Overhead

Boeing

Boeing 787-8

United Airlines Boeing 787-8 N26902 climbing against a clear blue sky, three-quarter view showing its stubby body, raked wingtips, and saw-tooth-edged engine pods.
© Olivier CABARET · CC BY 2.0

From below

The view you'll actually get from high overhead.

All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8 JA838A seen directly from below against a clear blue sky, showing the underside outline, gear retracting, and raked wingtips. Cropped to remove ground spotters from the original frame.
© 4300streetcar · CC BY 4.0

Field marks

  1. Saw-tooth engine-pod trailing edge (spotters call this a "chevron") plus four flat cockpit windowpanes are the fastest 787-family tells vs. any other widebody
  2. Shortest body in the 787 line — looks noticeably stubbier than the -9 or -10 parked nearby
  3. Swept-to-a-point wingtip with no separate upward blade
  4. Split from the A350 by engine-pod edge (saw-tooth here vs. smooth) and cockpit windows (four flat panes here vs. a raccoon mask)

Specs

Length
56.70 m
Wingspan
60.12 m
Engines
General Electric GEnx-1B / Rolls-Royce Trent 1000
Typical seats
242–248

Size and shape, to scale

Photos can't hold a consistent scale from shot to shot — these silhouettes are all drawn at the same 10 px = 1 m scale, so the proportions here are trustworthy even though the photos above aren't.

Variant notes

  • The shortest and least common 787 — the -9 heavily outsells it and the -10 has caught up in fleet numbers
  • Same wingspan as the -9 and -10; length is the only reliable way to split 787 variants from outside
  • Two engine choices, GEnx-1B or Trent 1000, both carry the same saw-tooth-edged engine pod look

Commonly confused with