Boeing 787 Family and Flight Deck

The Boeing 787 is a twin-engined, twin-aisle, long-range airliner built in three models: the 787-8, the 787-9 and the longest, the 787-10. All three share one type certificate, EASA.IM.A.115 in Europe and T00021SE in the United States. Each is certified with two GEnx-1B or two Trent 1000 engines (Boeing 787 engines) and uses the electrical design described in Boeing 787 no-bleed systems architecture.

For pilots the 787 is a close relative of the 777. EASA gives the two a single pilot type rating, B777/787, while the FAA, which designates its rating B-787, treats the 787 and the 777 as separate type ratings with commonality. Moving between the three 787 models takes differences training only.

This article draws on the EASA type-certificate data sheet (TCDS), the FAA Flight Standardization Board (FSB) reports, the FAA Master Minimum Equipment List (MMEL) and Boeing's airport planning document. The systems have their own articles, among them air conditioning and pressurisation, APU and fire protection, ice and rain protection and landing gear; the A220's equivalent of this page is Airbus A220 family and limitations.

The 787 family

The FAA type-certificated the 787-8 on 26 August 2011, the 787-9 on 13 June 2014 and the 787-10 on 19 January 2018. Every model has a minimum flight crew of two, a pilot and a co-pilot, and the same fuselage constant diameter of 5.75 m (18 ft 10.5 in), so the models differ in length rather than cross-section: 56.7 m (186 ft 1 in) for the 787-8 and 68.3 m (224 ft 1 in) for the 787-10, with the 787-9 in between. The 787-8 and 787-9 share a wingspan of 60.12 m (197 ft 3 in).

Each model has eight passenger doors in four pairs, numbered 1 to 4 on each side, with the entry doors on the left and the service doors on the right; unlike the 777-300ER, the 787 has no overwing slide. The forward and aft cargo doors are on the right and the bulk cargo door on the left.

In the table, the typical seating and the container figures come from Boeing's airport planning document and the approach category from the FAA; the other figures are from the TCDS.

*Footnoted in the TCDS as a type design increase for aircraft with the Trent 1000 TEN J3 (74K) or GEnx-1B PIP2 (74/75K) thrust ratings. Boeing's airport planning document (Rev Q, October 2025) also lists higher maximum design take-off weights of 571,500 lb for the 787-9 and 574,000 lb for the 787-10.

Type C exits lower the seating limit: the (C, A, A, A) arrangement takes the 787-8 from 381 to 355 passengers, and the (C, A, C, A) arrangement limits all three models to 300 passengers, evacuated with six cabin crew.

Main differences between models

The FSB report rates the differences between any two 787 models at level A, the lowest level: pilots must receive differences training, by self-instruction, between the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10, but no differences checking and no differences currency are required. The differences tables list:

• Take-off flaps. The 787-9 and 787-10 add take-off flap settings 10, 17 and 18, and their flap placard shows the speeds for them (see Boeing 787 flight controls).
• Air conditioning. The 787-9 and 787-10 deleted the 787-8's alternate ventilation valve and added a 1:00 position to the outflow valve indication.
• Fuel and engines. The 787-9 and 787-10 have more fuel capacity and higher thrust ratings (Boeing 787 fuel system).
• 787-10 only. Semi-levered main landing gear, which also changes the exterior preflight, and a maximum operating altitude of 41,100 ft instead of 43,100 ft.

Cargo limits grow with length: the TCDS limits the forward compartment to 56,250 lb on the 787-8, 70,560 lb on the 787-9 and 81,500 lb on the 787-10, while the bulk compartment takes 6,030 lb on all three. For straight-in landing minima, optional configurations and performance packages can move the 787-8 and 787-9 from approach category C to D, so each operator must check its own aircraft.

Key limitations

The TCDS states only a few operating limitations and leaves the rest to the approved flight manual, including every airspeed limit other than VMO and MMO.

The maximum weights may be further limited by the centre of gravity, fuel density and fuel loading limits in the flight manual.

View full schematic

The approved kinds of operation are VFR and IFR, flight in icing conditions, low weather minima (CAT I, II and III), RVSM, B-RNAV, gear down dispatch, towbarless towing, wet and contaminated runways and extended over-water flight. The aircraft is qualified to Cat III precision approach and autoland; the original FSB report adds that Cat IIIb uses fail-operational autoland (LAND 3), while fail-passive LAND 2 is limited to Cat IIIa (autoland). Each model was found suitable for ETOPS under CS 25.1535, but the TCDS stresses that this finding is not an approval to conduct ETOPS operations (ETOPS).

The listed kerosenes are Jet A, Jet A-1, JP-8 and the Russian TS-1, with JP-5 as a high flash point fuel. One FAA note concerns air traffic control: at heavy weights the 787 may need more than 250 KIAS below 10,000 ft, so crews may have to advise ATC.

Type rating and training

EASA's flight crew data give one pilot type rating, B777/787, covering the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 and the 777-200, 777-300 and 777F series, with the differences addressed in the data themselves. The FAA rating is B-787. Under the FAA's common type rating provisions, the B-787 and B-777 are separate type ratings determined to have commonality, with level D differences training and checking between them, level D being training that can only be done in flight manoeuvre devices in a real-time environment, such as a level 6 or 7 flight training device or a level A or B full flight simulator (class and type ratings).

In mixed fleet flying the FSB report has proficiency checks alternate between the 777 and the 787 and requires no differences currency, and take-off and landing credit may be permitted from one to the other. For cabin crew, EASA treats the three 787 models as one aircraft type and as variants of the 777.

The FSB's special emphasis areas for initial ground training are the electronic checklist with its paper backup, the electronic flight bag, the HUD, the tuning and control panels, display management and, in fleets with both engine types, the other engine's EICAS presentation, shown with photos, drawings or other graphic media.

Flight deck layout

The pilots fly the 787 through control wheels and columns, with fly-by-wire flight controls behind them. The flight deck has two forward observer seats, centre and right, the centre seat being the primary one, and the crew rest is an overhead flight crew rest above the cabin. Two interphone and aural warning speakers and four boom-microphone headsets serve the pilots and observers.

The audio control panels are on the forward aisle stand and the PA handset on the aft aisle stand, between the pilots. The flight deck door controls, whose alerts appear on EICAS, and the emergency evacuation panel are on the aisle stand too. The other crew interfaces are:

• three tuning and control panels (TCPs), which combine the VHF, HF, PA, interphone and SATCOM controls with the transponder, the weather radar and an alternate navigation function, the left TCP carrying the backup navigation function;
• two multifunction keypads (MFKs), with SYS, CDU, INFO, CHKL, COMM and ND display selection switches;
• two touchpad cursor control devices, whose switches place the cursor on the EFB, left, right or lower displays;
• a display-based control display unit (CDU), with cursor controls and a message and help window.

Among the other differences from the 777, the original FSB report lists non-opening number two windows, an overhead hatch and circuit breaker panels located in the main display system.

Displays and head-up displays

The MMEL names inboard, outboard and lower display units, whose images come from four graphics generator modules, three required for dispatch. Formats new to 777 pilots include an integrated clock, an airport map and a vertical situation display (VSD); the navigation display range runs from 0.5 to 1,280 NM. Brightness is automatic, with manual controls as well. A few switches select displays and sources:

• PFD/MFD selectors, with OUTBD, NORM and INBD positions, functionally similar to the 777's inboard display selector;
• AIR DATA/ATT source selectors, with AUTO and ALTN positions, of a different switch type from the 777's; the 777's NAV and DSPL CTRL source switches are eliminated;
• a HDG REF switch, with NORM and TRUE.

Air data come from three pitot probes and three static air data modules, each static module fed by a port on each side; the Air Data Reference Function, hosted in the flight control electronics, votes the static pressures. The flight control electronics also supply attitude, voting pitch and roll from the four inertial measurement units of the Earth Reference System, which the MMEL lists as two IRUs and two AHRUs. With the alternate air data source selected, the displays show a synthetic airspeed derived from angle of attack and inertial data and a GPS altitude, annunciated in amber (unreliable airspeed). The integrated standby flight display (ISFD) shows attitude, airspeed, an approach mode and heading, and takes its altitude from the centre static air data module.

The head-up display (HUD) is a dual installation, so both pilots are trained on it. From the 777-300ER to the 787-8 the FSB rates it at level D for training and checking, the only design difference rated that high, and its proper use is checked in all phases of flight. Training stresses the HUD's own symbology, flight path, flight path acceleration and the airspeed error tape. Operators may be authorised for low-visibility take-offs based on the HUD TAKEOFF function; principles are in head-up display and vision systems. The electronic flight bag is trained to the FSB report for the Boeing Class 3 EFB.

EICAS and the electronic checklist

Crew alerting uses the engine indicating and crew alerting system (EICAS): alerts appear as EICAS messages at different levels, backed by two master WARNING and two master CAUTION lights and by the two flight deck speakers. Examples:

For dispatch, the lights and speakers stand in for each other: one master WARNING or CAUTION light may be inoperative only if both speaker systems work, and one speaker system only if the lights and the headsets work.

The electronic checklist (ECL) is the primary means of access to the normal and non-normal checklists. To reduce workload, line items that the system senses as completed are not normally read aloud; if the closed-loop switch indications fail, the crew use line item overrides. A current paper backup must be carried and readily accessible, with a checklist card slot under the glareshield, and its use is trained alongside the ECL, which is checked during normal and non-normal procedures in every type of check. With the ECL system inoperative, the MMEL requires it to be deactivated and established checklist procedures to be used.

Other warning equipment includes two stick shakers, two ground proximity warning systems with reactive windshear alerting, predictive windshear in the weather radar, and two TCAS II systems (flight warning and alerting systems).

Library articles are written for study and exam preparation. They do not replace your aircraft's approved documentation, your operator's procedures or the regulations themselves.