It became known about another postponement of the first flight of the new Boeing 777X, which is to become the flagship of the American civil aviation industry. Since the end of June, it has been postponed again for an indefinite period of time, due to structural defects in the GE9X engine, or, more precisely, in the high-pressure compressor. Previously, it was in this node that other shortcomings were also found. However, this is a normal situation in the development of a new aircraft engine: before it can be installed on the aircraft, it is necessary to thoroughly test all the components and make changes to those that demonstrate low reliability.
The GE9X is a new engine developed on the basis of the GE90 engine, which was created in the first half of the 1990s and is installed on "normal" Boeing-777s. The GE9X has a larger fan diameter (340cm vs. 310 and 330 in different versions of the GE90) and a greater degree of dual-circuit capability (10 vs. 9); the bigger it is, the more fuel-efficient the engine is, the lighter it is, and the resulting new engine promises to increase fuel efficiency by 10%. The fan blades are made of fiberglass and have steel edges: this design reduces the risk of engine damage in case of birds.
The 777X is a deeply upgraded Boeing 7777. The main difference is the wing made of composite materials with increased sweep. If 777-200 and 777-300 wingspan was 60.9 m, and 777-300ER's wingspan was 64.8 m, then 777X has already 71.8 m! The more the wingspan, the more its lifting power, plus the carbon fiber makes it lighter: again, the aircraft consumes less fuel. But in order not to change the airfield infrastructure to a new type of infrastructure, the wing was made folding, almost like the deck bombers: on the ground edges rise up and the width is reduced to the same 64.8 m, the aircraft passes through all the dimensions as its predecessor.
The second important difference is the increase in cabin width from 5.86 to 5.96 m. No, the fuselage has remained, of course, the same diameter (6.2 m), but due to thinner wall panels it was possible to win 10 centimeters. It would seem to be nothing, but it allows to put 10 passengers in the economy class in a row (3-4-3) on the armchairs 18 inches wide.
Today's airplanes have either 9 18-inch seats (as in the former Transaero airplanes) or 10 17-inch seats (as in the Aeroflot airplanes). The increase in the cabin will allow you to fly with greater comfort, and airlines to reduce the cost of the passenger-kilometer by 20%.
The aircraft will be produced in two versions: 777-8 и 777-9. 777-9 will replace 777-300ER, it is 2.9 m longer and can accommodate 414 passengers in a standard two-class configuration (42C/372Y), performing flights up to 13940 km long. By the way, it will become the longest passenger aircraft in the world (76.7 m) - earlier the longest was Boeing 747-8 (76.25 m). Airbus A380, for comparison, is "only" 73 m.
The 777-8 will be in an intermediate position between 777-200 and 777-300, accommodating 365 passengers in a two-class configuration, and will be able to fly up to 16090 km.
The Boeing 777-8 is a direct competitor to the Airbus A350-1000; 777-9 has no analogues in Europe.
The first 777-9 was rolled out in March 2019. Despite the delays in the first flight, serial production is still planned to start in 2020. At the moment, more than 300 vehicles have been ordered, and Emirates will be the largest operator, having ordered 35 "Eights" and 115 "Nines".http://saroavto2.blogspot.com/2019/09/boeing-777x.html