, the bleed air taken from the 14th stage on a CF-6 is over 1300 degrees f and gets compressed, expanded, cooled and distributed before it blows on your face out of the gasper vent @ 72f. The pressurization and A/C is electrically driven @ the packs by big motors (and 7 turbocompressors on each side). The engines have an electric starter, not bleed air ('it still ain't starting, get the jumpers out of the tug'). The brakes and nose wheel steering are electric, the only cables will be the lav dump valve releases.
THe flight deck is planned to have around 52 total switches and less than 100 KLIXON type, push/pull circuit breakers for big things, but over 1100 'virtual' Circuit Breakers to control most of the systems (kinda hard to explain in a few words, but they will be 'touch' type) right in the CRT's in front of the crew, kinda like Worf controlling the Enterprise on TNG by touch alone, but the proper screen must first be selected on the CRTs before you can start turning stuff on and off.
Good to go, last long time-
I'm intrigued by the "no bleed air thing." How are the wings anti iced?
Is the 5,000 psi system (that's a lot!!!) engine driven? How 'bout flaps and flight controls?
If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going....
(not that I expect my employer to buy any new aircraft....might interefere with executive compensation.)