In his 21 years at Boeing, Don Bryant has worked on just about every commercial jet the company has built. But as he gazed out recently at the first 787 Dreamliner coming together in the massive final assembly factory in Everett, he marveled at history in the making.

"It's overwhelming to be a part of this," says Bryant, who co-manages the assembly facility. "I equate this to the building of the Pyramids." For Bryant, Boeing's newest airplane represents the pinnacle of his career.

For Boeing, the Dreamliner represents the future of commercial air travel. It's a $10 billion jet program that Boeing believes will reinforce its standing as the world's most innovative and successful builder of commercial airplanes. But in the high-stakes poker game of the aerospace industry, Boeing's 787 is its riskiest gamble ever. And before the company can cash in on its new jet, it must prove its revolutionary technology to the world and deliver on promises of fuel efficiency and lower operating costs.

Boeing's airline customers, federal aviation regulators, shareholders and, most importantly, the flying public are watching Boeing's every move to see whether the company's first plastic passenger airplane will surpass its aluminum predecessors in quality, reliability and safety.

Likewise, Boeing is keeping a vigilant eye on its more than 50 suppliers and partners that are working around the clock at 135 sites on four continents to design and build 787 parts.

It's a monumental task that Boeing has described as the biggest and most sophisticated industrial project in the world. Company executives insist the 787 program is on schedule, despite persistent weight issues and early manufacturing and final assembly snafus.

"They claim to be holding four aces and the world is waiting for them to show their hand," says Richard Aboulafia, vice president for analysis at Teal Group Corp., a Fairfax, Va.-based aerospace research company. "By the smile on their faces, they might very well have the four aces."

After five years of development and nearly a million hours of supercomputer design work, Boeing will put its cards on the table July 8 – 07/08/07 –­ when it unveils to the world its new Dreamliner during a rollout ceremony at its sprawling final assembly plant in Everett. It's a coming-out party for what 787 general manager Mike Bair describes as the most complicated commercial aircraft project the 91-year-old company has undertaken.

But Boeing officials won't be popping the champagne until its Dreamliner successfully clears three crucial milestones: first flight in August, certification test flights this fall, and commercial service in May 2008 with All Nippon Airways of Japan. "Only time will tell," says Ray Jaworowski, senior aerospace analyst with Newton, Conn.-based Forecast International.

Boeing, which posted $61.5 billion in revenue last year, has pushed the envelope many times, but never to the extent it has on the 787.

For the 787, Boeing adopted a completely new way of doing business: leading a team of international partners who are shouldering production and design work – including on its long-coveted wings and fuselage – in addition to sharing in the financial risk. Or as one industry insider describes it: Boeing has gone from being a true manufacturer of airplanes to an "Erector set assembler."

"This program represents the future of civil aviation," says Giuseppe Giordo, president and chief executive officer of Alenia North America. The Italian company, which formed a partnership with Texas-based Vought Aircraft to produce 787 center and rear fuselage sections, has invested $725 million in new factories in Italy and the U.S. just for the Dreamliner. "We are sharing more technology and sharing more risk," Giordo says. "It's not a case where you receive a contract and do the work. It is a project where we have invested a lot of money and we want a return on our investment."