Photographers are at the mercy of their subject matter. We can do all sorts of fancy magical tricks once we see our subjects, but if there isn't a 7-spot ladybug in front of your lens its going to be awfully hard to get an image of one. And so it was for me and Boeing's newest offering: the 787 Dreamliner. I had captured one heat-wave distorted image from a visit to MCAS Yuma, Arizona while Boeing was undertaking hot weather testing there. I had also had a fly-by with one while rushing to catch a flight at Tokyo Haneda airport, but other than that my files were pretty bare.
 |
| Boeing 787 Dreamliner N7478 baking in the Arizona sun. |
 |
| A little closer: Dreamliner in a photo-unfriendly slot at Tokyo Haneda, Japan. |
While on holiday in Hiroshima I was quite excited to see on my super-smart and ever-so-handy phone that while I was waiting to catch a flight home that my "white whale" would be arriving and pulling up to the gate next to our departure jet way. A quick jaunt up the stairs and a ¥100 coin in the turnstile gave me access to the observation deck and my first views of a Dreamliner in motion. My first impression was that it seemed to be a 737 on steroids. It doesn't have the "super-big / long" feeling like a 777 or A330. Perhaps its because the wide-body doesn't look so big when you have a pair of massive Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines under the gently curving wings.
 |
| ANA Boeing 787-800 JA807A with thrust reversers deployed on arrival to Hiroshima, Japan. |
 |
| Air China Boeing 737-700 B-5211 preparing to taxi up to Wicket D with the Dreamliner. |
During the taxi back to the gate I noticed an Air China 737 landing and coming back to the same gate area. We were due to leave from Gate D (or Wicket D as it was labeled) on an ANA 737and I thought it odd to see the Air China 737 pulling into the empty slot. And slowly it began to sink in... I was flying back to Tokyo on the Dreamliner!
 |
| Note the gentle upswing of the wing tips and the venting beneath the wing. |
 |
| Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines balance the wide-body fuselage of the Dreamliner. |
Hiroshima utilized the dual-jetway loading option and since I was on the far side in the last row as I entered through the first-class and subsequent business-class areas. First impression: headroom headroom headroom! Multi-colored LEDs gave a rainbow sky effect as I headed back to the rear. Even with all of the overhead compartments opened it just seemed cavernous the amount of room there was between the tops of the seats and the cabin roof.
 |
| Rainbow lighting during boarding operations. |
 |
| THE WINDOW! |
The interior is kitted out in the thin seats of a multi-flight domestic service setting. The seats don't actually recline; the seat bottoms just slide forward which if you're a Western-sized person means your knees simply jam into the seat in front of you. But considering my flight was only an hour and five minutes it didn't seem to be an issue. The biggest improvement of all for me was the size of the windows. They're a full 19 inches tall and electronically dimmable with just the push of a button. It does alter the white balance a bit but it is easily corrected and man oh man that view is just something else. Our flight was quite smooth and way too short (something I rarely think).
 |
| Preparing for yet another load of awe-struck passengers at Tokyo Haneda airport. |
After touchdown at Tokyo Haneda airport it took little time to get everyone off the aircraft which was 150+ people as I believe the flight was nearly full. Again, hooked up to the jet way she didn't look gigantic but very well proportioned. I have been spoiled I fear, it will be tough to ever fly on anything less than a Dreamliner again!
No comments:
Post a Comment