Boeing finalized the detailed design for the forthcoming 787-10, the third and largest model in the Dreamliner jet family, releasing the necessary engineering specifications for procurement of parts to begin. Major assembly will begin in 2016 and first delivery is due in 2018.

Boeing has finalized the detailed design for the forthcoming 787-10, the third and largest model in the Dreamliner jet family, the company said Wednesday.
 
This means procurement of parts from suppliers and fabrication of parts internally can now begin as Boeing releases the necessary engineering specifications.

The 787-10 is a stretched, shorter-range but higher-capacity version of the Dreamliner: 224 feet long, it seats around 330 passengers and has a range of about 7,400 miles.

Final assembly of the 787-10 will be done only in South Carolina. The plane’s mid-fuselage section, which is assembled in North Charleston, S.C., is too long to transport across the country in Boeing’s customized Dreamlifter aircraft.
The previous two Dreamliner models, the 787-8 and -9, are built in both North Charleston and Everett.
 
Boeing said 95 percent of the design and build of the 787-10 and 787-9 will be identical, reducing the risk in introducing this new model.
 
Major assembly of the 787-10 will begin in 2016, followed by first flight in 2017 and first delivery in 2018.
 
Last week, EVA Airways of Taiwan finalized an order for 18 787-10s, bringing the sales backlog to 164 jets.
 
Emirates is expected next year to place a large order for either the 787-10 or the Airbus A350-900.

Tim Clark, the Gulf airline’s chief executive, had been lobbying Boeing to put a higher-thrust engine on the 787-10 for Dubai’s hot weather conditions. However, only Emirates had this requirement and Boeing’s final design is unchanged.（By Dominic Gates）