Boeing 787 plastic plane debuts at Farnborough

The Farnborough Airshow, which has been on all week and heavily covered by our sister publication Flight, reaches its climax today with the famous Weekend Flying Display. Since Farnborough is to the west of London, the Blog is looking forward to seeing the full flypast from the comfort of a sunlounger in the garden, particularly the daring Red Arrows with their multi-coloured vapour trails.

Meanwhile, the plastics headlines have been grabbed by Boeing's revolutionary new "plastic plane," the 787 Dreamliner, which is the first plane to be made from 50% carbon fibre composite material.

Carbon fibre materials have reduced the weight of the aircraft to such an extent that there is a 20% saving on fuel.

(photo: Flight - AirSpace photographer apgphoto)