rred to as the Triple Seven.[4][5] The 777 was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing's 767 and 747, and to replace older DC-10s or L-1011s. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, with a first meeting in January 1990, the program was launched on October 14, 1990 with an order from United Airlines. The prototype was rolled out on April 9, 1994, and first flew on June 12, 1994. The 777 entered service with the launch customer, United Airlines, on June 7, 1995. Longer range variants were launched on February 29, 2000 and were first delivered on April 29, 2004.
It can accommodate up to ten abreast seating layout and has a typical 3-class capacity of 301 to 368 passengers, with a range of 5,240 to 8,555 nautical miles (9,700 to 15,840 km). It is recognizable for its large-diameter turbofan engines, six wheels on each main landing gear, fully circular fuselage cross-section,[6] and a blade-shaped tail cone.[7] It has fly-by-wire controls, a first for Boeing. It initially competed with the Airbus A340 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, both now out of production, and currently competes with the Airbus A330-300 and newer Airbus A350 XWB.
The original 777 with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 545,000–660,000 lb (247–299 t) was produced in two fuselage lengths: the initial -200 was followed by the extended-range 777-200ER in 1997; and the 33.25 ft (10.13 m) longer 777-300 in 1998. Those 777 Classics were powered with 77,200–98,000 lbf (343–436 kN) General Electric GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines.[8] The longer range 777-300ER with a MTOW of 766,000–775,000 lb (347–352 t) entered service in 2004, the ultra long-range 777-200LR in 2006, and the 777F freighter in 2009. These long haul variants feature 110,000–115,300 lbf (489–513 kN) GE90 engines and extended raked wingtips. In November 2013, Boeing announced the 777X development with the -8 and -9 variants, scheduled to enter service by 2020. The 777X features composite wings with folding wingtips and General Electric GE9X engines.
The 777 has been ordered and delivered more than any other wide-body airliner; as of August 2019, more than 60 customers had placed orders for 2,049 aircraft of all variants, with 1,609 delivered.[2] The most common and successful variant is the 777-300ER with 844 aircraft ordered and 810 delivered.[2] By March 2018, the 777 had become the most-produced Boeing wide-body jet, surpassing the Boeing 747.[9] As of July 2018, Emirates was the largest operator with 163 aircraft.[10] As of February 2019, the 777 has been involved in 28 aviation accidents and incidents,[11] including seven hull losses (five in-flight and two in ground incidents) resulting in 541 fatalities along with three hijackings.[12][13]
Contents 1 Development 1.1 Background 1.2 Design effort 1.3 Into production and testing 1.4 Entry into service 1.5 Initial derivatives 1.6 Second generation models 1.7 Production developments 1.8 777X 1.9 Updates and improvements 2 Design 2.1 Fly-by-wire 2.2 Airframe and systems 2.3 Interior 3 Variants 3.1 777-200 3.2 777-200ER 3.3 777-200LR 3.4 777-300 3.5 777-300ER 3.6 777 Freighter 3.7 777-300ER Special Freighter (SF) 3.8 777X 3.9 Government and corporate 4 Operators 4.1 Orders and deliveries 5 Aircraft on display 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Specifications 8 See also 9 References 9.1 Footnotes 9.2 Citations 9.3 Bibliography 10 External links Development Background
The Boeing 777-100 trijet concept In the early 1970s, the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar became the first generation of wide-body passenger airliners to enter service.[14] In 1978, Boeing unveiled three new models: the twin-engine Boeing 757 to replace its 727, the twin-engine 767 to challenge the Airbus A300, and a trijet 777 concept to compete with the DC-10 and L-1011.[15][16][17] The mid-size 757 and 767 launched to market success, due in part to 1980s' extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS) regulations governing transoceanic twinjet operations.[18] These regulations allowed twin-engine airliners to make ocean crossings at up to three hours' distance from emergency diversionary airports.[19] Under ETOPS rules, airlines began operating the 767 on long-distance overseas routes that did not require the capacity of larger airliners.[18] The trijet 777 was later dropped, following marketing studies that favored the 757 and 767 variants.[20] Boeing was left with a size and range gap in its product line between the 767-300ER and the 747-400.[21]
By the late 1980s, DC-10 and L-1011 models were approaching retirement age, prompting manufacturers to develop replacement designs.[22] McDonnell Douglas was working on the MD-11, a stretched and upgraded successor of the DC-10,[22] while Airbus was developing its A330 and A340 series.[22] In 1986, Boeing unveiled proposals for an enlarged 767, tentatively named 767-X,[23] to target the replacement market for first-generation wide-bodies such as the DC-10,[19] and to complement existing 767 and 747 models in the company lineup.[24] The initial proposal featured a longer fuselage and larger wings than the existing 767,[23] along with winglets.[25] Later plans expanded the fuselage cross-section but retained the existing 767 flight deck, nose, and other elements.[23]
Airline customers were uninterested in the 767-X proposals, and instead wanted an even wider fuselage cross-section, fully flexible interior configurations, short- to intercontinental-range capability, and an operating cost lower than that of any 767 stretch.[19] Airline planners' requirements for larger aircraft had become increasingly specific, adding to the heightened competition among aircraft manufacturers.[22] By 1988, Boeing realized that the only answer was a new clean-sheet design, which became the 777 twin-jet.[26] The company opted for the twin-engine configuration given past design successes, projected engine developments, and reduced-cost benefits.[27] On December 8, 1989, Boeing began issuing offers to airlines for the 777.[23]
Design effort A flight deck, from behind the two pilots' seats. A center console lies in between the seats, in front is an instrument panel with several displays, and light enters through the forward windows. The two-crew glass cockpit uses fly-by-wire controls Alan Mulally served as the Boeing 777 program's director of engineering, and then was promoted in September 1992 to lead it as vice-president and general manager.[28][29] The design phase for the new twinjet was different from Boeing's previous commercial jetliners. For the first time, eight major airlines – All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and United Airlines – had a role in the development.[30] This was a departure from industry practice, where manufacturers typically designed aircraft with minimal customer input.[31] The eight airlines that contributed to the design process became known within Boeing as the "Working Together" group.[30] At the first group meeting in January 1990, a 23-page questionnaire was distributed to the airlines, asking what each wanted in the design.[19] By March 1990, Boeing and the airlines had decided upon a basic design configuration: a cabin cross-section close to the 747's, capacity up to 325 passengers, flexible interiors, a glass cockpit, fly-by-wire controls, and 10 percent better seat-mile costs than the A330 and MD-11.[19] Boeing selected its Everett factory in Washington, home of 747 production, as the 777's final assembly site.[32]
On October 14, 1990, United Airlines became the 777's launch customer when it placed an order for 34 Pratt & Whitney-powered aircraft valued at US$11 billion with options on an additional 34.[33][34] The development phase coincided with United's replacement program for its aging DC-10s.[35] United required that the new aircraft be capable of flying three different routes: Chicago to Hawaii, Chicago to Europe, and non-stop from Denver, a hot and high airport, to Hawaii.[35] ETOPS certification was also a priority for United,[36] given the overwater portion of United's Hawaii routes.[33] In January 1993, a team of United developers joined other airline teams and Boeing designers at the Everett factory.[37] The 240 design teams, with up to 40 members each, addressed almost 1,500 design issues with individual aircraft components.[38] The fuselage diameter was increased to suit Cathay Pacific, the baseline model grew longer for All Nippon Airways, and British Airways' input led to added built-in testing and interior flexibility,[19] along with higher operating weight options.[39]
The 777 was the first commercial aircraft designed entirely by computer.[24][33][40] Each design drawing was created on a three-dimensional CAD software system known as CATIA, sourced from Dassault Systemes and IBM.[41] This lets engineers assemble a virtual aircraft, in simulation, to check for interference and verify that the thousands of parts fit properly—thus reducing costly rework.[42] Boeing developed its high-performance visualization system, FlyThru, later called IVT (Integrated Visualization Tool) to support large-scale collaborative engineering design reviews, production illustrations, and other uses of the CAD data outside of engineering.[43] Boeing was initially not convinced of CATIA's abilities and built a physical mock-up of the nose section to verify its results. The test was so successful that additional mock-ups were canceled.[44] The 777 "was completed with such precision that it was the first Boeing jet that didn’t need its kinks worked out on an expensive physical mock-up plane", which contrasted sharply with the development of Boeing's next new airliner, the 787.[45] The program cost was US$5 billion.[46]
Into production and testing The production process included substantial international content, an unprecedented level of global subcontracting for a Boeing jetliner,[47] later exceeded by the 787.[48] International contributors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (fuselage panels),[49] Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (center wing section),[49] Hawker de Havilland (elevators), and Aerospace Technologies of Australia (rudder).[50] An agreement between Boeing and the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, representing Japanese aerospace contractors, made the latter risk-sharing partners for 20 percent of the entire development program.[47] The initial 777-200 model was launched with propulsion options from three manufacturers, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce,[51] giving the airlines their choice of engines from competing firms.[52] Each manufacturer agreed to develop an engine in the 77,000 lbf (340 kN) and higher thrust class (a measure of jet engine output) for the world's largest twinjet.[51]
Airliner turbofan engine Pratt & Whitney PW4000 Airliner turbofan engine Rolls-Royce Trent 800 Airliner turbofan engine General Electric GE90-94B with its thrust reverser deployed To accommodate production of its new airliner, Boeing doubled the size of the Everett factory at the cost of nearly US$1.5 billion[33] to provide space for two new assembly lines.[35] New production methodologies were developed, including a turn machine that could rotate fuselage subassemblies 180 degrees, giving workers access to upper body sections.[41] Major assembly of the first aircraft began on January 4, 1993.[53] By the start of production, the program had amassed 118 firm orders, with options for 95 more from 10 airlines.[54] Total investment in the program was estimated at over US$4 billion from Boeing, with an additional US$2 billion from suppliers.[55]
Side view of a twin-engine jet in flight, surrounded by white clouds The 777 made its maiden flight on June 12, 1994. On April 9, 1994, the first 777, number WA001, was rolled out in a series of 15 ceremonies held during the day to accommodate the 100,000 invited guests.[56] The first flight took place on June 12, 1994,[57] under the command of chief test pilot John E. Cashman.[58] This marked the start of an 11-month flight test program that was more extensive than testing for any previous Boeing model.[59] Nine aircraft fitted with General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce engines[57] were flight tested at locations ranging from the desert airfield at Edwards Air Force Base in California[60] to frigid conditions in Alaska, mainly Fairbanks International Airport.[61] To satisfy ETOPS requirements, eight 180-minute single-engine test flights were performed.[62] The first aircraft built was used by Boeing's nondestructive testing campaign from 1994 to 1996, and provided data for the -200ER and -300 programs.[63] At the successful conclusion of flight testing, the 777 was awarded simultaneous airworthiness certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on April 19, 1995.[57]
Entry into service
On May 15, 1995, United Airlines received the first Boeing 777-200 and made the first commercial flight on June 7 Boeing delivered the first 777 to United Airlines on May 15, 1995.[64][65] The FAA awarded 180-minute ETOPS clearance ("ETOPS-180") for the Pratt & Whitney PW4084-engined aircraft on May 30, 1995, making it the first airliner to carry an ETOPS-180 rating at its entry into service.[66] The first commercial flight took place on June 7, 1995, from London Heathrow Airport to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.[67] Longer ETOPS clearance of 207 minutes was approved in October 1996.[68]
On November 12, 1995, Boeing delivered the first model with General Electric GE90-77B engines to British Airways,[69] which entered service five days later.[70] Initial service was affected by gearbox bearing wear issues, which caused British Airways to temporarily withdraw its 777 fleet from transatlantic service in 1997,[70] returning to full service later that year.[60] General Electric subsequently announced engine upgrades.[60]
The first Rolls-Royce Trent 877-powered aircraft was delivered to Thai Airways International on March 31, 1996,[69] completing the introduction of the three powerplants initially developed for the airliner.[71] Each engine-aircraft combination had secured ETOPS-180 certification from the point of entry into service.[72] By June 1997, orders for the 777 numbered 323 from 25 airlines, including satisfied launch customers that had ordered additional aircraft.[57] Operations performance data established the consistent capabilities of the twinjet over long-haul transoceanic routes, leading to additional sales.[73] By 1998, the 777 fleet had approached 900,000 flight hours.[74] Boeing states that the 777 fleet has a dispatch reliability (rate of departure from the gate with no more than 15 minutes delay due to technical issues) above 99 percent.[75][76][77][78]
Initial derivatives
Cathay Pacific introduced the stretched -300 variant on May 27, 1998 After the original model, Boeing developed an increased gross weight variant of the 777-200 with greater range and payload capability.[79] Initially named 777-200IGW,[80] the 777-200ER first flew on October 7, 1996,[81] received FAA and JAA certification on January 17, 1997,[82] and entered service with British Airways on February 9, 1997.[82] Offering greater long-haul performance, the variant became the most widely ordered version of the aircraft through the early 2000s.[79] On April 2, 1997, a Malaysia Airlines -200ER named "Super Ranger" broke the great circle "distance without landing" record for an airliner by flying eastward from Boeing Field, Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 km; 12,455 mi), in 21 hours and 23 minutes.[74]
Following the introduction of the -200ER, Boeing turned its attention to a stretched version of the airliner. On October 16, 1997, the 777-300 made its first flight.[81] At 242.4 ft (73.9 m) in length, the -300 became the longest airliner yet produced (until the A340-600), and had a 20 percent greater overall capacity than the standard length model.[83] The -300 was awarded type certification simultaneously from the FAA and JAA on May 4, 1998,[84] and entered service with launch customer Cathay Pacific on May 27, 1998.[81][85]
The first generation of Boeing 777 models, the -200, -200ER, and -300 have since been known collectively as Boeing 777 Classics.[8]
Second generation models
Aircraft engine, forward-facing view with a Boeing engineer in front to demonstrate the engine's size. The engine's large circular intake contains a central hub with a swirl mark, surrounded by multiple curved fan blades. The more powerful GE90 engines of later variants has a 128 in (330 cm) diameter fan up from 123 in (310 cm) in earlier variants, and curved blades instead of straight ones From the program's start, Boeing had considered building ultra-long-range variants.[86] Early plans centered on a 777-100X proposal,[87] a shortened variant of the -200 with reduced weight and increased range,[87] similar to the 747SP.[88] However, the -100X would have carried fewer passengers than the -200 while having similar operating costs, leading to a higher cost per seat.[87][88] By the late 1990s, design plans shifted to longer-range versions of existing models.[87]
In March 1997, the Boeing board approved the 777-200X/300X specifications: 298 passengers in three classes over 8,600 nmi (15,900 km) for the 200X and 6,600 nmi (12,200 km) with 355 passengers in a tri-class layout for the 300X, with design freeze planned in May 1998, 200X certification in August 2000, and introduction in September and in January 2001 for the 300X.[89] The 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in) wider wing was to be strengthened and the fuel capacity enlarged, and it was to be powered by simple derivatives with similar fans.[89] GE was proposing a 454 kN (102,000 lbf) GE90-102B, while P&W offered its 436 kN (98,000 lbf) PW4098 and R-R was proposing a 437 kN (98,000 lbf) Trent 8100.[89] Rolls-Royce was also studying a Trent 8102 over 445 kN (100,000 lbf).[90] Boeing was studying a semi-levered, articulated main gear to help the take-off rotation of the proposed -300X, with its higher 324,600 kg (715,600 lb) MTOW.[91] By January 1999, its MTOW grew to 340,500 kg (750,000 lb), and thrust requirements increased to 110,000–114,000 lbf (490–510 kN).[92]
A more powerful engine in the thrust class of 100,000 lbf (440 kN) was required, leading to talks between Boeing and engine manufacturers. General Electric offered to develop the GE90-115B engine,[52] while Rolls-Royce proposed developing the Trent 8104 engine.[93] In 1999, Boeing announced an agreement with General Electric, beating out rival proposals.[52] Under the deal with General Electric, Boeing agreed to only offer GE90 engines on new 777 versions.[52]
On February 29, 2000, Boeing launched its next-generation twinjet program,[94] initially called 777-X,[86] and began issuing offers to airlines.[79] Development was slowed by an industry downturn during the early 2000s.[81] The first model to emerge from the program, the 777-300ER, was launched with an order for ten aircraft from Air France,[95] along with additional commitments.[79] On February 24, 2003, the -300ER made its first flight, and the FAA and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency, successor to the JAA) certified the model on March 16, 2004.[96] The first delivery to Air France took place on April 29, 2004.[81] The -300ER, which combined the -300's added capacity with the -200ER's range, became the top-selling 777 variant in the late 2000s,[97] benefitting as airlines replaced comparable four-engine models with twinjets for their lower operating costs.[98]
The second long-range model, the 777-200LR, rolled out on February 15, 2005, and completed its first flight on March 8, 2005.[81] The -200LR was certified by both the FAA and EASA on February 2, 2006,[99] and the first delivery to Pakistan International Airlines occurred on February 26, 2006.[100] On November 10, 2005, the first -200LR set a record for the longest non-stop flight of a passenger airliner by flying 11,664 nautical miles (21,602 km) eastward from Hong Kong to London.[101] Lasting 22 hours and 42 minutes, the flight surpassed the -200LR's standard design range and was logged in the Guinness World Records.[102]
The production freighter model, the 777F, rolled out on May 23, 2008.[103] The maiden flight of the 777F, which used the structural design and engine specifications of the -200LR[104] along with fuel tanks derived from the -300ER, occurred on July 14, 2008.[105] FAA and EASA type certification for the freighter was received on February 6, 2009,[106] and the first delivery to launch customer Air France took place on February 19, 2009.[107][108]
Production developments Initially second to the 747 as Boeing's most profitable jetliner,[109] the 777 became the company's most lucrative model in the 2000s.[110] Program sales accounted for an estimated US$400 million of Boeing's pretax earnings in 2000, US$50 million more than the 747.[109] By 2004, the airliner accounted for the bulk of wide-body revenues for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes division.[111] In 2007, orders for second-generation 777 models approached 350 aircraft,[112] and in November of that year, Boeing announced that all production slots were sold out to 2012.[98] The program backlog of 356 orders was valued at US$95 billion at list prices in 2008.[113]
In 2010, Boeing announced plans to increase production from 5 aircraft per month to 7 aircraft per month by mid-2011, and 8.3 per month by early 2013.[114] Complete assembly of each 777-300ER requires 49 days.[115] The smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first stage of a replacement aircraft initiative called the Boeing Yellowstone Project,[116] entered service in 2011. Reportedly, the 777 could eventually be replaced by a new aircraft family, Yellowstone 3, which would draw upon technologies from the 787.[112] In November 2011, assembly began on the 1,000th 777, a -300ER model for Emirates,[115] which was rolled out in March 2012.[117]
By the late 2000s, the 777 was facing increased potential competition from Airbus' planned A350 XWB and internally from proposed 787 variants,[112] both airliners that offer fuel efficiency improvements. As a consequence, the 777-300ER received an engine and aerodynamics improvement package for reduced drag and weight.[118] In 2010, the variant further received a 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) maximum zero-fuel weight increase, equivalent to a higher payload of 20–25 passengers; its GE90-115B1 engines received a 1–2.5 percent thrust enhancement for increased takeoff weights at higher-altitude airports.[118] More changes were targeted for late 2012, including possible extension of the wingspan,[118] along with other major changes, including a composite wing, new powerplant, and different fuselage lengths.[118][119][120] Emirates was reportedly working closely with Boeing on the project, in conjunction with being a potential launch customer for new 777 versions.[121] Among customers for the aircraft during this period, China Airlines ordered ten 777-300ER aircraft to replace 747-400s on long-haul transpacific routes (with the first of those aircraft entering service in 2015), noting that the 777-300ER's per seat cost is about 20% lower than the 747's costs (varying due to fuel prices).[122]
777X
The improved and updated Boeing 777-9X was rolled out on March 13, 2019 See also: Boeing 777X In November 2013, with orders and commitments totaling 259 aircraft from Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, Boeing formally launched the 777X program, the third generation of the 777 (not to be confused with the 777-X variants, which were the second generation of the aircraft), with two models: the 777-8 and 777-9.[123] The 777-9 was to be a further stretched variant with a capacity of over 400 passengers and a range of over 15,200 km (8,200 nmi), whereas the 777-8 was slated to seat approximately 350 passengers and have a range of over 17,200 km (9,300 nmi).[123] Both models were to be equipped with new generation GE9X engines and feature new composite wings with folding wingtips. The first member of the 777X family, the 777-9, was set to enter service by 2020. By the mid-2010s, the 777 had become prevalent on the longest flights internationally and had become the most widely used airliner for transpacific routes, with variants of the type operating over half of all scheduled flights and with the majority of transpacific carriers.[124][125]
By April 2014, with cumulative sales surpassing those of the 747, the 777 became the best-selling wide-body airliner; at existing production rates, the aircraft was on track to become the most-delivered wide-body airliner by mid-2016.[126] By February 2015, the backlog of undelivered 777s totaled 278 aircraft, representing just under three years of current production at 8.3 aircraft per month,[127] causing Boeing to ponder the 2018-2020 time frame. In January 2016, Boeing confirmed plans to reduce the production rate of the 777 family from 8.3 per month to 7 per month in 2017 to help close the production gap between the 777 and 777X created by a lack of new orders.[128] In 2018, assembling test 777-9 aircraft was expected to lower output to an effective rate of 5.5 per month.[129] Boeing was expected to drop 777 production to five per month in August 2017.[130]
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, demand for new jets was reduced in 2020 and Boeing cut its monthly production from five to two 777s.[131]
Updates and improvements
Air France received the first 777-300ER on April 29, 2004 In tandem with the development of the third generation Boeing 777X, Boeing worked with General Electric to offer a 2% improvement in fuel efficiency to in-production 777-300ER aircraft. General Electric improved the fan module and the high-pressure compressor stage-1 blisk in the GE-90-115 turbofan, as well as reduced clearances between the tips of the turbine blades and the shroud during cruise. These improvements, of which the latter is the most important and was derived from work to develop the 787, were stated by GE to lower fuel burn by 0.5%. Boeing's wing modifications were intended to deliver the remainder. Boeing stated that every 1% improvement in the 777-300ER's fuel burn translates into being able to fly the aircraft another 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) on the same load of fuel, or add ten passengers or 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) of cargo to a "load limited" flight.[132]
In March 2015, additional details of the improvement package were unveiled. The 777-300ER was to shed 1,800 lb (820 kg) by replacing the fuselage crown with tie rods and composite integration panels, similar to those used on the 787. The new flight control software was to eliminate the need for the tail skid by keeping the tail off the runway surface regardless of the extent to which pilots command the elevators. Boeing was also redesigning the inboard flap fairings to reduce drag by reducing pressure on the underside of the wing. The outboard raked wingtip was to have a divergent trailing edge, described as a "poor man's airfoil" by Boeing; this was originally developed for the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 project. Another change involved elevator trim bias. These changes were to increase fuel efficiency and allow airlines to add 14 additional seats to the airplane, increasing per seat fuel efficiency by 5%.[133]
Mindful of the long time required to bring the 777X to the market, Boeing continued to develop improvement packages which improve fuel efficiency, as well as lower prices for the existing product. In January 2015, United Airlines ordered ten 777-300ERs, normally costing around US$150 million each but paid around US$130 million, a discount to bridge the production gap to the 777X.[134] The roll-out of the prototype 777X, a 777-9 model, occurred on March 13, 2019.[135]
In 2019, the -200ER unit cost was US$ 306.6 million, the -200LR: US$ 346.9 million, the -300ER: US$ 375.5 million and the 777F US$ 352.3 million[136] The -200ER is the only Classic variant listed.
Design Aircraft belly section. Close view of engines, extended landing gear and angled control flaps. The engines and extended slats, flaps, and landing gear of an American Airlines Boeing 777-200ER.
Front view of an Emirates 777-300ER, showing fuselage profile, wing dihedral, and GE90 engines Boeing introduced a number of advanced technologies with the 777 design, including fully digital fly-by-wire controls,[137] fully software-configurable avionics, Honeywell LCD glass cockpit flight displays,[138] and the first use of a fiber optic avionics network on a commercial airliner.[139] Boeing made use of work done on the cancelled Boeing 7J7 regional jet,[140] which utilized similar versions of the chosen technologies.[140] In 2003, Boeing began offering the option of cockpit electronic flight bag computer displays.[141] In 2013, Boeing announced that the upgraded 777X models would incorporate airframe, systems, and interior technologies from the 787.[142]
Fly-by-wire

Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words, continuing in the footsteps of daprice82. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.
• PREVIOUS •
1987
FUTURE YEARS ARCHIVE:
The Complete Observer Rewind Archive by daprice82

1-4-1988	1-11-1988	1-18-1988	1-25-1988
2-1-1988	2-8-1988	2-15-1988	2-22-1988
2-29-1988	3-7-1988	3-14-1988	3-21-1988
3-28-1988	4-4-1988	4-11-1988	4-18-1988
4-25-1988	5-2-1988	5-9-1988	5-16-1988
5-23-1988	*	*	*

• The NWA is the nexus of the three biggest stories this week, and the possible Turner buyout of the promotion may be the biggest story of the year. It’s been rumored for weeks that the Crockett family will sell the majority of their shares to Turner Entertainment, and Dave can confirm that such a deal is currently awaiting approval from Turner’s acquisitions committee. If all looks good, we should know within a week. We're not going to know within a week, this is going to take more time.
  
• If Turner does buy the NWA, Jim Crockett is likely to remain in charge of day-to-day operations. The rest of the family would be divesting themselves of their interest in the company, and Turner will be in charge of promotion, PR, and other business activities. This should theoretically result in a “more professional and business-like approach.” Peers into the future HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Anyway, Dave thinks it’s foolish to speculate at this point about possible ramifications of the deal. And getting out of speculation and into fact: if the deal doesn’t go through, NWA is in a lot of trouble going into the summer, and they need to make major changes to how they conduct business no matter the outcome of the deal. There are wrestlers in the NWA who are owed money, and they’re not going to work for free.
  
• Thanks to Turner’s help, the NWA has already cleared availability for over 8.5 million homes for the Great American Bash ppv on July 10. Vince McMahon’s attempt to monopolize ppv wrestling has failed, at least for the moment. This is the second widest potential audience for a ppv wrestling event ever (Wrestlemania IV cleared 10 million potential homes). With WWF running a ppv (the Summerslam) from Madison Square Garden on August 29, that means most ppv providers have elected to ignore Vince’s ultimatum prohibiting competing wrestling ppvs 60 days before and 21 days after a WWF ppv. That ultimatum killed Starrcade last year, but let’s be thankful it’s pretty much dusted. This all means WWF has failed to kill Crockett’s ability to run ppv events, which was one of their goals.
  
• The card for the Great American Bash is set. Flair vs. Luger for the NWA Title; Windham vs. Rhodes for the U.S. Title; Triple tower of doom featuring the Road Warriors, Garvins, and Steve Williams vs. Kevin Sullivan, Al Perez, Mike Rotunda, Warlord, and Barbarian (yep, they’re going forward with it); Tully and Arn vs. Sting and Koloff for the world tag titles; and Midnights vs. Fantastics for the U.S. tag titles.
  
• The income potential is big for the Great American Bash. If they equal their previous buyrates, they should clear over a quarter million homes and take in ppv sales of over $4 million (ppv for the show will be $15.95), which will at the most conservative estimate give the NWA a cool $1 million in revenue after all the other splits on the ppv total revenue.
  
• The FCC ruled in favor of syndicated exclusivity this past week, and this has some potential consequences for the NWA. Syndicated exclusivity means that any program carried in your local market (so a show that’s put on free tv) cannot be shown on cable by bringing it in from another market. Dave gives the example of how if your local channel 7 carries the Beverly Hillbillies, then your cable company can’t show Beverly Hillbillies by pulling it in from another station in a different market, even if it's in another time slot. This is a potential catastrophe for WTBS, because so much of their programming is old network reruns which duplicate stuff shown in most markets, meaning they have to completely change up their programming or have so little of their material picked up by cable companies that they drop the station altogether. This is effective a year from now (plus any time that might get it stalled by court appeals), so there’s probably a couple years before it really goes into effect, but this is the main reason Turner is starting the TNT network and why eventually you’ll see wrestling get on there alongside the sports and movies and there won’t be old network tv reruns on it.
  
• Curiously, the NWA was doing the hard sell of the May 22 Omni house show on this past Saturday’s TBS show. The press boxes were really full (they’re usually totally empty), and Dave supposes they were probably filled with Turner executives checking out what they’re considering buying. It worked, by the way - 7,300 fans turned up for the Omni show, triple the crowd at last month’s show (and no, the card wasn’t any more enticing than last month’s either).
  
• Reborn UWF had their first show on May 12 and the fans flooded in. They sold out Korauken Hall in 15 minutes about a month ago, with all seats priced at $40 (a $92,000 gate). The first match of the three match show had Nobuhiko Takada vs. Shigeo Miyato in a ten minute exhibition, where Takada won with two submissions to nothing for Miyato. Tetsuo Nakano made Yoji Anjo submit in a 24 minute match for the second match of the show. Lastly, Akira Maeda and Kazuo Yamazaki had a match with tremendous heat and it is clear that there is no man in wrestling as over as Maeda is. Maeda hasn’t wrestled since he shot on Riki Choshu in November last year, and as a result he wasn’t quite in top condition and blew up part of the way through the match, but they went 25 minutes and Maeda won by submission. Dave was told American fans would likely be bored by the match, but the fans there were eating it up. UWF’s next show is set for June 11 in Sapporo, and all 6,000 seats sold out on the weekend of May 13. The real test is coming, though: will they be able to maintain interest with only three major stars and no regular foreigners? They’ll have foreigners in Sapporo, with those guys probably doing singles matches against Takada, Yamazaki, and Maeda.
  

Watch: Maeda vs. Yamazaki

• Former wrestler and referee Fred Atkins passed away at the age of 77 on May 13. He was originally from New Zealand and refereed for Frank Tunney in the Toronto area for a long time. He also managed Giant Baba in the 1960s during Baba’s heel tours of the U.S. His biggest match as a referee was the Terry Funk/Harley Race NWA World Title change at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1977.

Watch: the final ten minutes of Funk/Race

• Financial News Network, which debuts Continental Wrestling Federation on May 29, announced that they’ll be airing World Wrestling Council’s anniversary show this fall. WWC’s show drew 42,000 fans to three locations last fall, and will be aired live starting at 8 EST on September 10. Just an aside, but that means the card starts at 9 pm in Puerto Rico. Billed for the show are 12 championship matches featuring the likes of the Road Warriors, Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, Iron Sheik, Bruiser Brody, and more. Sadly, we’re going to have very different news related to Brody soon. As far as Dave knows, this is the first time an international big show is being broadcast live in the U.S.
  
• Dave got a chance to see the tv from the Oregon promotions and there’s a lot of sly remarks about the other promotions going on. Haynes’ OWF (Oregon Wrestling Federation, the Washington part isn’t there anymore) is emphasizing the size of their wrestlers and how they’re trying to put Oregon on the Map. Don Owen’s Big Time Wrestling, on the other hand, is emphasizing action as well as touting how they have only a 3.5 hour delay between taping and airing, as opposed to the OWF taping a week in advance. Dave says it pretty much is a battle of action vs. size from watching the shows. And if you know Dave, he prefers action to size.
  
• On Big Time Wrestling, they announced Curt Hennig would defend the AWA World Title against Col. DeBeers on May 19. Two reasons for that to be silly. First, Hennig lost the title five days before they announced this. Second, why are they billing DeBeers with his South African gimmick when he was a major headliner here for years as Ed Wiskoski?
  
• Turns out Abdullah the Butcher had gallbladder and ulcer surgery, not kidney surgery. He was released from the hospital on May 19, and should be back in action in late July. This really hurts the current All Japan tour, since he was set as one of the big headliners for the tour.
  
• All Japan will be unifying the tag team titles rather than the singles titles on June 10. Tentatively, they have Tenryu and Ashura Hara putting up their World tag titles against the Road Warriors and their International tag titles. But first they have a world tag title defense scheduled for June 6 in Sapporo (just 5 days before UWF’s show there, so note the timing and how they’re dealing with competition) against Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu. Most expect Tsuruta and Yatsu to win and go on to the unification. And All Japan will deliver on expectation.
  
• JWP, the younger of the two women’s promotions in Japan, will be closing up shop after their May 29 Korauken Hall show. The wrestlers haven’t been getting paid lately because there’s just no money coming in for them. The promotion debuted in 1986 and just never got a television foothold established to ensure survival and cash flow.
  
• All Japan Women is limping along after the retirements of Dump Matsumoto and Yukari Omori, which has led to their ratings being cut in half. There are even rumors that Chigusa Nagayo may retire out of shame that the company’s business has fallen so far and that she hasn’t been able to keep ratings up.
  
• In other news about All Japan Women, some of the owners (the Matsunaga brothers, the last of whom died in February 2020), are trying to sell stock and divest themselves of a portion of the company. They thought bringing in the Jumping Bomb Angels as WWF tag champions would drum up interest, but they haven’t proven to be drawing and really what they are drawing is pretty much down to Chigusa Nagayo. So if Chigusa leaves, the whole company’s in major trouble. On June 8, the Jumping Bomb Angels defend the WWF women’s tag titles against the Glamour Girls, and spoiler alert - that’s going to be an unauthorized title change and kill the women’s tag division as a thing in WWF.
  
• [Stampede]: Steve Blackman’s nickname is Rambo. Just thought that was funny.
  
• Owen Hart wrestled his last match in Calgary for Stampede before going to his Japan tour. It was an absolutely wild brawl against Makhan Singh for the North American title. The finish had Hart thrown onto the floor and Singh’s manager Abdul Wizal started choking him with a chain, only for Hart to escape and tuck the chain in his trunks, which led to him using it to KO Singh and pin him. Then Vulcan Singh (Gary Allbright), dressed as Jason the Terrible, came and attacked Hart and told the referee to check Hart’s trunks, where he found the chain and reversed the decision.
  
• Jerry Lawler’s first defense of the AWA World title against Bill Dundee drew only 2,200 on May 16. Face vs. face and Lawler used a chain to win. Other matches included Robert Fuller beating Jeff Jarrett and Max Pain beating Curt Hennig by disqualification in a CWA title match.
  
• Dave got a chance to watch the tv from the week before the AWA World title change in Memphis and is amazed they didn’t sell out the show with the title change. They hyped the show great, but it’s clear Memphis is trending downward, and no amount of local news coverage or having the mayor on air begging people to come support Lawler seemed to get them there. All the local stations, bar one, covered the title change as just straight up news without even being tongue in cheek about it, and you never see that in tv news these days. When ESPN and CNN and ABC radio covered Wrestlemania, all of them were treating it like a joke. Memphis is really the last bastion of kayfabe, in a way.
  
• Visiting Memphis on the May 23 tv show and making his Rewind debut is Bob Holly. He’s teaming with Pat Rose in an AWA Tag title match, and they’re coming in from World Organization Wrestling in Pensacola. Nobody knows who Holly is, and nobody in the area remembers Rose, so they’re not going to be exciting anyone at the show.
  
• Missy Hyatt is gone from Memphis. There seems to be heat, but Dave’s not sure what the story is. Robert Fuller has twice stolen angles of Eddie Gilbert’s design for Continental and used them days later in Memphis, so that’s probably part of it. The planned Lawler vs. Gilbert AWA title defense set for May 29 has been canceled.
  
• Missy Hyatt is in Continental now as a tv announcer. Also newly added are Mr. Olympia and Willie B. Hurt. Willie is Pez Whatley doing a comedy gimmick where he tells the fans they know his real name and who he is and where he’s been, but now he’s Willie B. He’s a comedy gimmick who won his debut in a squash, though, so that’s different.
  

Watch: Willie B. Hurt

• Gone from Continental are Steve Armstrong and Robert Fuller, who both no-showed. Dutch Mantell also appears to be gone.
  
• In USA Wrestling, Terry Gordy and Wendell Cooley did a 20 minute draw on May 14. The match itself was so-so, but they brawled for another 20 minutes after the match and went all over the building, and that was great.
  
• They also did a big heart attack angle with Ron Wright in USA that was all taped for tv. It all came on the heels of a match where Mongolian Stomper wrestled the Bullet and if Bullet lost, he’d have to unmask. Well, Bullet lost, and under the mask was the Bullet! Yeah, he wore a mask under his mask.
  

Watch: The Bullet unmasks and causes a Ron Wright heart attack

• Word from Larry Sharpe’s Monster Factory are that Futahaguro’s training drills showed him to be really agile for a 350 lb guy. Word in Japan is that if he does go into pro wrestling he’ll go with All Japan over New Japan. Inoki doesn’t sign sumo wrestlers because TV-Asahi holds the purse, and they have a good relationship with the sumo world (they even have a weekly show called Sumo World). Bringing Futahaguro in would be highly disrespectful of New Japan, considering that he was banned from sumo, so yeah. Koji Kitao will not be likely to head to New Japan.
  
• Before he left for the U.S., Riki Choshu banned two major Japanese magazines from conducting interviews and taking photos of himself and the other wrestlers under his banner. That means Super Strong Machine, Hiroshi Hase, Kenta Kobayashi, and more. The magazines? Weekly Fight and Weekly Pro Wrestling. This seems to be in retaliation for positive and strong coverage of UWF, with Weekly Pro in particular getting strongly behind them and even saying things like NJPW doesn’t have top heavyweights and saying Choshu jumping back and forth between All Japan and New Japan has caused the recent hard times in the business in Japan. This got Choshu upset and he’s already hard to deal with at the best of times, but he really didn’t care for being told he’s past his prime or hurting the business. And yet… they kind of have a point.
  
• WWF also has press issues of late related to Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. They’ve been trying to get Elizabeth and Savage featured in newspapers and on tv to get him over in the media as the face of WWF while Hogan’s gone. It has not gone well. The very first interview, which Dave believes was with a Boston paper, called Elizabeth an airhead, and all subsequent interviews have been canceled. While she may not be a great actress, Miss Elizabeth is definitely a character and Elizabeth Hulette Poffo is not an airhead, according to those who know her well.
  
• World Class now has a committee handling booking. You’ve got Bill Irwin, Eric Embry, Scandor Akbar, Michael Hayes, and Ken Mantell handling booking. Dave’s never seen booking by committee work in the past because you have too many cooks in the kitchen. Their three shows this past weekend drew under 400 fans each, so at least they’re trying something.
  
• Jerry Lawler is working on a deal to do AWA vs. WCCW title vs. title matches with Kerry Von Erich in Dallas, Memphis, and Kansas City. This is the beginning of the eventual formation of the USWA.
  
• Roddy Piper’s next two movies out in theaters have completely opposite word of mouth about them. Buy and Cell, according to someone who saw a preview showing, is absolutely terrible. They Live, however, is good and genuinely scary. If it does well, expect Piper to do more films with Carpenter. If it flops, he’s probably done as an actor.
  
• World Class has gone to the WWF school of crowd estimation. Mark Lowrance called the crowd at Texas Stadium “20,000 fans” while Kerry von Erich said “15,000.” The reality was they had 5,900 paid.
  
• Scott McGhee, who suffered a stroke in January and was thought would never wrestle again, may return to the ring. Dave got a report that he’s starting up or soon to be starting up in Florida. Unfortunately, it’s a false alarm. McGhee will have a match in 1989, but he’s done.
  
• There’s a lot of heat between Verne Gagne and the Rockers. So much so that Verne wants to put together a new team under the name the Midnight Rockers since he owns the trademark (that’s why they wrestle as the Midnight Rock & Rollers in Continental). What's with companies wanting to put knockoff guys in Kliq guys' gimmicks?
  
• Deep South wins the “lowest class act of the month” award. They have a segment with the reader mailbag, which Dave has always assumed was largely kayfabed. Well, some subscriber wrote a letter in and it was highly critical, particularly of the cheap shots they take at Joe Pedicino on tv. Well, they read the letter on the air. Only they changed all the content to make it highly complimentary to Deep South. So there you have it, they kayfabe the letters to make themselves look good. I feel like this is more Dave being offended on behalf of a subscriber than something shocking and truly low, though.
  
• Dale Gagner, who used to work for Eddie Sharkey in Minnesota, now books for Billy Haynes as booker in OWF. When he worked for Sharkey, his manager name was Diamond D. You might know him as the guy who tries to claim a relationship to Verne Gagne and use the AWA name in the late 90s (check the Feb. 22, 1999 and March 21, 1999 rewinds for more on that business). Dude’s a snake, and not in a fun Randy Orton or intimidating Jake the kind of way.
  
• One of Buddy Rose’s former “Playgirls” is now suing Hugh Heffner. Okay, so back in 1983 Buddy Rose was “Playboy” Buddy Rose and his valets were his “Playgirls.” Well, one of them was a model named Carrie Leigh, and she eventually moved in with Hugh Heffner and is suing him, which has made news lately. We’re never going to talk about this again, so here’s the brief: she’s suing for palimony (basically, they were not married, but she felt they had a relationship of marriage-level significance and then the same basic idea behind suing for alimony goes forward). She alleges Hugh told her he wanted to marry her, have kids with her, etc. and now that’s not happening and they’ve separated and she’s suing. And this won’t even get a settlement, but this was apparently a trendy kind of lawsuit in the 80s. They never worked.
  
• ITV in the UK will be dropping wrestling by the end of the year. It’s part of an effort to “polish up” their image. Wrestling audiences on ITV have fallen from over 7 million to 2.5 million in the past few years, and production costs for wrestling have been costing the station almost $2 annually, so time to cut costs. The big reasons for the drop off in ratings and interest is the death of Mal Kirk via heart attack in the ring and the public revelation that Big Daddy, whom Dave calls a 50 year old, 350 lb version of Dusty Rhodes, was really the promoter’s brother. Kirk’s heart attack happened right after Daddy splashed him, too. It’s also come out just how poorly promotions have been paying wrestlers in England. In short: Britwres has always been an absolute shitshow, and I’d say the only difference between then and now is how many nonces they have today, but they had Jimmy Saville back in the day so fuck it, Britwres is and always has been proper fucked.
  
• A couple weeks back Big Bubba Rogers debuted as the Big Boss Man on WWF “C” team shows. He’s still got the sunglasses, but he’s now being billed as a prison guard and squashing Jose Estrada. Until he’s facing bigger guys, he’s been told not to sell a thing. Expect him to debut on tv in mid-June.
  
• WWF managers are officially said not to be traveling except for tv nights. So now Fuji and Heenan will make the shows they’re supposed to wrestle on and Jimmy Hart, due to his gimmick, will show up to some of the shows in buildings he’s supposedly banned from. Slick and Humperdink will only be used on tv, and Humperdink may even be at risk of being let go. Elizabeth will be on all Randy’s shows due to her importance to his act.
  
• WWF is reviving the weasel suit angle for Heenan vs. Ultimate Warrior in Philadelphia next month. The weasel suit originates in Heenan's AWA days.
  

Watch: Bobby Heenan vs. Greg Gagne and the birth of the weasel suit

• Wrestlers in the NWA were due their big payments on May 1 and they still haven’t come in. Lots of disgruntled wrestlers, now. Also the Main Event show hasn’t resulted in any payments either beyond standard tv money, which is like $100, and those shows were put together to be bigger paydays for the guys in the neighborhood of a few thousand per show.
  
• Loads of NWA guys rumored to jump ship to WWF, but that’s always the case. Dave’s only heard three names from WWF people, and only one of them is an NWA guy (probably Sting, I’d guess).
  
• Dave’s not seen the whole schedule for the Bash tour, but NWA is about to start promoting it heavily. There’s going to be something like 19 scaffold matches and 15 War Games matches between June 26 and August 7. There will even be a triple tower of doom or two. FlaiLuger for the NWA title on July 10 is set to be the only NWA title match on the tour. They’ll be put in tag matches otherwise, including War Games matches.
  
• At an NWA show in Houston taped for the local market, Steve Williams apparently looked directly into the camera during his match and asked “How did you like that, Vince?” Not a clue what that’s about.
  
• Dave’s got complaints about NWA tv. They didn’t follow up on either main event angle from last weekend. Instead they did a bit where Kevin Sullivan kidnapped Precious for all of 90 seconds, because they had the Garvins find her under a table shortly after the kidnapping, at which point she shouted "You stay away from me, Jimmy Garvin." That's some fast-action brainwashing right there. They also did a Road Warriors vs. Powers of Pain match that had Hawk do a stretcher job, but they didn’t show it on tv and never followed up. They also haven’t announced a single match for the second Clash on tv yet. That’s only two and a half weeks away. Stop showing palm trees in your commercials and start advertising matches.
  
• Larry Young, an umpire for the American League, writes in to say he’s happy to have discovered a newsletter for smart wrestling fans. He talks a bit about pro wrestlers who had baseball careers. Mostly I bring him up because during the 1995 umpire lockout he winds up refereeing Undertaker vs. King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania 11.
  
• More letter writers are big mad about the letter in the May 9 issue that thought Dave was off the mark about Clash vs. Wrestlemania. They're upset about the letter being insulting to Dave and disagreeing with them about what wrestling was good that night and honestly Dave doesn't need them to defend him.
  
• A letter asks about the whereabouts of a bunch of wrestlers from the old California promotion Big Time Wrestling. Dave gives an overview. It was run by Roy Shires from ~1961 through 1981 and occasionally did shows in Hawai’i, Samoa, and Nevada as well. It wound up folding because when their top talent got stale, they replaced them with cheaper talent and the fans could tell the difference in quality and stopped supporting them. When AWA started running in the area, they pretty much gave up. Dave says he always thought it was ironic Verne would complain about Vince’s business practices, when Verne did the same thing to Big Time Wrestling. Anyway, Dave goes and gives some updates on the wrestlers. Pepper Martin is an actor. Kinji Shibuya has been retired for a decade and lives in the Bay Area. Masa Saito is still a big star in Japan. Raul Mata trains wrestlers in Florida. Dutch Savage does color commentary for Don Owen in Portland. Paul DeMarco still occasionally wrestles independent cards. Lars Anderson hasn’t been heard from since he booked for Mrs. Maivia in Hawai’i two years back and it went poorly. No clue where Mephisto is. Lonnie Mayne died in a car accident about ten years back. No idea what became of Bobby Garrett and Jim Starr.
  

NEXT WEEK: Turner buying NWA news, WCCW and AWA to do title unification matches, Electronic Media Magazine story on wrestling, and more

onJump to search "B777" redirects here. For the road in Scotland, see B777 road. Boeing 777 Front quarter view of a Cathay Pacific 777 in flight with flaps and landing gear retracted A Boeing 777 operated by Cathay Pacific. The 777 is a low-wing twinjet; the original -200 is the shortest variant. Role Wide-body airliner National origin United States Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes First flight June 12, 1994 Introduction June 7, 1995 with United Airlines Status In production Primary users Emirates United Airlines Air France Cathay Pacific Produced 1993–present Number built 1,641 through August 2020[1][2] and deliveries[3] Program cost US$5 billion[4] Unit cost (US$ million, 2019) -200ER: 306.6, -200LR: 346.9, -300ER: 375.5, 777F: 352.3[5] Developed into Boeing 777X The Boeing 777 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven.[6][7] The 777 was designed to bridge the gap between Boeing's 767 and 747, and to replace older DC-10s or L-1011s. Developed in consultation with eight major airlines, with a first meeting in January 1990, the program was launched on October 14, 1990 with a first order from United Airlines. The prototype was rolled out on April 9, 1994, and first flew on June 12, 1994. The 777 first entered commercial service with United Airlines on June 7, 1995. Longer range variants were launched on February 29, 2000 and were first delivered on April 29, 2004.
It is the largest twinjet and has a typical 3-class capacity of 301 to 368 passengers, with a range of 5,240 to 8,555 nautical miles (9,700 to 15,840 km). It is recognizable for its large-diameter turbofan engines, six wheels on each main landing gear, fully circular fuselage cross-section,[8] and a blade-shaped tail cone.[9] It has fly-by-wire controls, a first for Boeing. It initially competed with Airbus A340 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11, both now out of production, and currently competes with the Airbus A330-300 and newer Airbus A350 XWB.
The original 777 with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 545,000–660,000 lb (247–299 t) was produced in two fuselage lengths: the initial -200 was followed by the extended-range 777-200ER in 1997; and the 33.25 ft (10.13 m) longer 777-300 in 1998. Those 777 Classics were powered with 77,200–98,000 lbf (343–436 kN) General Electric GE90, Pratt & Whitney PW4000, or Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines.[10] The longer range 777-300ER with a MTOW of 766,000–775,000 lb (347–352 t) entered service in 2004, the ultra long-range 777-200LR in 2006, and the 777F freighter in 2009. These long haul variants feature 110,000–115,300 lbf (489–513 kN) GE90 engines and extended raked wingtips. In November 2013, Boeing announced the 777X development with the -8 and -9 variants, scheduled to enter service by 2020. The 777X features composite wings with folding wingtips and General Electric GE9X engines.
The 777 has received more orders than any other wide-body airliner; as of August 2019, more than 60 customers had placed orders for 2,049 aircraft of all variants, with 1,609 delivered. The most common and successful variant is the 777-300ER with 844 orders and 810 delivered.[2] As of July 2018, Emirates was the largest operator with 163 aircraft.[11] By March 2018, the 777 had become the most-produced Boeing wide-body jet, surpassing the Boeing 747.[12] As of February 2019, the 777 has been involved in 28 aviation accidents and incidents,[13] including seven hull losses (five in-flight and two in ground incidents) resulting in 541 fatalities along with three hijackings.[14][15]
Contents 1 Development 1.1 Background 1.2 Design effort 1.3 Into production and testing 1.4 Entry into service 1.5 Initial derivatives 1.6 Second generation models 1.7 Production developments and 777X 1.8 Updates and improvements 2 Design 2.1 Fly-by-wire 2.2 Airframe and systems 2.3 Interior 3 Variants 3.1 777-200 3.2 777-200ER 3.3 777-200LR 3.4 777-300 3.5 777-300ER 3.6 777 Freighter 3.7 777-300ER Special Freighter (SF) 3.8 777X 3.9 Government and corporate 4 Operators 4.1 Orders and deliveries 5 Aircraft on display 6 Accidents and incidents 7 Specifications 8 See also 9 References 9.1 Footnotes 9.2 Citations 9.3 Bibliography 10 External links Development Background
The Boeing 777-100 trijet concept In the early 1970s, the Boeing 747, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar became the first generation of wide-body passenger airliners to enter service.[16] In 1978, Boeing unveiled three new models: the twin-engine Boeing 757 to replace its 727, the twin-engine 767 to challenge the Airbus A300, and a trijet 777 concept to compete with the DC-10 and L-1011.[17][18][19] The mid-size 757 and 767 launched to market success, due in part to 1980s' extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS) regulations governing transoceanic twinjet operations.[20] These regulations allowed twin-engine airliners to make ocean crossings at up to three hours' distance from emergency diversionary airports.[21] Under ETOPS rules, airlines began operating the 767 on long-distance overseas routes that did not require the capacity of larger airliners.[20] The trijet 777 was later dropped, following marketing studies that favored the 757 and 767 variants.[22] Boeing was left with a size and range gap in its product line between the 767-300ER and the 747-400.[23]
By the late 1980s, DC-10 and L-1011 models were approaching retirement age, prompting manufacturers to develop replacement designs.[24] McDonnell Douglas was working on the MD-11, a stretched and upgraded successor of the DC-10,[24] while Airbus was developing its A330 and A340 series.[24] In 1986, Boeing unveiled proposals for an enlarged 767, tentatively named 767-X,[25] to target the replacement market for first-generation wide-bodies such as the DC-10,[21] and to complement existing 767 and 747 models in the company lineup.[26] The initial proposal featured a longer fuselage and larger wings than the existing 767,[25] along with winglets.[27] Later plans expanded the fuselage cross-section but retained the existing 767 flight deck, nose, and other elements.[25]
Airline customers were uninterested in the 767-X proposals, and instead wanted an even wider fuselage cross-section, fully flexible interior configurations, short- to intercontinental-range capability, and an operating cost lower than that of any 767 stretch.[21] Airline planners' requirements for larger aircraft had become increasingly specific, adding to the heightened competition among aircraft manufacturers.[24] By 1988, Boeing realized that the only answer was a new clean-sheet design, which became the 777 twin-jet.[28] The company opted for the twin-engine configuration given past design successes, projected engine developments, and reduced-cost benefits.[29] On December 8, 1989, Boeing began issuing offers to airlines for the 777.[25]
Design effort A flight deck, from behind the two pilots' seats. A center console lies in between the seats, in front is an instrument panel with several displays, and light enters through the forward windows. The two-crew glass cockpit uses fly-by-wire controls Alan Mulally served as the Boeing 777 program's director of engineering, and then was promoted in September 1992 to lead it as vice-president and general manager.[30][31] The design phase for the new twinjet was different from Boeing's previous commercial jetliners. For the first time, eight major airlines – All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and United Airlines – had a role in the development.[32] This was a departure from industry practice, where manufacturers typically designed aircraft with minimal customer input.[33] The eight airlines that contributed to the design process became known within Boeing as the "Working Together" group.[32] At the first group meeting in January 1990, a 23-page questionnaire was distributed to the airlines, asking what each wanted in the design.[21] By March 1990, Boeing and the airlines had decided upon a basic design configuration: a cabin cross-section close to the 747's, capacity up to 325 passengers, flexible interiors, a glass cockpit, fly-by-wire controls, and 10 percent better seat-mile costs than the A330 and MD-11.[21] Boeing selected its Everett factory in Washington, home of 747 production, as the 777's final assembly site.[34]
On October 14, 1990, United Airlines became the 777's launch customer when it placed an order for 34 Pratt & Whitney-powered aircraft valued at US$11 billion with options on an additional 34.[35][36] The development phase coincided with United's replacement program for its aging DC-10s.[37] United required that the new aircraft be capable of flying three different routes: Chicago to Hawaii, Chicago to Europe, and non-stop from Denver, a hot and high airport, to Hawaii.[37] ETOPS certification was also a priority for United,[38] given the overwater portion of United's Hawaii routes.[35] In January 1993, a team of United developers joined other airline teams and Boeing designers at the Everett factory.[39] The 240 design teams, with up to 40 members each, addressed almost 1,500 design issues with individual aircraft components.[40] The fuselage diameter was increased to suit Cathay Pacific, the baseline model grew longer for All Nippon Airways, and British Airways' input led to added built-in testing and interior flexibility,[21] along with higher operating weight options.[41]
The 777 was the first commercial aircraft designed entirely by computer.[26][35][42] Each design drawing was created on a three-dimensional CAD software system known as CATIA, sourced from Dassault Systemes and IBM.[43] This lets engineers assemble a virtual aircraft, in simulation, to check for interference and verify that the thousands of parts fit properly—thus reducing costly rework.[44] Boeing developed its high-performance visualization system, FlyThru, later called IVT (Integrated Visualization Tool) to support large-scale collaborative engineering design reviews, production illustrations, and other uses of the CAD data outside of engineering.[45] Boeing was initially not convinced of CATIA's abilities and built a physical mock-up of the nose section to verify its results. The test was so successful that additional mock-ups were canceled.[46] The 777 "was completed with such precision that it was the first Boeing jet that didn’t need its kinks worked out on an expensive physical mock-up plane", which contrasted sharply with the development of Boeing's next new airliner, the 787.[47]
Into production and testing The production process included substantial international content, an unprecedented level of global subcontracting for a Boeing jetliner,[48] later exceeded by the 787.[49] International contributors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (fuselage panels),[50] Fuji Heavy Industries, Ltd. (center wing section),[50] Hawker de Havilland (elevators), and Aerospace Technologies of Australia (rudder).[51] An agreement between Boeing and the Japan Aircraft Development Corporation, representing Japanese aerospace contractors, made the latter risk-sharing partners for 20 percent of the entire development program.[48] The initial 777-200 model was launched with propulsion options from three manufacturers, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce,[52] giving the airlines their choice of engines from competing firms.[53] Each manufacturer agreed to develop an engine in the 77,000 lbf (340 kN) and higher thrust class (a measure of jet engine output) for the world's largest twinjet.[52]
Airliner turbofan engine Pratt & Whitney PW4000 Airliner turbofan engine Rolls-Royce Trent 800 Airliner turbofan engine General Electric GE90-94B with its thrust reverser deployed To accommodate production of its new airliner, Boeing doubled the size of the Everett factory at the cost of nearly US$1.5 billion[35] to provide space for two new assembly lines.[37] New production methodologies were developed, including a turn machine that could rotate fuselage subassemblies 180 degrees, giving workers access to upper body sections.[43] Major assembly of the first aircraft began on January 4, 1993.[54] By the start of production, the program had amassed 118 firm orders, with options for 95 more from 10 airlines.[55] Total investment in the program was estimated at over US$4 billion from Boeing, with an additional US$2 billion from suppliers.[56]
Side view of a twin-engine jet in flight, surrounded by white clouds The 777 made its maiden flight on June 12, 1994. On April 9, 1994, the first 777, number WA001, was rolled out in a series of 15 ceremonies held during the day to accommodate the 100,000 invited guests.[57] The first flight took place on June 12, 1994,[58] under the command of chief test pilot John E. Cashman.[59] This marked the start of an 11-month flight test program that was more extensive than testing for any previous Boeing model.[60] Nine aircraft fitted with General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce engines[58] were flight tested at locations ranging from the desert airfield at Edwards Air Force Base in California[61] to frigid conditions in Alaska, mainly Fairbanks International Airport.[62] To satisfy ETOPS requirements, eight 180-minute single-engine test flights were performed.[63] The first aircraft built was used by Boeing's nondestructive testing campaign from 1994 to 1996, and provided data for the -200ER and -300 programs.[64] At the successful conclusion of flight testing, the 777 was awarded simultaneous airworthiness certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) on April 19, 1995.[58]
Entry into service
On May 15, 1995, United Airlines received the first Boeing 777-200 and made the first commercial flight on June 7 Boeing delivered the first 777 to United Airlines on May 15, 1995.[65][66] The FAA awarded 180-minute ETOPS clearance ("ETOPS-180") for the Pratt & Whitney PW4084-engined aircraft on May 30, 1995, making it the first airliner to carry an ETOPS-180 rating at its entry into service.[67] The first commercial flight took place on June 7, 1995, from London Heathrow Airport to Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C.[68] Longer ETOPS clearance of 207 minutes was approved in October 1996.[69]
On November 12, 1995, Boeing delivered the first model with General Electric GE90-77B engines to British Airways,[70] which entered service five days later.[71] Initial service was affected by gearbox bearing wear issues, which caused British Airways to temporarily withdraw its 777 fleet from transatlantic service in 1997,[71] returning to full service later that year.[61] General Electric subsequently announced engine upgrades.[61]
The first Rolls-Royce Trent 877-powered aircraft was delivered to Thai Airways International on March 31, 1996,[70] completing the introduction of the three powerplants initially developed for the airliner.[72] Each engine-aircraft combination had secured ETOPS-180 certification from the point of entry into service.[73] By June 1997, orders for the 777 numbered 323 from 25 airlines, including satisfied launch customers that had ordered additional aircraft.[58] Operations performance data established the consistent capabilities of the twinjet over long-haul transoceanic routes, leading to additional sales.[74] By 1998, the 777 fleet had approached 900,000 flight hours.[75] Boeing states that the 777 fleet has a dispatch reliability (rate of departure from the gate with no more than 15 minutes delay due to technical issues) above 99 percent.[76][77][78][79]
Initial derivatives
Cathay Pacific introduced the stretched -300 variant on May 27, 1998 After the original model, Boeing developed an increased gross weight variant of the 777-200 with greater range and payload capability.[80] Initially named 777-200IGW,[81] the 777-200ER first flew on October 7, 1996,[82] received FAA and JAA certification on January 17, 1997,[83] and entered service with British Airways on February 9, 1997.[83] Offering greater long-haul performance, the variant became the most widely ordered version of the aircraft through the early 2000s.[80] On April 2, 1997, a Malaysia Airlines -200ER named "Super Ranger" broke the great circle "distance without landing" record for an airliner by flying eastward from Boeing Field, Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,044 km; 12,455 mi), in 21 hours and 23 minutes.[75]
Following the introduction of the -200ER, Boeing turned its attention to a stretched version of the airliner. On October 16, 1997, the 777-300 made its first flight.[82] At 242.4 ft (73.9 m) in length, the -300 became the longest airliner yet produced (until the A340-600), and had a 20 percent greater overall capacity than the standard length model.[84] The -300 was awarded type certification simultaneously from the FAA and JAA on May 4, 1998,[85] and entered service with launch customer Cathay Pacific on May 27, 1998.[82][86]
The first generation of Boeing 777 models, the -200, -200ER, and -300 have since been known collectively as Boeing 777 Classics.[10]
Second generation models
Aircraft engine, forward-facing view with a Boeing engineer in front to demonstrate the engine's size. The engine's large circular intake contains a central hub with a swirl mark, surrounded by multiple curved fan blades. The more powerful GE90 engines of later variants has a 128 in (330 cm) diameter fan up from 123 in (310 cm) in earlier variants, and curved blades instead of straight ones From the program's start, Boeing had considered building ultra-long-range variants.[87] Early plans centered on a 777-100X proposal,[88] a shortened variant of the -200 with reduced weight and increased range,[88] similar to the 747SP.[89] However, the -100X would have carried fewer passengers than the -200 while having similar operating costs, leading to a higher cost per seat.[88][89] By the late 1990s, design plans shifted to longer-range versions of existing models.[88]
In March 1997, the Boeing board approved the 777-200X/300X specifications: 298 passengers in three classes over 8,600 nmi (15,900 km) for the 200X and 6,600 nmi (12,200 km) with 355 passengers in a tri-class layout for the 300X, with design freeze planned in May 1998, 200X certification in August 2000, and introduction in September and in January 2001 for the 300X. The 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in) wider wing was to be strengthened and the fuel capacity enlarged, and it was to be powered by simple derivatives with similar fans. GE was proposing a 454 kN (102,000 lbf) GE90-102B, while P&W offered its 436 kN (98,000 lbf) PW4098 and R-R was proposing a 437 kN (98,000 lbf) Trent 8100.[90] Rolls-Royce was also studying a Trent 8102 over 445 kN (100,000 lbf).[91] Boeing was studying a semi-levered, articulated main gear to help the take-off rotation of the proposed -300X, with its higher 324,600 kg (715,600 lb) MTOW.[92] By January 1999, its MTOW grew to 340,500 kg (750,000 lb), and thrust requirements increased to 110,000–114,000 lbf (490–510 kN).[93]
A more powerful engine in the thrust class of 100,000 lbf (440 kN) was required, leading to talks between Boeing and engine manufacturers. General Electric offered to develop the GE90-115B engine,[53] while Rolls-Royce proposed developing the Trent 8104 engine.[94] In 1999, Boeing announced an agreement with General Electric, beating out rival proposals.[53] Under the deal with General Electric, Boeing agreed to only offer GE90 engines on new 777 versions.[53]
On February 29, 2000, Boeing launched its next-generation twinjet program,[95] initially called 777-X,[87] and began issuing offers to airlines.[80] Development was slowed by an industry downturn during the early 2000s.[82] The first model to emerge from the program, the 777-300ER, was launched with an order for ten aircraft from Air France,[96] along with additional commitments.[80] On February 24, 2003, the -300ER made its first flight, and the FAA and EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency, successor to the JAA) certified the model on March 16, 2004.[97] The first delivery to Air France took place on April 29, 2004.[82] The -300ER, which combined the -300's added capacity with the -200ER's range, became the top-selling 777 variant in the late 2000s,[98] benefitting as airlines replaced comparable four-engine models with twinjets for their lower operating costs.[99]
The second long-range model, the 777-200LR, rolled out on February 15, 2005, and completed its first flight on March 8, 2005.[82] The -200LR was certified by both the FAA and EASA on February 2, 2006,[100] and the first delivery to Pakistan International Airlines occurred on February 26, 2006.[101] On November 10, 2005, the first -200LR set a record for the longest non-stop flight of a passenger airliner by flying 11,664 nautical miles (21,602 km) eastward from Hong Kong to London.[102] Lasting 22 hours and 42 minutes, the flight surpassed the -200LR's standard design range and was logged in the Guinness World Records.[103]
The production freighter model, the 777F, rolled out on May 23, 2008.[104] The maiden flight of the 777F, which used the structural design and engine specifications of the -200LR[105] along with fuel tanks derived from the -300ER, occurred on July 14, 2008.[106] FAA and EASA type certification for the freighter was received on February 6, 2009,[107] and the first delivery to launch customer Air France took place on February 19, 2009.[108][109]
Production developments and 777X
The improved and updated Boeing 777-9X was rolled out on March 13, 2019 See also: Boeing 777X Initially second to the 747 as Boeing's most profitable jetliner,[110] the 777 became the company's most lucrative model in the 2000s.[111] Program sales accounted for an estimated US$400 million of Boeing's pretax earnings in 2000, US$50 million more than the 747.[110] By 2004, the airliner accounted for the bulk of wide-body revenues for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes division.[112] In 2007, orders for second-generation 777 models approached 350 aircraft,[113] and in November of that year, Boeing announced that all production slots were sold out to 2012.[99] The program backlog of 356 orders was valued at US$95 billion at list prices in 2008.[114]
In 2010, Boeing announced plans to increase production from 5 aircraft per month to 7 aircraft per month by mid-2011, and 8.3 per month by early 2013.[115] Complete assembly of each 777-300ER requires 49 days.[116] The smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first stage of a replacement aircraft initiative called the Boeing Yellowstone Project,[117] entered service in 2011. Reportedly, the 777 could eventually be replaced by a new aircraft family, Yellowstone 3, which would draw upon technologies from the 787.[113] In November 2011, assembly began on the 1,000th 777, a -300ER model for Emirates,[116] which was rolled out in March 2012.[118]
By the late 2000s, the 777 was facing increased potential competition from Airbus' planned A350 XWB and internally from proposed 787 variants,[113] both airliners that offer fuel efficiency improvements. As a consequence, the 777-300ER received an engine and aerodynamics improvement package for reduced drag and weight.[119] In 2010, the variant further received a 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) maximum zero-fuel weight increase, equivalent to a higher payload of 20–25 passengers; its GE90-115B1 engines received a 1–2.5 percent thrust enhancement for increased takeoff weights at higher-altitude airports.[119] More changes were targeted for late 2012, including possible extension of the wingspan,[119] along with other major changes, including a composite wing, new powerplant, and different fuselage lengths.[119][120][121] Emirates was reportedly working closely with Boeing on the project, in conjunction with being a potential launch customer for new 777 versions.[122] Among customers for the aircraft during this period, China Airlines ordered ten 777-300ER aircraft to replace 747-400s on long-haul transpacific routes (with the first of those aircraft entering service in 2015), noting that the 777-300ER's per seat cost is about 20% lower than the 747's costs (varying due to fuel prices).[123]
In November 2013, with orders and commitments totaling 259 aircraft from Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, Boeing formally launched the 777X program, the third generation of the 777 (not to be confused with the 777-X variants, which were the second generation of the aircraft), with two models: the 777-8 and 777-9.[124] The 777-9 was to be a further stretched variant with a capacity of over 400 passengers and a range of over 15,200 km (8,200 nmi), whereas the 777-8 was slated to seat approximately 350 passengers and have a range of over 17,200 km (9,300 nmi).[124] Both models were to be equipped with new generation GE9X engines and feature new composite wings with folding wingtips. The first member of the 777X family, the 777-9, was set to enter service by 2020. By the mid-2010s, the 777 had become prevalent on the longest flights internationally and had become the most widely used airliner for transpacific routes, with variants of the type operating over half of all scheduled flights and with the majority of transpacific carriers.[125][126]
By April 2014, with cumulative sales surpassing those of the 747, the 777 became the best-selling wide-body airliner; at existing production rates, the aircraft was on track to become the most-delivered wide-body airliner by mid-2016.[127] By February 2015, the backlog of undelivered 777s totaled 278 aircraft, representing just under three years of current production at 8.3 aircraft per month,[128] causing Boeing to ponder the 2018-2020 time frame. In January 2016, Boeing confirmed plans to reduce the production rate of the 777 family from 8.3 per month to 7 per month in 2017 to help close the production gap between the 777 and 777X created by a lack of new orders.[129] In 2018, assembling test 777-9 aircraft was expected to lower output to an effective rate of 5.5 per month.[130] Boeing was expected to drop 777 production to five per month in August 2017.[131]
Updates and improvements
Air France received the first 777-300ER on April 29, 2004 In tandem with the development of the third generation Boeing 777X, Boeing worked with General Electric to offer a 2% improvement in fuel efficiency to in-production 777-300ER aircraft. General Electric improved the fan module and the high-pressure compressor stage-1 blisk in the GE-90-115 turbofan, as well as reduced clearances between the tips of the turbine blades and the shroud during cruise. These improvements, of which the latter is the most important and was derived from work to develop the 787, were stated by GE to lower fuel burn by 0.5%. Boeing's wing modifications were intended to deliver the remainder. Boeing stated that every 1% improvement in the 777-300ER's fuel burn translates into being able to fly the aircraft another 75 nmi (139 km; 86 mi) on the same load of fuel, or add ten passengers or 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) of cargo to a "load limited" flight.[132]
In March 2015, additional details of the improvement package were unveiled. The 777-300ER was to shed 1,800 lb (820 kg) by replacing the fuselage crown with tie rods and composite integration panels, similar to those used on the 787. The new flight control software was to eliminate the need for the tail skid by keeping the tail off the runway surface regardless of the extent to which pilots command the elevators. Boeing was also redesigning the inboard flap fairings to reduce drag by reducing pressure on the underside of the wing. The outboard raked wingtip was to have a divergent trailing edge, described as a "poor man's airfoil" by Boeing; this was originally developed for the McDonnell Douglas MD-12 project. Another change involved elevator trim bias. These changes were to increase fuel efficiency and allow airlines to add 14 additional seats to the airplane, increasing per seat fuel efficiency by 5%.[133]
Mindful of the long time required to bring the 777X to the market, Boeing continued to develop improvement packages which improve fuel efficiency, as well as lower prices for the existing product. In January 2015, United Airlines ordered ten 777-300ERs, normally costing around US$150 million each but paid around US$130 million, a discount to bridge the production gap to the 777X.[134] The roll-out of the prototype 777X, a 777-9 model, occurred on March 13, 2019.[135]
As of 2019, Boeing lists prices for the 777-200ER, -200LR, 777F, -300ER, 777-8, and 777-9 variants. The -200ER is the only Classic variant remaining available.[5]
Design Aircraft belly section. Close view of engines, extended landing gear and angled control flaps. The engines and extended slats, flaps, and landing gear of an American Airlines Boeing 777-200ER.
Front view of an Emirates 777-300ER, showing fuselage profile, wing dihedral, and GE90 engines Boeing introduced a number of advanced technologies with the 777 design, including fully digital fly-by-wire controls,[136] fully software-configurable avionics, Honeywell LCD glass cockpit flight displays,[137] and the first use of a fiber optic avionics network on a commercial airliner.[138] Boeing made use of work done on the cancelled Boeing 7J7 regional jet,[139] which utilized similar versions of the chosen technologies.[139] In 2003, Boeing began offering the option of cockpit electronic flight bag computer displays.[140] In 2013, Boeing announced that the upgraded 777X models would incorporate airframe, systems, and interior technologies from the 787.[141]
Fly-by-wire In designing the 777 as its first fly-by-wire commercial aircraft, Boeing decided to retain conventional control yokes rather than change to sidestick controllers as used in many fly-by-wire fighter aircraft and in many Airbus airliners.[136] Along with traditional yoke and rudder controls, the cockpit features a simplified layout that retains similarities to previous Boeing models.[142] The fly-by-wire system also incorporates flight envelope protection, a system that guides pilot inputs within a computer-calculated framework of operating parameters, acting to prevent stalls, overspeeds, and excessively stressful maneuvers.[136] This system can be overridden by the pilot if deemed necessary.[136] The fly-by-wire system is supplemented by mechanical backup.[143]
Airframe and systems Aircraft in flight, underside view. The jet's two wings have one engine each. The rounded nose leads to a straight body section, which tapers at the tail section with its two rear fins. The planform view of a Boeing 777-300ER, with raked wingtips The wings on the 777 feature a supercritical airfoil design that is swept back at 31.6 degrees and optimized for cruising at Mach 0.83 (revised after flight tests up to Mach 0.84).[144] The wings are designed with increased thickness and a longer span than previous airliners, resulting in greater payload and range, improved takeoff performance, and a higher cruising altitude.[58] The wings also serve as fuel storage, with longer-range models able to carry up to 47,890 US gallons (181,300 L) of fuel.[145] This capacity allows the 777-200LR to operate ultra-long-distance, trans-polar routes such as Toronto to Hong Kong.[146] In 2013, a new wing made of composite materials was introduced for the upgraded 777X, with a wider span and design features based on the 787's wings.[141]
Unlike smaller airliners like the Boeing 737, no current 777 wings have winglets; instead, the exceptionally long raked wings of the 777 serve the same drag-reducing function. Large folding wingtips, 21 feet (6.40 m) long, were offered when the 777 was first launched, to appeal to airlines who might use gates made to accommodate smaller aircraft, but no airline purchased this option.[147] Folding wingtips reemerged as a design feature at the announcement of the upgraded 777X in 2013. Smaller folding wingtips of 11 feet (3.35 m) in length will allow 777X models to use the same airport gates and taxiways as earlier 777s.[141] These smaller folding wingtips are less complex than those proposed for earlier 777s, and internally only affect the wiring needed for wingtip lights.[141]
Aircraft landing gear. Six wheel gear on the ground, with attachment assembly and gear door leading up to the aircraft belly. The six-wheel undercarriage of a Boeing 777 The airframe incorporates the use of composite materials, which comprise nine percent of its original structural weight (all models outside the 777-8 and 777-9).[148] Elements made from composite material include the cabin floor and rudder. The main fuselage cross-section is circular[149] and tapers rearward into a blade-shaped tail cone with a port-facing auxiliary power unit.[9] The aircraft also features the largest landing gear and the biggest tires ever used in a commercial jetliner.[150] The six-wheel bogies are designed to spread the load of the aircraft over a wide area without requiring an additional centerline gear. This helps reduce weight and simplifies the aircraft's braking and hydraulic systems. Each tire of a 777-300ER six-wheel main landing gear can carry a load of 59,490 lb (26,980 kg), which is heavier than other wide-bodies such as the 747-400.[151] The aircraft has triple redundant hydraulic systems with only one system required for landing.[152] A ram air turbine—a small retractable device which can provide emergency power—is also fitted in the wing root fairing.[153]
Interior Airliner cabin. Rows of seats arranged between two aisles. Each seatback has a monitor; light shines from the sidewalls and overhead bins. The Economy cabin of an Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ER in a 3-3-3 layout. Airliner cabin. Rows of seats arranged between two aisles. The Royal Laurel Class (Business Class) cabin in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout on an EVA Air 777-300ER The original 777 interior, also known as the Boeing Signature Interior, features curved panels, larger overhead bins, and indirect lighting.[71] Seating options range from four[154] to six abreast in first class up to ten abreast in economy.[155] The 777's windows were the largest of any current commercial airliner until the 787, and measure 15-inch (380 mm) by 10-inch (250 mm) in size (all models outside the 777-8 and -9).[156] The cabin also features "Flexibility Zones", which entails deliberate placement of water, electrical, pneumatic, and other connection points throughout the interior space, allowing airlines to move seats, galleys, and lavatories quickly and more easily when adjusting cabin arrangements.[155] Several aircraft have also been fitted with VIP interiors for non-airline use.[157] Boeing designed a hydraulically damped toilet seat cover hinge that closes slowly.[158]
In 2003, Boeing introduced overhead crew rests as an option on the 777.[159] Located above the main cabin and connected via staircases, the forward flight crew rest contains two seats and two bunks, while the aft cabin crew rest features multiple bunks.[159] The Signature Interior has since been adapted for other Boeing wide-body and narrow-body aircraft, including 737NG, 747-400, 757-300, and newer 767 models, including all 767-400ER models.[160][161] The 747-8 and 767-400ER have also adopted the larger, more rounded windows of the original 777.
In 2011, Flight International reported that Boeing is considering replacing the Signature Interior on the 777 with a new interior similar to that on the 787, as part of a move towards a "common cabin experience" across all Boeing platforms.[162] With the launch of the 777X in 2013, Boeing confirmed that the aircraft would be receiving a new interior featuring 787 cabin elements and larger windows.[141] Further details released in 2014 included re-sculpted cabin sidewalls for greater interior room, noise-dampening technology, and higher cabin humidity.[163]
Air France has a 777-300ER sub-fleet with 472 seats each, more than any other international 777, to achieve a cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) around €.05, similar to Level’s 314-seat Airbus A330-200, its benchmark for low-cost, long-haul. Competing on similar French overseas departments destinations, Air Caraïbes has 389 seats on the A350-900 and 429 on the -1000. French Bee’s is even more dense with its 411 seats A350-900, due to 10-abreast economy seating, reaching a €.04 CASK according to Air France, and lower again with its 480 seats -1000.[164]
Variants Boeing uses two characteristics – fuselage length and range – to define its 777 models.[23][165] Passengers and cargo capacity varies by fuselage length: the 777-300 has a stretched fuselage compared to the base 777-200. Three range categories were defined: the A-market would cover domestic and regional operations, the B-market would cover routes from Europe to the US West coast and the C-market the longest transpacific routes.[166] The A-market would be covered by a 4,200 nmi (7,800 km) range, 234 t (516,000 lb) MTOW aircraft for 353 to 374 passengers powered by 316 kN (71,000 lbf) engines, followed by a 6,600 nmi (12,200 km) B-market range for 286 passengers in three-class, with 365 kN (82,000 lbf) unit thrust and 263 t (580,000 lb) of MTOW, an A340 competitor, basis of an A-market 409 to 434 passengers stretch, and eventually a 7,600 nmi (14,000 km) C-market with 400 kN (90,000 lbf) engines.[167]
When referring to different variants, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) code collapses the 777 model designator and the -200 or -300 variant designator to "772" or "773".[168] The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aircraft type designator system adds a preceding manufredesigned main landing gear, and additional structural strengthening.[182] As with the -300ER and 777F, the -200

A few years ago, I was in the market for a new car. My car was starting to fall apart, problems were rampant and the prices just kept getting higher and higher, and it was obvious that I was just dumping truckloads of money in a bottomless pit by this point. I was 19, and had already put over ten thousand dollars into fixing the 1993 Corolla, and with the odometer reading approximately 300,000 miles, it has long passed its' lifespan.
The original plan was to get a new car; I was in a comfortable position financially, had a decent paying job as a sales rep and made much more than the average bloke around my age, and wanted a reliable SUV. Me and a couple friends always went out to the desert, national parks in California where I resided, and I was sick of getting teased for having the worst car of the bunch. I was about to go to the dealership and buy a new 2016 Highlander, since I was very loyal to Toyota, but decided I would thumb through the classifieds to see if there were any gems that were a few years old and listed for a great price.
It was mostly junkers, people looking for cars, a couple false advertisements from companies trying to offer overpriced and unfair leases on new cars, but then I stumbled across an advertisement that caught my eye. It read,
"2001 Jeep Wrangler. 1,100 miles, perfect condition. 500 OBO"
I've never been a fan of Jeeps, they seem to burn through fuel way too fast and have problems that a Toyota would never have. However, it was only 500 dollars, and 1,100 miles on a 15 year car is wild. Plus, something about that "perfect condition" intrigued me. I was curious how a 15 year old car could be in perfect condition. I decided to reach out to the seller and get more information,
"Hey, I was looking at your 2001 Jeep Wrangler. Can I come by and take a look?"
Within a minute, I had a reply waiting at my fingertips, "Sure. My address is [redacted]. I'll be home in an hour, the car is in front, feel free to check it out."
Perfect. They lived about 10 minutes away from me, so I had time to get ready and call my friend Dave, who's a mechanic at the local auto shop, and see if he notices anything fishy about it. There's no way a car in perfect condition with only 1,100 miles on it could be 500 dollars, right?
I arrived at the property, and to my surprise, the car appeared to be in perfect condition. It has a metallic silver paint job that looked not a day old, the windows were clean as they were when they got out of the factory, there were no scratches, dents, or damage of any kind. I took a peek inside the vehicle, it was spotless. Not a single stain, dog hair, crumb, or any evidence that it had been used at all. I got on my knees, and looked at the tires, which appeared to be brand new and were the same factory wheels that Jeeps come with. The bottom didn't appear to have any damage, or any signs that there was something off.
"What do you think, son?"
I jumped and banged my head on the bottom of the car upon hearing her voice.
"Oh my god, you scared the crap out of me! I thought you would be an hour, sorry, I was just checking out the bottom."
"Ah, sorry honey. I just got back from the store. Do you have any questions?" The face that startled me was that of an older woman, who seemed to be about 80. She had a hunch, and walked with a cane, but her skin was just so pristine. There wasn't a wrinkle on her face, not a wrinkle on her hands or arms, and had a coat of red nail polish over her fingers that looked pristine.
Just as I started to hoist myself from below the car, I saw Dave pull up in his Supra. I've always loved being in that thing, it attracted attention everywhere he went. I don't know if that was the purpose- either way, it was great. He got out and introduced himself to the woman, who shook his hand and called herself "Dot." I extended my hand out for a shake. Her skin felt smooth as a baby's, if you couldn't see her hair and hunch, you wouldn't be able to tell she was a day above 20. There wasn't a blemish to be found anywhere, it was admittedly a bit unsettling. I chalked it up to really lucky genetics, looked at Dave, and asked,
"Do you mind if my buddy Dave takes a look under the hood?"
The woman blushed, and said "Oh, of course, dear!" and shakily handed me a set of keys. The Jeep key looked as pristine as the car, it had no scratches or signs of use at all. I pressed the button to unlock the doors, and pulled the hood latch from inside. Dave walked up, and lifted it up.
"You're gonna like this, Danny." he said, as I got out of the car and headed over to where he was. The engine bay was as clean as the rest of the car, every component looked to be unused and perfect. He pulled out the oil stick, and it was clean as if he had just changed it. The windshield wiper fluid was full and clean, and the filter was brand new. There wasn't a single nick or dust particle under the hood.
"How did you keep this car so clean, ma'am?" he asked the woman, a bit apprehensively. It seemed he thought this might've been a stolen car, taken from a dealership or a showroom.
"It was my husband's car. I've never set foot in the thing, honey." she began walking towards the hood, "He always had a thing for these machines, you hear. I never really liked them. I don't even have my license. He was always out here, vacuuming, fixing something, cleaning another."
She chuckled, and looked right in my eyes,
"I suggested he marry her, if he loved her so much. He died shortly after, so the wedding never got around to happening. But I told him I'd make sure she found a good home. He loved his cars more than anything, even me I'm afraid."
I decided to pry deeper.
"Cars?"
She didn't reply, and started walking inside,
"If you want to take it for a test drive, feel free. Let me know when you've decided if you want it or not." She smiled once more, then disappeared through the doorway of the huge home. I wondered if she lived alone, or had children to live with. It was such a big house for one little old lady, but she didn't seem very eager to share more.
I jumped in the drivers seat, opening the passenger door for Dave. The engine started fine. The gears seemed to shift like they do on the first drive, and there wasn't a single weird sound. The station that played was an AM station, some kind of classical music. I decided to let it be, since it wasn't too distracting. As we drove down the street, and around the blocks, it got more and more confusing; there wasn't a single problem with the car. It was the smoothest ride I had ever had.
"What do you think is up with this car? Why is it so cheap, and so clean?" I asked, as we started to circle back to her house.
Dave shook his head, "I don't fucking know, man. It's the cleanest car I've ever seen, runs better than even my Supra, I would absolutely take this. Plus, it's a Jeep. Those are badass. You want a girl, you'll get one in this thing."
I laughed, and said "Should I buy it, instead of a Toyota?" as I pulled into her driveway.
"If you don't, I think I just might buy it myself."
We both shared a smile, and got out of the car. I started walking towards the front door, pulling out the envelope in my pocket with 5 100 dollar bills.
"Do you want it?" a voice from behind me startled me once more, causing me to drop the envelope and caused me a very obvious jump.
"Damn lady, you gotta stop sneaking up on me!" I laughed, and continued, "I'll take it. I have 500 in cash, is that okay?"
She took the bills out of my hand, and said "Everything you'll need is in the glove box."
I shook her hand once more. Dot's hand was as soft as last time, and looked like it had never seen a day of wear. She had a crimson band on her ring finger, and a matching pendant swinging gently from her neck. I took the Jeep's key off the keychain she handed me earlier, and gave what was left back to her. She smiled, and took the keys out of my hand.
As I turned away to head back to the car, I heard her yell, much louder than I thought the woman's voice could project,
"Wait!"
I turned around immediately, and looked at her quizzically.
"Don't change the station."
She smiled at me once more, a smile that seemed disconcertingly large, and waved goodbye. I kept my gaze for a moment longer, then walked back to the car, where Dave was standing.
"Your car now, eh?"
"Yeah, she's all mine." I smiled, before shifting my gaze to the car, then back on Dave,
"She told me not to change the radio station. Do you think that there's a reason for that?" Dave thought about it for a moment, and shrugged.
"I assume she just really likes classical music. I wouldn't think too much of it."
That seemed to resonate with me, so I hopped in the car, and waved to Dave, who did likewise to me. I turned on the ignition, half expecting the entire car to fall apart as I did, but everything was smooth as last time. The radio picked up once again, playing classic instrumental, and I turned it down a little, before putting the car in drive and heading home.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I've now owned the car for a year. It seemed almost too good to be true; I was getting nearly 50 miles per gallon, which is insane for an older Jeep. I had zero problems with any component, the tires were always inflated to the right PSI despite my frequent offroading and reckless driving, it handled high speeds beautifully, and it felt so right. So much better than my Corolla did. I felt like a real man driving this thing around.
At first, I thought the whole "Don't change the radio station" thing was a sham. I was planning on burning some songs onto a CD and putting it in the CD slot later, but I decided to just let it keep playing classical music. The station she had the car set on was so strange- I couldn't find any information about it online, and the music seemed to pick off right where it left off when I was last in the car. I was tempted many times to test changing it, but I started to question whether there was something else going on. You know, something a bit...abnormal. Maybe this station was significant to the car's perfection. It seemed to be flawless, and the reception for that station was always strong, even when I went to the desert for a few days, or underground in parking garages. I started bringing earbuds with me when I drove, or a portable speaker when others were in the car with me. It wasn't perfect, but I decided to just let it be. I could survive without playing music through the car's speakers. Plus, the classical music wasn't half bad. It seemed to get faster as my car sped up, and slow down as I slowed down. I'm sure it was a coincidence or something, but it was fun to keep track of. Plus, there were no adverts, which is something I absolutely hated on the radio and television.
I was planning on my first huge roadtrip with the people I cared about most. It would be me, Dave, Stos, and Stos' girlfriend Amber. We all loved nature and exploring, and the Jeep seemed like the best car to take together, so we planned on going up to northern California. We would leave after I got off work at 5:00, and just cycle through shifts of driving and sleeping until we made it to Shasta National Forest, and explore down California until we made it back home. I was super excited, as we all were. Plus, maybe we could do a bit of off roading in this seemingly immortal Jeep.
We were set to leave in about 24 hours. I made sure to bring a really good sound system so nobody got bored or tried to change the radio. Amber and Stos had never been in the Jeep before, so they wouldn't know anything about the classical station. I don't know if Dave remembers, he's never said anything when I drove him in the past, so I'm sure he did. Just in case, I put a little piece of duct tape over the Auxiliary port, and the CD player, that way nobody would put anything in before I stopped them.
I've never been one to believe in supernatural things, but I knew that I had to keep that station playing. No matter how badly I wanted to change it.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I picked Dave up first, then Stos and Amber who were a bit higher north, and we set off. I left a bit later than expected, because I had to address something at work, but it was no biggie. The minute Stos got in the car, I knew this was going to be a long ride,
"What the fuck are you blasting on the speakers, Dan?"
I laughed, and turned the speaker up a bit, to try to drown out the classical music. I was a bit annoyed with Stos' comment, but thought nothing of it. He put his ear up to the speaker on the rear left door, where he was seated, and shook his head disapprovingly. I thought about telling them about what the woman had told me, but decided to wait. We cruised onward.
By this time, the sun was starting to set, and we were getting close to Joshua Tree. Although I would've preferred to take a straight trip on the 5 northbound all the way to our destination. Amber wanted to see the Salton Sea, so we took a bit of a detour to get dinner and see the biggest sea in California. There was a traffic accident near Indio, the way Google Maps was telling us to go, so I decided to take a detour through Joshua Tree and stop for a bathroom break and to change positions a bit.
Throughout the trip, Stos and Amber occasionally made comments about the classical music. I eventually shut them down and told them the story. Amber seemed to understand, but Stos didn't waver his stance one bit, and chalked it up to being a crazy old lady trying to scare me.
As I got out of the car on the side of the desert road, Dave got out with me, and we spaced ourselves out to pee with some privacy. I walked about twenty seconds into the brush, and Dave just did his business right behind the car. I started to walk back to the car, pulled a handwipe out of my pocket and cleaned my hands, I saw Stos fumbling with the radio stations. I broke into a sprint towards the car, but it was too late.
"Not everyone likes fucking classical, Danny boy" he mocked, and shuffled through the stations. Stos eventually found a R&B station that he liked, and started dancing in the passenger seat.
I had a really, really bad feeling in my chest as I started the engine, but to my surprise, it started up the same as it had before. I, embarrassed that I believed a silly message that an old lady yelled at me, disconnected the speaker system, and let him have his way. We had about 15 more miles of driving through Joshua tree, and the 62 would be in sight, and I would let Dave drive for a few hours while I rested, since I was beat from work.
Even though everything appeared to be fine, I had this really bad feeling in my chest. I felt like something was off about this car, about that woman. How did a 15 year old car have not a single spec of dust in or out? The car was a bit dirty now, but the exterior seemed to never fade, and I hadn't accumulated a single scratch or dent in the car since I bought it. Either way, we trekked on, talking occasionally about what we would do in Shasta, or mocking each other. Normal stuff.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Hey Danny, how much longer until we get to the freeway?" Dave asked from the back seat. I took a minute to look at my phone, but there was no service, and the map was in a constant state of "reconnecting..." I couldn't see our location; the entire area was a sea of grey and white loading symbols filled the map.
He was right in asking. It had felt like we were driving down that Joshua Tree road for much longer than 15 minutes. I looked outside, and the road seemed to go on forever. Not one car had passed us since we stopped to go to the bathroom.
"If we don't see anything in 5 minutes, we'll turn around. I'm sure we're almost there." I said, shifting my focus back on the road. At the same time, I noticed the odometer was gaining shockingly quick.
When we started the trip, the Jeep had about 10,000 miles on it total. It now had about 100,000, and didn't seem to slow down one bit. I started to freak out, and looked back at Dave, who was sound asleep. It must be a mechanical glitch, which happens sometimes I told myself and kept on.
But the odometer did, as well. It was at 700,000 miles when I yelled "Dave!"
Dave jumped awake, and looked at the odometer, then looked at Stos, then me.
"Turn that fucking radio back to the classical station." he said, looking right into Stos' eyes." I remembered the number, it was 999 AM. I shuffled up to 920, 930, 940, 950, 960, 970, 980, 990, 1000. I tried to fine tune the dial back, but it jumped to 998. I tuned it forward, and it brought me to 1000 again.
"I can't find the station that it was on." I said, defeated. I decided to turn the car around, and see if we can backtrack our steps and take the route Google originally told us to take.
As I did, I heard a noise come from the bottom of the car. Simultaneously, the windows cracked. All of the windows. Amber screamed, and Stos looked around in shock. Dave had grabbed the vehicle's manual, but the radio page was torn out, of course. I motioned to speed up, but eventually realized that I was not in control of the speed. It was increasing, currently at 70 miles per hour, and was not slowing down.
"The fucking handbrake!" Dave yelled, and I pulled it. To my fear, the handle completely popped off, and the car didn't slow down one bit. As the speed increased, we all began to brace for impact, grabbing whatever backpacks or duffel bags we could find to cover our heads from glass and debris. The car was going 100 miles per hour, the brake was jammed in place and wouldn't move, and the gear shifting knob didn't budge one bit.
In a last attempt to save us before the car accelerated past 100 miles per hour, I turned the steering wheel slightly to the right, and the car violently shook us as we crashed through cacti, bushes, rocks, and unsafe mounds of dirt along the side of the road. Eventually, the car began to slow down, and I motioned for everyone to jump out while we could.
At about 20 miles per hour, I leaped out of the Jeep simultaneously with Stos, Amber, and Dave, expecting the car to soar onward until it was rendered useless. But, it stopped only meters in front of where we landed. All four tires were flat and beyond the point of repair, the hood was completely dented in, there was barely a remnant of glass on the windows, and the paint was scratched beyond buffing. Pools of gas and oil collected under the car, and the lights, including the headlights and interior lights, died at the same time. There was silence.
Dave opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I looked to my left, and saw Stos starting to get up. Amber was the only one who hadn't started to move. With all the energy I could muster, I crawled over to Amber, and tried to wake her up, but I was met with no response. She had no pulse. It seemed she had hit her head on a rock of some kind, because there was a huge wound in the back of her head that was bleeding all over the place. I tried to fight the tears, but succumbed to them. Amber was dead. Stos shortly looked over and noticed, and immediately jumped up and started walking towards me, anger in his eyes.
"How the fuck could you do this to us?" He screamed in my face, pulling me by the shirt up to see him. Stos was a big dude, he could easily overpower me in a fight, and clearly realized this.
"You're the one who got us into this, fucking retard!" I spit back at him. He threw me against the stationary Jeep, which caused a huge dent to appear much larger than my body. Dave, about the same size as Stos, held him from coming back for seconds, trying to calm him down.
"What the fuck do we do now?" Dave asked the two of us, "I'm not driving this fucking car one more meter. We have no service, nobody knows where we are, no cars have been by in hours, and Amber's fucking dead over there" he motioned towards her corpse.
"I'm going to walk down back to the road, and see if I can flag someone down," I said. "It's our only hope."
"Do you think we'd be safe to stay in the Jeep, so we don't get mauled by something?" Dave shakily asked.
"Are you fucking serious? That thing is fucking cursed! All because Stos fucking changed the radio station, I wouldn't set foot in that Jeep." Stos started motioning towards me, but Dave threw him back with more force than I expected from him.
"I'm with Dave on this one. I don't think it's going to hurt us any more. Even if something happens, we can just jump out the window, since they aren't exactly in place." Stos said. "Go fuck off and find someone to help us, Daniel."
I spit in his direction, and started limping towards the road. I looked back to see Stos and Dave get in the back seats, looking at something in the front seat, most likely the odometer that I brought up earlier. The car didn't seem to be doing anything other than sitting in the middle of the desert, maybe it was content with Amber's death, and it would leave us be.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I had walked for about half an hour, but for some reason, there was no road to be found. I didn't recognize the surroundings at all; I had been to Joshua Tree in the past, but this was different. This wasn't Joshua Tree. There were no roads, no rocks, aside from the ones near the Jeep that we almost hurtled into, no lights. Just the endless stars in the sky and brush littering the desert sand. I think it's best to head back toward the car I thought. Just as I was about to turn back, the light from the full moon hit my body, and I saw the number "999" engraved in blood on my forearm. I shuddered looking at it. I knew we all got scraped up from the crash, but I didn't notice that the number of the station was engraved on my forearm. Realizing that it probably was the same for Dave and Stos, I started sprinting back, gripping my leg as I hobbled over brush and pebbles.
Just as I was nearing the car, I heard a bloodcurdling scream.
It was Stos.
I ignored every ounce of pain that cried out from my leg and sprinted towards the car. I saw stos in the back seat, curled up in a ball shaking back and forth.
"Daniel, HELP! They took Dave!"
"Who took Dave???" I yelled back at him.
"These things! They came from the bottom of the car!"
Just as Stos said those last words, I saw four black hands crawl up from the two sides of the car, and reach their arms through the two open windows. Two grabbed each side of Stos' body, and as he screamed my name over and over again, they pulled at his muscular body until he exploded into a bloody mess and his body was no longer whole.
The arms took the pieces of his body back under the Jeep effortlessly, and he seemed to disappear into the exhaust pipe. I stood in shock as I saw every single dent, scratch, and broken window repair themselves into pristine condition. In what felt like minutes, the car was pristine once again. Not a single scratch lined the silver metallic body, the windows were scratch free and look like they were cleaned minutes before. I didn't know how to react.
The car turned itself on, and reversed to where I stood. I timidly walked up to the side of the car, and put my hand on the door. The radio was once again playing classical music, on station 999 AM, and the interior was completely ridden of dirt, dust, and garbage. Our bags were nowhere to be found- it looked as if nobody had ever set foot in it. Just as I was about to get in, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Enjoying the stars?" The old woman from earlier asked. I screamed and yelled at her to stay back. She seemed to understand my fear, but smiled.
"Don't change the station" she whispered, and turned to walk back to the gray Mazda that I didn't realize was parked next to me. The entire setting had changed, the road was now visible and there were a couple cars passing by. I looked around for Amber's body, but there was nothing except a rock in its place.
I got in the car, buckled my seat belt, and shifted the car in reverse. I didn't want to drive that car, but I had no other way to get home, and definitely didn't have the courage to ask the woman for help. Just as I was about to leave, I froze.
The odometer read 1,103.

Hello Everyone,
I hope you’re all having a green week so far! This is my first DD and I want to know how I did.
$OPTI-OTC
Per their website:
OPTEC International, Inc. is committed to providing green technologies for continued worldwide reduction of fossil fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions. The company is focused on the distribution of the OPTEC Fuel Maximizer and third-generation OPTIMUM LED lighting solutions for a revolutionary product line designed to have substantial impact on global health.
However, the company signed an exclusive UVC LED Disinfecting Light distribution agreement with California. They have begun to sell their PPE products to capitalize on COVID-19. Here is a timeline of their business proceedings.
Timeline:
May 1st, 2020: OPTEC International, Inc. Information Statement
Key Takeaways:
· Financials for the quarter ending March 31st, 2020 were posted to the OTC markets, maintaining the company’s pink current, status.
· Revenues were less than projected due to the “hold and do not ship until further notice requests” by customers due to COVID.
· Production was at a standstill due to COVID and the company was operating remotely due to the CA “stay at home order.”
· Fuel Maximizer tests were in progress with several large fleet operators both in the USA and internationally.
· Several Solar LED prospects who are interested in purchasing large quantities of the Solar Off-Grid lighting.
Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-international-inc-information-statement-8/
May 29th, 2020: OPTEC International, Inc. Signs Exclusive UVC LED Disinfecting Light Distribution Agreement for California
Key Takeaways:
· Company signed an exclusive distribution agreement for a new line of Far UVC LED Disinfecting lighting products for distribution in California.
· As demand intensifies, company has the opportunity to expand the agreement to additional states and regions.
· In talks with several retail chains for the sale of the new PPE products.
· PPE products include: A series of UVC LED high quality brushed aluminum wands for sterilization and disinfection of bacteria and a wide range of viruses in a matter of seconds on cellphones, keyboards, gas pumps, ATM’s, casino slot machines, vehicle steering wheels, infant toys, face masks and a multitude of other applications without the use of toxic chemicals such as bleach and ozone.
· The UVC LED rays can scan an entire area of room in a single treatment whereas current wiping solutions only penetrate the actual targeted areas.
· Commercially released is in JUNE.
Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-international-inc-signs-exclusive-uvc-led-disinfecting-light-distribution-agreement-for-california/
June 3rd, 2020: OPTEC International, Inc. Projects Q3 Revenues in Excess of $4M For Company’s UVC-LED Personal Protection Products

• For the period ending September 30th, 2020 the company is expecting revenues in excess of $4M.
• The projections are calculated based on the demand the Company has already received since the product launch (UVC-LED disinfecting products) last month.
• Current capacity is 5000 units per week of the iWand.

Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-international-inc-projects-q3-revenues-in-excess-of-4m-for-companys-uvc-led-personal-protection-products/
June 11th, 2020: OPTEC International, Inc. to Launch “OPTEC Rover” Commercial UVC Disinfecting & Sanitization Products on Friday June 12th, 2020.
Key Takeaways:
· Company will be introducing the OPTEC “Rover” Commercial UVC line of Disinfecting & Sanitization products on Friday, June 12th 2020, simultaneously with the launch of the new www.optecuvc.com website.
· iWand: Personal disinfection and sterilization germicidal scanner for personal use protection equipment (PPE).
· iWand has received increased interest and requests for the company’s commercial versions of the non-chemical disinfecting and sterilization equipment.
· The OPTEC ROVER: Commercial version UVC-LED rays can disinfect and sanitize an entire room area from wall to wall and floor to ceiling entirely in a single treatment within a matter of minutes whereas current wiping and spray solutions only penetrate the actual wiped or sprayed areas.”
· OPTEC ROVER: Fast, convenient and non-chemical. Can be used at banks, gyms, schools, office buildings, retail stores, malls, hotels, cruise ships and almost any location requiring frequent cleansing.
· The OPTEC ROVER CAN SANITIZE AT A RATE OF 1000 SQUARE FEET IN 15 MINUTES.
· MODELS THAT COVER LARGER AREAS ARE CURRENTLY IN DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT.
Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-international-inc-to-launch-optec-rover-commercial-uvc-disinfecting-sanitization-products-on-friday-june-12th-2020/
June 19th, 2020: OPTEC International, Inc. Appoints David Ojeda Former Amazon Senior Executive to Optec Advisory Board
· OPTEC CEO, Roger Pawson, commented, “Mr. Ojeda’s extensive executive experience working with some of the largest US logistics companies brings a wealth of opportunity for rapid growth and development for OPTEC in several sectors, we are very fortunate to be able to have Mr. Ojeda join our advisory board.”
· Ojeda’s experience includes senior management positions with Amazon including Sr. Product Manager for Prime Now Global Solutions and fulfillment, Regional Manager, Supply Chain Senior Manager for the respective Amazon divisions. Previous positions include Senior Facility Leader for HEB and UPS Division Manager.
· OPTEC CEO further commented, “The addition of David Ojeda to the advisory board will strengthen our abilities to grow our company, streamline operations and increase our product portfolio along with strengthening our corporate management structure.”
Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-international-inc-appoints-david-ojeda-former-amazon-senior-executive-to-optec-advisory-board/
June 25th, 2020: OPTEC “iWand” Now Available Online
· The Company announces the online store opened today for purchase of the OPTEC “iWand” Portable UV-C Disinfecting Wand on the Company’s UV-C website.
· In addition to the launch of the “iWand,” the OPTEC “Rover” commercial UVC product is expected to be available for shipping by July 5th, 2020. The Company has implemented a call-center operation simultaneously with the launch of the OPTEC “Rover” for technical inquiries and bulk purchasing options for corporate and municipal organizations”.
Source: https://optecintl.com/optec-iwand-now-available-online/
How their technology works:
The source below explains how their technology works.
Source: https://optecuvc.com/uvctechnology/
After searching the company’s website for the iWand: https://optecuvc.com, it was completely sold out. Although there were only 7 review, they all seemed to have positive feedback on the product. With the addition of David Ojeda to the team, I am hoping the company can branch off into Amazon. I believe if they were able to sell their products or get some sort of partnership with Amazon, we could see the stock valuation rise.
With the launch of the iWand on June 25th, the product jumped 145% between June 25th-June 26th. The company states the OPTEC ROVER will be available for shipping on July 5th. Within the next few days we should receive another PR stating the OPTEC ROVER is now available for sale. I think it’ll cause the stock to see another surge in valuation.
Stock Analysis:
52 Week High: 0.25
52 Week Low: 0.00050
Current Price: 0.027
The stock is heavily traded.
Avg Vol 10 day: 102.64M
Avg Vol 3 day: 60.58M
The stock is low float.
Shares Outstanding: 9.62M
Float: 8.28M
With the volume traded and the low float, another good PR for instance the announcement of the ROVER OPTEC might help this stock rise in the coming days.
I added a chart highlighting the volume and daily open and close to have a better look at it.
The source below highlight the volume trade and daily open/close for a period of time. It can help give a better understanding of the stock.
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/OPTI/history?p=OPTI
I honestly think we could see this stock do well in the coming days/weeks. With a second wave of COVID looming, if OPTEC is capable of continuously putting out PPE products, we could see this stock run.
As always do your own DD.
Please let me know what you guys think of my DD. It is my first one and I’d love to hear what you have to say (even if it’s constructive crtiticsm).
Thanks, and have a green day 🤑

Going through old issues of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and posting highlights in my own words, continuing in the footsteps of daprice82. For anyone interested, I highly recommend signing up for the actual site at f4wonline and checking out the full archives.
• PREVIOUS •
1987
FUTURE YEARS ARCHIVE:
The Complete Observer Rewind Archive by daprice82

1-4-1988	1-11-1988	1-18-1988	1-25-1988
2-1-1988	2-8-1988	2-15-1988	•

• The big story this week is WWF has announced a 14-man tournament for Wrestlemania IV. The word going around is that there will be four other matches: a battle royal (which ought to get another dozen guys on the card for the big payday, probably two tag matches (Dave speculates Demolition vs. Strike Force and Bulldogs vs. Islanders) and an Intercontinental title defense for Honkeytonk Man. The leading candidate for challenger there is Brutus Beefcake, so they’ll need to get on top of shooting an angle for that this week if they want to try and get it over. Anyway, the real meat of Wrestlemania is this tournament, and the bracket has already been announced on the syndicated shows.

Jack Tunney announces Wrestlemania tournament
Dave’s hand-drawn bracket

• So looking at this bracket, what are the likely outcomes? Dave thinks there’s really only two possibilities, and there’s only two possibilities for the final match. Hogan vs. DiBiase is the obvious finals if Hogan is to win, and if Hogan’s filming schedule for his upcoming movie (it begins in April) allows for it, this will be the finals. If he can wrestle during the summer, Dave expects him to win, if not he expects DiBiase to win overall since the winner of the tournament needs to be a heel to drop it back to Hogan when the company decides the time is write (Dave thinks the ppv in August looks like that time). If DiBiase wins, Dave thinks it’s going to be Don Muraco he beats in the finals, however. Dave then goes down the bracket and explains who he thinks wins when, ruling out combinations of guys (if Roberts beats Rude, Bravo beats Muraco, so we get Roberts vs. Bravo, for example). Savage doesn’t go out in the first round, obviously, but neither should Steamboat lose to Valentine, so that’s probably our token face vs. face match leading probably to a draw or double elimination. Notice anything weird about this bracket, though? WWF changes plans and redraws the bracket. They swap Roberts/Rude and DiBiase/Duggan’s place so DiBiase is on the same side of the bracket before Wrestlemania, so all this speculation by Dave ultimately goes nowhere because that one shift completely changes the tournament. More on that change when it happens. Dave is definitely right about one thing, though: there are going to be way too many matches on this show, so they're definitely going to have to have some fuck finishes to get the number of matches down in the tournament so things work.
  
• The Main Event’s final rating was a 15.1 and a 25 share, ranking 31st for the week. Dave feels like this has to be a major disappointment for WWF and NBC, as both figured the show would be in the top 10 easily. It won its time slot and the rating was better than the 11.6 average NBC has gotten in that slot with Rags to Riches, but it’s not as big a winner as they hoped. So in the LA Times and USA Today, Dick Ebersole (who co-produced the show with Vince) said that they weren’t interested in a weekly prime-time show because it would hurt live gates. But the reality is they won’t even be offered a slot, because they won’t be able to sustain competitive ratings. Dave was really surprised by the rating, and this show’s rating was the most interested he’s been in something wrestling related for a long time, because it was a test of just how much the general public would bite on wrestling. And what we’ve learned is that to the general public the biggest wrestling match possible, with the biggest hype possible (Andre vs. Hogan) with a month of buildup on all shows and even big news media attention (almost every newspaper ran a feature about the show at some point during the build) only got mediocre mainstream support. Wrestling fans are supremely loyal and will watch no matter the time slot, and the same show on Saturday night at 11:30 pm would have gotten at least a 12 rating), but moving to prime time didn’t get them a big increase in viewers. It renders moot the question of how first-time viewers will take the evil twin angle and such, because few of the viewers were first-time watchers. The audience was the same wrestling audience we’ve always had, and 85% of the general public just ignored the show and hype outright. Nothing wrong with that, people like and dislike what they want to, and WWF can still make loads of money off the 12-15% of people who do have an interest in wrestling.
  
• But this really puts Hulk Hogan and his appeal/drawing power into perspective. To the cult wrestling audience, he’s bigger than any wrestling star has ever been in the U.S. But he’s not mainstream, not really. He can help get wrestling on prime time network television a couple times a year, but they can’t build wrestling on him to make a mainstream appeal. And Hogan, for as over as he is here, clearly falls short of the most over acts to have graced Japan (Inoki in his heyday) and boxing (Larry Holmes, for example). WWF did prove they can be put in a weak time slot during sweeps with a lot of hype behind a special card and win the slot, which is no small thing. We can probably expect another prime time special in the future, but probably no more than one or two a year. You won’t read about wrestling’s resurgence in Time Magazine, and networks won’t discover Crockett’s shows because nobody’s looking at wrestling as a hot item (if the show had cracked the top five, maybe they would). The long and the short of it is, WWF is no worse off than they were two weeks ago, and Wrestlemania will still make a lot of money. And although Vince has gotten WWF to the point where they are making more money off wrestling than any other promotion in history, their “mainstream” interest in this country doesn’t even come close to New Japan’s tv heyday (1982-1985), and Hogan’s ability to draw a rating is probably more than anyone else in the modern era in the U.S., but probably isn’t as strong as Chigusa Nagayo’s ratings drawing power is in Japan.
  
• And you might be wondering if it’s appropriate to compare to Japan, or if the comparison is ridiculous given cultural differences. Dave notes that the U.S. is more tv oriented in Japan, which should put things in greater perspective - Hogan has all the advantages of American television culture and is still behind Nagayo and Inoki in terms of relative mainstream appeal/drawing power in their culture. In short, Dave had a conversation with a WWF employee a couple months ago about wrestling style (serious, hardcore vs. sports entertainment fast food) and if it was the style, being the best run promotion, or how much money they spend that makes WWF number 1. Their conclusion was that they couldn’t figure out a clear answer. No other promotion that offers a traditional product has hundreds in the front office, $250,000 to spend on every tv taping, etc. There’s no way to control for the sheer magnitude of advantages WWF has to be able to tell if they would be beatable, and the only way to know the answer about style would be if there was another promotion that had a traditional style but also had the production values, the front office staff, etc. And on the flip side, would people like Carlos Colon, Riki Choshu, Antonio Inoki, or Chigusa Nagayo be as over as they are if their local markets had a dozen different wrestling promotions on tv?
  
• [Memphis] Financial News Network announced on Tuesday that they’ll start airing CWA Wrestling weekly beginning in April. Dave forgot to write down the time slot, but thinks it’s Saturday nights at 9 pm eastern. ESPN signed a new exclusive deal with AWA for 2 years, which kicks World Class off ESPN. Angelo Savoldi’s ICW in New England got a deal with Tempo cable, so all other wrestling will be dropped from that service.
  
• AWA is “restructuring the company.” No word on what that means other than that their Las Vegas card this Sunday will be their last for about a month before they reopen in late March. Maybe they’ll change some major things about how they run? Dave thinks Verne’s gotten tired of people making decisions that cost him money, so he’ll probably be booker again. From what Dave hears, Curt Hennig will be the only wrestler getting paid during the time off, so expect Verne to fob him off to Memphis for the interim. The Midnight Rockers will probably also work Memphis in that time. No idea about the rest of the roster, but they’ll probably have to find new work in other territories if they can find work in wrestling, or regular jobs if they can’t.
  
• Over in Puerto Rico they sold out on January 30 a big show at Roberto Clemente Coliseum. That’s roughly 32,000 fans to watch Carlos Colon vs. Iron Sheik for the Universal Title, with manager Chicky Starr in a shark cage above the ring. Carlos won, of course, as Sheiky baby is heading back to WWF. Dave talks a bit about Carlos - he’s over like Rover, but the man’s comebacks are dull as hell. It’s a bizarre thing, what gets over with crowds.
  
• Stampede’s February 5 show had what was probably the best match in Calgary in months. Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman defended the International Tag Titles against Great Gama and Jerry Morrow, with three assigned referees (Wayne Hart, heel ref Jurgen Herman, and heel ref for Karachi Vice Akeem Singh). Herman wound up being the main referee, but got knocked down by Gama, and after that when Pillman went up top to do a dive, Akeem threw powder in his eyes and Gama did a cobra hold. When Herman came to, he saw Pillman passed out and awarded the match and titles to the heels and they celebrated with champagne until Wayne Hart told Herman what happened and the decision was reversed.
  
• Les Thornton has been given a promoter’s permit by the Calgary Boxing & Wrestling Commission. He’ll start running shows against Stampede in the spring.
  
• WWF is doing a Wrestling Challenge taping on March 9 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That’s about 20 miles from Greensboro, so they’re encroaching a bit on Flair country, which means they’re making moves to kill the competition dead.
  
• WWF has a Saturday Night’s Main Event scheduled for March 12, to be taped on the 7th.
  
• Honkeytonk Man was supposed to drop the Intercontinental Title at The Main Event but vetoed the title change. Lots of chaos backstage as a result of it, and the match was also supposed to be shorter than it wound up being. He held out and refused to job and he’s still champion, so in the end he got what he wanted. You might wonder why not just have Savage win anyway and not give in by having him shoot on Honkeytonk, but the key is Honkeytonk realized that Vince wouldn’t want to take a chance of anything bad happening on tv, and you definitely aren’t going to want a match turning into a shoot and getting real violence on live tv. This also probably explains why he’s not in the tournament.
  
• Billy Jack Haynes apparently asked Vince McMahon for help starting a promotion in Oregon to run against Don Owen’s promotion. Vince wasn’t biting, and this ultimately is the real reason he was let go, probably, as those close to him say it wasn’t his health, but that he wanted to get out anyway because he wasn’t being pushed (and neither was Brady Boone).
  
• Jesse Ventura will get to do color commentary this season on some New York Yankees games for local pay-tv. He’s apparently thrilled about this.
  
• Correction: Bam Bam Bigelow didn’t have arthroscopic knee surgery. He just took a week off to rest his knee, and isn’t planning to get surgery until just after Wrestlemania.
  
• Bam Bam also had a drug possession charge dismissed against him in Freehold, New Jersey on the grounds that the evidence was obtained illegally and that state police had no grounds to search his car. They found a small bag of marijuana under his seat and he got a misdemeanor possession charge, but again, no probable cause to search so that’s a 4th amendment violation. They pulled him over and searched his car, apparently, because he waved at the officers. If convicted, he would have been in big trouble because he’s still on probation from a 1986 conviction for threatening to kill a local sex worker (that’s a big yikes right there), so he would have caught a 5 year prison sentence for revocation of probation.
  
• Memphis has a revolving door of talent, as Bill Dundee is leaving and Manny Fernandez, Scott Hall, and several others have disappeared. Dundee is going to the new promotion that will be running out of Knoxville. New to the area this week are the Rock & Roll Express, Tommy Rich, and Samoans Samu and Kokina. Samu is Afa’s son, and Kokina is, from the information Dave has, Sika’s son (he’s Afoa’s son, not Sika’s son). Kokina is impressively large at 400 lbs, but Samu is definitely the more impressive wrestler. Kokina, of course, will later on travel to Japan for a kayfabe sumo career and come back to the WWF as Yokozuna.
  
• [Memphis] Tommy Rich is apparently a babyface, going by his recent interview. He apologized for all the bad things he did and said he was wrong to team with Austin Idol and Paul E. Dangerously, but he said he still hates Jerry Lawler. There’s legit heat between him and Lawler which is why Rich left last year anyway while he was a top heel. So he said he wanted all the fans in Memphis who hated Lawler to come support him. Expect a 50/50 crowd for their february 15 grudge match - although the promotion can’t draw without him, there is a large group of fans who don’t like that he’s constantly on top of the card.
  

Watch: Tommy Rich calls on the fans who hate Jerry Lawler

• [Memphis] The manager with the preacher gimmick has dropped that gimmick, and the Choir Boys tag team are gone. Too much negative attention in the form of phone calls to the studio last week. The manager, Ernest Angel, now manages CWA Tag champs Max Payne and Gary Young, and his behavior has been toned down and he’s apologized somewhat for his behavior the previous week.
  
• Continental (Alabama) had its last week this week as a unified promotion this week, since the Knoxville office ran its first show this weekend. They drew 7,000 in Knoxville on February 12. Dave’s not sure what the eventual talent split will work out, but known guys going to Knoxville are Johnny Rich, Bill Dundee, Hector Guerrero, Ron Fuller (didn’t he announce his retirement a few weeks ago?), Austin Idol, Lord Humongous, Doug Furnas, Mongolian Stomper, the Armstrongs, and Tracy Smothers.
  
• [Oregon] The Frank Bonema Memorial Show is scheduled for February 16. Boneme was their long-time tv announcer who passed away five years ago. Curt Hennig vs. The Grappler (Hennig as babyface) for the AWA Title is the main event. The show will also have a battle royal for the TV Title, Mike Miller vs. Rip Oliver in a cage, The Assassin vs. Avalanche in a mask vs. headgear match (Avalanche lost his hair in a match and has been wearing headgear like Kurt Angle or Molly Holly to hide it), and a couple more matches.
  
• Steve Estes, a former wrestler local to the Kansas City area, pleaded guilty to a Class B felony. The charge was related to the hold-up of a Mexican restaurant in October. He was charged with a Class A felony, but the charge was reduced on plea bargain. He faces five to fifteen years.
  
• Mean Gene Okerlund’s son Todd is on the U.S. Olympic Ice Hockey team right now. At the time of writing the team will have won their first game, but their fortunes turn south over the rest of the group stage and they don’t qualify to go to the knockout rounds of the tournament.
  
• Mad Dog Vachon is suing the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinic for several million dollars. His claim is that if he had received proper treatment he would never have needed to have his leg amputated. This starts a big series of cases lasting all the way until 1994, and you can read the final case summary here.
  
• There’s a movie in Japan called “The Crazy Family” which includes the family’s 13 year old daughter doing nothing but weightlifting and training and singing so she can be like Chigusa Nagayo. It’s from 1984, so I don’t know why Dave’s only just noticing it now.
  

Watch: The Crazy Family (1:09:00 to see one of the training scenes)

• Florida has dropped legislation that would have created a state athletic commission that would regulate wrestling. Legislators met with Duke Keomuka and Gerald Briscoe, and were subsequently convinced that wrestling is pure entertainment and not a sport at all.
  
• In Southern California a new group is starting up called the American Women’s Wrestling Federation. They’re running ads for beautiful women who want to be trained as wrestlers. Mando Guerrero and Debbie Pelletier (The Killer Tomato, later Dallas in GLOW) will be training, and Dave remarks that Debbie doesn’t know the first thing about wrestling.
  
• Bruiser Brody is promoting a show in St. Louis at the Fox Theater on March 4. He’ll face Jerry Blackwell in the main event, and Sam Muchnick will be there to raise the winner’s hand. The building is apparently the nicest building within 500 miles of St. Louis and not the sort of place that would ordinarily let wrestling in. Muchnick apparently felt used by the NWA at a recent taping by constantly showing him on camera and making it out like he endorsed the NWA and that they have continuity with the NWA he ran back in the day. So that’s why he’s on board. Crockett’s NWA has a show in St. Louis two days later.
  
• Wrestling fanzine publisher David Leehy promoted a show that drew 200 in Richmond Virginia on February 5 for Virginia Wrestling Association.
  
• Ohio’s state senate passed a bill that would put a 5% tax on all wrestling receipts, with money raised going to the boxing commission. The money would be earmarked for creating a medical advisory board for boxing. No regulation of wrestling is proposed in the bill, and the bill still has to pass the house. Seems a bit unfair.
  
• WCCW drew 3,800 (buy one ticket, get a second for a penny, same deal for concessions) in Dallas on February 12.
  
• Michael Hayes is back in WCCW as a babyface. No surprises there. They’re building to a Hayes concert on March 5 at the Sportatorium, and that’ll probably have a big angle. Somebody’s gotta attack Hayes. Won’t be Terry Gordy, since he’ll be in Japan, but somebody will.
  
• WCCW’s tv show is airing mainly tapes of old matches. That’s fine in the Fort Worth area, since they had no live cards for two weeks, but Dave’s puzzled nonetheless. Maybe they somehow missed a taping?
  
• Ken Mantell has this idea of reopening Wild West and starting their tv back up and having Wild West and World Class feud. Where’s the logic in that? Plus, there are enough promotions that this would only confuse the average fan.
  
• Steve Williams told the press in Japan he’ll be coming to work in World Class. It’s not been announced stateside yet, but he said he’d wrestle in WCCW as UWF champion and defend the belt against the Von Erichs.
  
• AWA is putting all the heat with the recent Hennig/Gagne title match on Stanley Blackburn. They’d billed the match as a title match, Gagne won and was presented with the title, but Stan refused to honor the title change because it was a cage match. Something to talk about in the month they don’t run shows, I guess, but this is what passes for creative in AWA.
  
• AWA will use the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena as their new home base now that the Minneapolis Auditorium is gone. There’s some concern that the arena’s ban on alcohol will adversely affect ticket sales.
  
• Despite some screw ups, New Japan did fairly good business with their most recent tour and jr. heavyweight tournament. Inoki beat Choshu decisively on February 4 to retain the IWGP Title, which puts a final end to Choshumania and any chance he had of regaining the popularity he’s lost over the past six months. On the final night of the tour, Shiro Koshinaka won the Top of the Super Juniors tournament. Vader and Inoki went to a double countout for the IWGP Title that saw the return of the masked pirate who was attacking Inoki last year.
  
• In bad wrestling stuff in New Japan, Choshu’s performance has noticeably slipped and Buzz Sawyer seems to be trying to sabotage Owen Hart. Choshu just looks like he doesn’t even want to be in the ring anymore. As for Sawyer, he’s been teaming with Owen and when Owen starts up his more flashy offence, Sawyer starts barking, howling, and playing to the crowd to distract them from what Hart’s doing. Buzz Sawyer is a total buzzkill.
  
• New Japan plans to tour Brazil in late March.
  
• Steve Williams gave an interview saying he’s tired of touring all over the U.S. and he wants to spend more time with his wife. He also said the NWA broke a bunch of promises they made to him when they bought out UWF, and he seemed pretty upset that Dusty never followed through with the promised unification match with Flair. He said “I don’t go back to NWA Crockett promotions anymore. I’d like to wrestle for promotions which set a high value on ability. New Japan is good because they use Vader, Buzz Sawyer, Bob Orton and Owen Hart who can do hard wrestling.
  
• All Japan Women is looking pretty healthy right now. They drew 3,500 fans on January 28 for a big grudge match pitting Yumiko Hotta and Hisako Uno against Yumi Ogura and Kazue Nagahori. It was last year on April 27 when Ogura tombstoned Hotta off the middle ropes and broke her neck, and there was worry that Hotta would never wrestle again. The next night they drew 4,500 as Ogura won the AJW Title (their tertiary belt after the “Red Belt” WWWA World Singles Title and the “White Belt” WWWA All Pacific Title) from Bull Nakano via disqualification. Both shows work out to over 100,000 gates given ticket prices in Japan, and AJW’s merch machine is better than anyone else, as they get more money selling merch per capita than any other promotion. Monster Ripper (Rhonda Singh from Stampede, in the future Bertha Faye), is working here now too.
  
• Paul Boesch was elected/appointed to the NWA board of directors, making him the first non-promoter ever on the board. Back in the NWA’s glory days, the board would select the world champion, but that’s probably pretty much up to Jim Crockett now and the board is more or less a figurehead thing. The real value for the NWA here is using Boesch’s name value in the Houston area, and he’ll be starting as they return to Houston on March 4. He’s not on board as the promoter, however, and has no financial stake in the show, so it’s pretty much just a “Hey, remember Paul Boesch? He’s with us” kind of thing.
  
• More details will be forthcoming about the Crockett Cup next week, but Dave has a bit to report right now. The original plan was two sites on two dates: April 9 in Greenville for the first round and April 10 in Greensboro for the finals, but they’re already advertising on tv now that the Cup will take place in Greensboro in late April. No information on if they’ll be filling out the 24 team slots with outside teams, but if they can get World Class and Stampede, maybe even New Japan involved that could help. But with the egos involved it might be impossible.
  
• Crockett’s TBS show this weekend had a balding, blond jobber named Randy Hogan. Subtle.
  
• Shane Douglass is back in Crockett and is using a sleeper hold for his finisher. He seems to be getting a bit of a push, but they don’t seem to know what they’re doing, as Schiavone is calling him the 1986 rookie of the year and Jim Ross is calling him the 1987 rookie of the year.
  
• Road Warrior Animal’s eye injury is legit and he’ll be out of action for a few weeks. He broke his orbital bone when Konga the Barbarian botched a move on him and was nearly blinded (similar injury to what Maeda inflicted on Riki Choshu). They were billing him as returning this past weekend, which had Dave thinking it was a work at first. Dave’s not sure how effective the angle with the weights was in terms of increasing crowd turnout. So far, middling turnout says not very effective.
  
• It’s astonishing how fast Luger’s face run has fizzled. Luger’s the kind of guy you can look at and in a snap decision decide he’s a future top babyface star and begin the push, but when you look at him close you realize he just doesn’t have it. He’s got the body, the good looks, the hair, all the surface level stuff you want in a guy. It almost convinces you he’s over and the future of the business. But having a good body and blond hair is pretty common, and his looks aren’t anything special either. He could still be a big star and almost certainly will be a star at some level in the future, but he just doesn’t have the connection to the audience that will make him the guy. He didn’t have it in Florida (the promotion literally died trying to get him over as a babyface in 1986), and he doesn’t have it now. Sting needs a lot of work on promos, and he’s not got the body Luger has, but he has the connection with the fans and has just eclipsed Luger in their eyes. And it’s super obvious to anyone watching. The crowd comes alive for every little thing Sting does, and they don’t really care about Luger and Windham when they talk. Sting’s look comes across as more cool to the fans too. Dave has this feeling that Crockett will want to keep all three at the same level, ensuring nobody gets over enough to make a difference. And Luger’s not to blame for the crowd reaction. The promotion wasted no time making him just one of the boys after his face turn, and Dave thinks they should have given him a few months of a major singles babyface push rather than just ruining the impact of his face turn by making him a tag team guy.
  
• An anonymous wrestler or referee from Oregon writes in about the latest athletic commission business in Oregon. Short version: Don Owen and the commissioner were arguing over enforcement of certain rules in the combined boxing and wrestling rule book. The commissioner wanted to regulate wrestling exactly the same as boxing. He saw a guy thrown over the top and saw the top rope break during a match, leading to a nasty spill. He told Owen that having four ropes would fix that problem, and he didn’t like seeing heels use foreign objects in front of the referee and would appoint a commission referee if that kind of stuff continued. Three weeks later, he came back with a changed point of view after meeting commissioners from other states. Clearly someone smartened him up about what wrestling actually is, and he changed his mind about the ropes and foreign objects, though he did want drug testing and a ban on blading. He lied in the media that he said what he said about the ropes and referees, but he did say it. In the writer’s opinion, the commission is on the right track now. They check tickets closely, seem concerned for the welfare of fans and wrestlers alike, and have introduced changes that the Northwest has needed for a while. It doesn’t solve the big problem out there, though. And that problem is that Don and Barry Owen run things like it’s the 1940s and are afraid to try new things. They also don’t want to pay well, and with the death of the territories happening, they can get away with it because there aren’t that many places to work. A lot of wrestlers would prefer if Sandy Barr ran things in the region, because he’s been seen as very fair. Finally, unrelated, a paragraph about shoot style and shooting that I think is very interesting as we see things like MMA begin to take nascent form in the next few years:
  

One other thing I would like to touch upon. That is the people who seem to get off on “shooting style” pro wrestling. Shooting is NOT pro wrestling. In fact it’s the very antithesis of pro wrestling. Why anybody who claims to be a pro wrestling fan would like to see it is beyond me. Pro Wrestling is an art form. Making it look good WITHOUT hurting anyone is what makes you a good worker. Good technique, a light touch and a gift for gab is what constitutes a top-notch pro. Wrestlers who deliberately hurt people in the ring may be feared, but they are not respected. We find many of these asses in Japan, but we have our share in the United States and Canada as well. When you give someone your body, you expect them to take care of it. People pay to see action and drama. Legitimate wrestling matches have never proven to be able to draw any significant following.

• Another writer writes in about the Observer yearbook and how a large chunk of it was super professionally done and could be the basis for expansion into a proper book, but there’s also sophomoric and childish stuff (like the nicknames) that hurt it. The writer thinks Dave’s passed the point of just being a fanzine and shouldn’t bog down the quality of his publication with stuff of that sort. Dave, for his part, thanks the writer for his points, but maintains he’s never wanted or claimed the Observer as a professional publication. The Observer is a publication for hardcore wrestling fans and plays on a lot of the inside humor they want to hear.
  
• There’s an entire page devoted to letters about The Main Event. Some folks think Andre should retire with what dignity he still has, because he just shouldn’t be in a ring anymore. Some loved the finish to the title match, others hated it and found it ridiculous. One reports that just before the show started, the local tv announcer pivoted from Wheel of Fortune to the show by saying “Join Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant next for live wrestling comedy.”
  
• Correction on the above about Road Warrior Animal’s injury: He apparently hurt his eye the night before the bench press contest. A move was done wrong, or he took it wrong, but either way, his eye popped out of socket. Major credit to him showing up the next day to do the contest angle before going to the hospital. It explains Ellering’s comments about $50,000 not being worth the price of an eye, which didn’t make sense at the time.
  
• New Japan has changed plans and their big show they were going to have in the Tokyo Dome (capacity 55,000) will now be at a tennis stadium in Tokyo (capacity 10,000) on May 7. Looks like he’ll wrestle Vader, Willem Ruska (a former gold medalist judoka), or Chris Dolman (a sambo wrestling champion), and none of those pairings has the drawing power to fill the Dome. If he really wanted to sell out the Dome he’d need Koji Kitao (who was recently kicked out of sumo) or a big name boxer like Michael Spinks or Larry Holmes, but he couldn’t get them. On Kitao, he recently was contacted by Wajima, which means Baba’s on the hunt for him, although things are so early they haven’t even had preliminary talks yet.
  

THURSDAY: Clash of the Champions is born, the Wrestlemania lineup has been finalized, Road Warrior Animal update and clarification, and more