There’s an Irish Pub around the corner from where I live.
I like eating lunch there on days when I work from home. It gives me a chance to watch what the rest of world calls futbol, as well as catch up on rugby and all sorts of sports I wouldn’t normally come across (hello, cricket).
So, flashback to today. Sport is not on the telly. Instead, news is. And the news is that after a long delay the Boeing Dreamliner is set to finally fly.
This strikes me as odd.
Over two years ago we had David Kirkpatrick (then of Fortune) interview the plane’s designer, John Barret of Teague.
This is what we wrote at the time:
It’s great to hear that when Boeing set out to design their new airplane, the 787 Dreamliner, it made sure that one of its main goals was that of reducing its carbon emissions. It wasn’t just designed with fuel efficiency in mind, Boeing made sure that passenger comfort and interior design played a role in improving the overall pleasure of flying. Air travel may never be the most sustainable option, but Boeing’s efforts are a step in the right direction.
Evidently, the plane wasn’t ready to fly. It wasn’t even ready to ship. Not even close.
The Wall Street Journal has a fairly good overview of the delays:
Boeing has staked much of its future on the pioneering aircraft. It is the first-ever jetliner to be built half out of strong-but-lightweight carbon-fiber composite material, which the company promises will make the Dreamliner more fuel-efficient and durable than current models. That prospect played well with customers, who placed more orders for the plane ahead of its first flight than for any jetliner in history.
Which brings me back to the video above. If you have 10 minutes. Give it a watch. It’s a fascinating design discussion of what went into the plane. Amazing that it took two years to get from there to today.
