Boeing is moving forward with plans to begin assembly of the first ‘simple-stretch’ 787-10 at its Charleston, North Carolina, facility in 2016 following the completion of detailed design two weeks ahead of schedule.
Targeted at the AirbusA330-300 replacement market, particularly in the aircraft’s Asian stronghold, the third derivative of the 787 family is 95% common with the 787-9. Measuring 224 ft. long the aircraft will be 18 ft. longer than the -9 and just 18 ft. shorter than the 777-300. The aircraft will seat up to 323 passengers in a tri-class layout and, under Boeing’s recently revised range rules, will operate on routes up to 6,430 nm.  This is sufficient “to cover more than 90% of the world's twin-aisle routes,” says the manufacturer.
Key differences from other 787 models are minor but do include the addition of semi-levered main gear and additional tail strike protection. Originally developed for the 777-300ER, the special gear feature enables the aircraft to rotate about an axis of the set of aft wheels rather than a central point of the three-axle bogie beam where the main strut is located. Moving the center of rotation aft allows the aircraft to not only rotate early, but also to increase rotation angle. Both enable operation from shorter runways or the capability to carry more payload from the same runway lengths.
The 787-10, which was never even a part of the original 787 family plan, will also be assembled only in its Charleston, South Carolina facility. The decision, which was announced in July 2014, was driven by the length of the extended mid-body section of the 787-10 will be too long to be transported in the fleet of specially converted 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter (LCF) which ferry parts to the assembly lines in Everett, Wash, and South Carolina.
The aircraft is due to begin flight tests in 2017 and will enter service in 2018. The 787-10 has so far accumulated 164 orders from nine customers around the world, accounting for 14% of all 787 orders.