section_path: Design/Flight systems
section_name: Flight systems
paragraph_text: Flight systems
  
  Among 787 flight systems, a key change from traditional airliners is the electrical architecture. The architecture is bleedless and replaces bleed air with electrically powered compressors and four of six hydraulic power sources with electrically-driven pumps while eliminating pneumatics and hydraulics from some subsystems, e.g. engine starters and brakes. Boeing says that this system extracts 35% less power from the engines, allowing increased thrust and improved fuel efficiency. Spoiler electromechanical actuators (SEMAs) control two of the seven spoiler pairs on each wing surface, providing roll control, air and ground speed brake, and droop capabilities similar to those provided by the hydraulic actuators used on the remaining spoiler surfaces. The SEMAs are controlled by electronic motor control units (EMCUs).
  
  The total available onboard electrical power is 1.45 megawatts, which is five times the power available on conventional pneumatic airliners; electrically-powered systems include engine start, cabin pressurization, horizontal-stabilizer trim, and wheel brakes. Wing ice protection is another new system; it uses electro-thermal heater mats on the wing slats instead of traditional hot bleed air. An active gust alleviation system, similar to the system used on the B-2 bomber, improves ride quality during turbulence.
  
  The 787 has a " fly-by-wire " control system similar in architecture to that of the Boeing 777. The flight deck features multi-function LCDs, which use an industry-standard graphical user interface widget toolkit (Cockpit Display System Interfaces to User Systems / ARINC 661). The 787 flight deck includes two head-up displays (HUDs) as a standard feature. Like other Boeing airliners, the 787 uses a yoke (as opposed to a side-stick). Under consideration is the future integration of forward-looking infrared into the HUD for thermal sensing, allowing pilots to "see" through clouds. Lockheed Martin 's Orion spacecraft will use a glass cockpit derived from Honeywell International 's 787 flight deck systems.
  
  Honeywell and Rockwell Collins provide flight control, guidance, and other avionics systems, including standard dual head-up guidance systems, Thales supplies the integrated standby flight display and power management, while Meggitt /Securaplane provides the auxiliary power unit (APU) starting system, electrical power-conversion system, and battery-control system with lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO) batteries by GS Yuasa. One of the two batteries weighs 28.5 kg and is rated 29.6 V, 76 Ah, giving 2.2 kWh. Battery charging is controlled by four independent systems to prevent overcharging, following early lab testing. The battery systems were the focus of a regulatory investigation due to multiple lithium battery fires, which led to the grounding of the 787 fleet starting in January 2013.
  
  A version of Ethernet (Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX) / ARINC 664) transmits data between the flight deck and aircraft systems. The control, navigation, and communication systems are networked with the passenger cabin's in-flight internet systems. In January 2008, FAA concerns were reported regarding possible passenger access to the 787's computer networks; Boeing has stated that various protective hardware and software solutions are employed, including air gaps to physically separate the networks, and firewalls for software separation. These measures prevent data transfer from the passenger internet system to the maintenance or navigation systems.
  
  The −9/10 hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) system delays the critical transition from laminar to turbulent flow as far back as possible on the vertical tail by passive suction from leading-edge holes to mid-fin low-pressure doors but was dropped from the tailplane due to lower benefits than the extra complexity and cost.