The Boeing 787 produces over 500GB of data during every flight

With the introduction of the 787 Dreamliner (battery and electrical problems aside), Boeing produced a commercial jet that’s packed full of tech. The windows have an electrical dimming system, engine noise has been reduced with a clever wave pattern design around each jet engine exhaust, and the aircraft even employs accelerometers to counteract turbulence.

Adding technology to the plane doesn’t just improve the experience for the passengers, though. It also allows Boeing to collect a lot more data about how the aircraft is performing as it flies, allowing airlines to monitor and react to issues very quickly. The problem is, the amount of data being produced is by no means small.

David Bulman, Virgin Atlantic’s IT director, has put this into perspective. Virgin will begin using the 787 from next year, and has therefore had to plan ahead to cope with the data produced for each flight. Bulman says that for every flight a 787 takes, it can produce over 500GB of data. That may sound like a lot, but when you consider ever part of the aircraft is being monitored and is Internet-connected, you can see how the gigabytes soon add up.

As passengers, this is something we should be pleased about. If there’s an issue with an engine, wing flap, or the fuel system, however minor, Virgin will know about it the instant it happens and can react quickly to ensure a safe flight and landing. At the same time, it does mean airlines are going to become mini data centers in their own right, especially if they are operating on a large scale with hundreds of modern aircraft flying every day.