To design the revolutionary 787, Boeing reseached a century of aviation to learn the best elements of each plane. This film explores some of those planes. For this project, film Director Stephen Low relied on us to make these planes fly above magnificent landscapes using computer generated (CG) planes, the real ones being comfortably parked in museums or antique airplane collector’s garage ! We build CG versions of the Boeing Stearman, The Schleicher glider, The Super Constellation, the Harrier, the Airbus 380 and finally, of course, the 787 Dreamliner because the film came out before it ever flew !!! Here’s a look at some of those CG planes…
THE STEARMAN
The classic two-seater Stearman model 75 was a wooden plane made by Boeing ! From 1936 to 1948, it was used in WWII to train pilots in the US Army, Navy and the US Allies. After the war, these planes became the stars of agricultural world as crop dusters… The durability of the wood frame and the fabric covered wings made it last until the 1960’s and it became a legend among aircraft enthusiasts…
THE SUPER CONSTELLATION
The Constellation was first used for millitary purposes in WWII, but was shifted to civilian life on Oct 1 1945 by TWA. It was the first pressurized airliner in widespread use and helped usher in affordable, comfortable air travel for the public. The “Super Connie” as it came to be known, became an icon of an era now referred to nostalgically as a time when flying in a passenger plane was a joyful experience.
In 1944, Orville Wright took his last plane flight more than 40 years after his historic first flight. This flight was on the Constellation – and he noted that the Constellation’s wingspan was longer than the distance of his first flight. The Constellation still holds the record for the longest-duration non-stop passenger flight, during TWA’s inaugural London to San Francisco flight. On October 1-2 1957, the aircraft stayed aloft for a remarkeble 23 hours and 19 minutes.
THE SCHLIECHER GLIDER
The first Schleicher glider flew in 1977 and won several world championships. It was made of glass reinforced plastic and, because of it’s flaps (65 degrees in early models) and air brake, it allowed the pilots to make exceptionally steep approaches and short field landings when required. To pass safety regulations, modern airliners must be able to glide in the event that all of it’s engines would fail.
THE HARRIER
The Harrier series (1986) were the first operational close-support and reconnaissance attack aircraft with Vertical/Short Take-off and Landing (V/STOL) capabilities. Most versions are primarily used for light attack or multi-role tasks and are ofte operated from small aircraft carriers. The raw power of the Harrier is considered a triumph of engineering, demonstrating that, with enough power, one can fly anything without aerodynamics !!
THE BOEING 787 DREAMLINER
The BOEING 787 Dreamliner has earned its reputation as a revolutionary modern era jetliner because nearly everything about it is different from its predecessors. The use of lightweight composites, including a carbon fiber fuselage (carbon fibers are held together by epoxy resin rather than aluminum sheets held together by millions of fasteners), efficient engines, enhanced systems and improved aerodynamics are primarily responsible for making the 787 20% more fuel efficient.
Passenger-friendly features such as lower cabin altitude (pressurized to 6,000 feet above sea level versus 8,000 feet), and larger windows are made possible by composite hull design. It’s fuel efficiency and long-distance flight capability will significantly increase the opportunity for non-stop travel by virtue of the increased options in starting points and destination.
Here’s a short featurette showing off our CG planes in action over spectacular backgrounds shot by Stephen Low…