PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) -
It's the first time the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has been in Portland, and on Thursday people who helped put it together here in town got a chance to get an up-close look.
On final approach into Portland International Airport, the 787 landed just after 11 a.m. at PDX.
It was a chance for the 1,700 Boeing Portland workers to get a look at the plane that some of them helped build.
"The 787 Dreamliner brings new standards of efficiency and passenger comfort to the industry," said Richard Wynne, the sales program director for Boeing.
This 787 Dreamliner is considered a plane that stands above the rest of the planes in its class.
Composite materials make up 50 percent of the primary structure of the plane that includes the fuselage and wing.
"Overall operating economics are better on this plane than the planes it replaces," Wynne said.
Despite how big these Rolls Royce engines are, they're still considered to be fuel efficient, using 20 percent less fuel than most planes its size.
"So that 20 percent savings is dollars in the pockets of our airline customers," Wynne said.
Inside it's a whole new feel. There's more room and more space for passengers and their bags. The overhead compartments are 30 percent bigger and the windows are also bigger than most planes.
"So not only are they bigger, they're at your eye level so even if you're seated in the couch in the middle of the airplane you can look out and see the horizon and you can be connected to the magic of flight," Wynne said.
There are no window shades on this plane. Instead, it's a dimmable window that you decide how dark you'd like it.
"On this airplane we've incorporated new technology. It's a gel that we apply an electric current across which allows that window to dim over the course of about 90 seconds," Wynne said.
Part of the Dreamliner was put together here in Portland.
For those workers, getting a chance to see the plane firsthand was surreal.
"I've never been on this plane. I saw it touchdown and it brings goose bumps to you because you know everybody's done a lot of hard work to get to this point and then to actually see the end result and the success of the airplane, is wonderful," said Scott Spicher, a Boeing Portland worker.
At the front of the plane the flight deck is like no other, with more room and better equipment to help fly this state-of-the-art plane.
Currently there are 13 of these Dreamliners in use around the world.
You can get a chance to watch this 787 take off from PDX at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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