Boeing 747-8

The largest passenger aircraft in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s 95-year history, the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] Intercontinental, has lifted off on its maiden sortie.

The aircraft - designated RC001 - departed from runway 34L at 9:59PST local time from Boeing's Everett, Washington, facility at Paine Field.

Painted in a bespoke red, orange, gray and white scheme, and powered by four General Electric [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]-2B engines, the aircraft took to the sky under the control of 747 chief project pilot Capt. Mark Feuerstein and Capt. Paul Stemer.

The event kicks off a 600hr-long programme of test flights for the new 747, slated to seat 467 in three-classes.

747-8 must prevent inadvertent or malicious interference with flight-critical systems

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] must prove that its new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] jumbo will prevent all unintentional or malicious interference to flight-critical domains from passenger systems in order to receive US FAA certification.
First proposed late last year but published in final form last week, the FAA's 'special condition' to protect the 747-8's flight-critical domains from unauthorised passenger systems access comes at a time when the agency is scrutinising the potential for in-flight connectivity to interfere with avionics after certain Honeywell display units proved susceptible to blanking during electro magnetic interference (EPI) testing.
Boeing, meanwhile, has launched a thorough review of avionics parts numbers to ensure no others are susceptible, and the airframer has deferred the activation of wireless systems that interface with passenger devices until the review is complete.
The e-enabled 747-8 aircraft will incorporate a digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks, which will be used for a diverse set of functions in the cockpit and the cabin, including the capability to allow access to or by external network sources.
Noting the "novel or unusual design features" of this architecture, the FAA in its special condition says: "The [747-8] design must prevent all inadvertent or malicious changes to, and all adverse impacts upon, all systems, networks, hardware, software, and data in the 'aircraft control domain' and in the 'airline information domain' from all points within the 'passenger information and entertainment domain'."
The aircraft control domain includes all flight-safety related control, communication and navigation systems in the cockpit, while the airline information domain covers airline business and administrative support. The passenger information and entertainment domain, meanwhile, covers all in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) systems in the passenger cabin.
Boeing this week confirmed that the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger aircraft will make its first flight on 20 March. Two flight test aircraft are expected to accumulate 600 flight test hours in the lead-up to the new 467-seat jumbo's certification and delivery by the close of 2011.
Launch airline [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] wants Panasonic's in-flight high-speed Internet system eXConnect and partner AeroMobile's in-flight mobile connectivity system eXPhone to be already installed via linefit when it takes delivery of its new 747-8s, Panasonic has previously said.

• Airbus va avancer de 6 mois l'EIS du NEO (Merci les tankers)
  
• Airbus pondère l'augmentation des performances du 350-1000
  
• Les 2 nouveaux 747-8F de KAL auraient été bradés
  
• etc...
  

Odds and Ends: Airbus wants to advance NEO EIS by six months; name that tanker

1. Airbus wants to advance NEO EIS six months
Airbus wants to advance the entry-into-service of the A320neo by six months, to October 2015, we have learned. Airbus plans to introduce the neo in six month increments (A320neo followed by A321neo followed by A319neo). Airbus has more than 300 orders and commitments for the 320/321 and none for the 319. With Boeing increasingly talking about a new airplane in 2019, any advance Airbus can get for EIS on the neo will be beneficial.
Pratt & Whitney can probably meet this requirement. It will have versions of the GTF in service with Bombardier in 2013 and with Mitsubishi in 2014. Testing on the Irkut MS-21, a competitor to the A320/321, is to begin in 2014 with an EIS planned for 2016 (though we believe the MS-21 will likely be later than 2016).
Whether CFM can have the LEAP-X ready for a NEO 2015 EIS is unknown. CFM has yet to be selected for a NEO order (this is only a matter of time, though). The LEAP-X is in development for the COMAC C919, also a competitor to the 320/321. Flight testing is planned for 2014 and EIS for 2016 but we think the C919 will run years late, just as did the ARJ-21. Can CFM shave six months off its flight testing to meet an advanced NEO EIS when it is disadvantaged to PW’s CSeries and MRJ operating experience? We don’t know.
2. Airbus ponders slight larger A350-1000
The A350-1000 is aimed directly at the Boeing 777-300ER, but it is slightly smaller at 350 passengers vs 365 in typical three-class. Boeing, and others, question whether Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine is big enough for the -1000 (Airbus, not surprisingly, said that it is). But we learned that Airbus is considering a 380 passenger -1000 and 50 miles more range to make it sure to do Dubai-Los Angeles non-stop. For this, the Trent XWB needs 5,000 lbs more thrust, and Rolls has been asked to figure this out.
In our view, this is the airplane Airbus needs to take on the -300ER.
3. Bombardier exec says 300 CSeries orders by EIS
Gary Scott, CEO on Bombardier Aerospace, told the ISTAT crowd last week the company will have 300 orders for the CSeries by the time it enters service in 2013, the same number that Airbus had for the A320 at EIS.
We were truly surprised to hear Scott be this definitive–not because we don’t think BBD can do it, but rather because BBD is ordinarily very, very reserved about making forward-looking predictions.
4. You can’t fool physics
Airbus likes to say that its A319neo equals the economics of the Bombardier CSeries, but the airplane is 12,000 lbs heavier than the competing CS300 and this means more fuel is burned relative to a lighter airplane. How much is 12,000 lbs? It is the equivalent of 69 passengers at 175 lbs per passenger.
In the Airbus presentation at ISTAT, Airbus also said the A320neo family (it wasn’t more specific than this) is Stage 4 minus 15db, which is very quiet indeed. But Bombardier says the CSeries is Stage 4 minus 20 db. This makes the CSeries significantly quieter.
Lest one dismiss the physics argument, Airbus itself made this case when comparing the A330-300 to the Boeing 777-200.
Boeing’s Randy Tinseth accused Airbus of manipulating numbers for economics between the two airplanes; the Seattle PI picked up Randy’s assertions [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. Airbus provided a rebuttal to the PI, and it is reported [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
If the laws of physics work for the A330, one presumes they also work for the CSeries.
5. Japan’s tragedy affects more than 787 supply chain
People naturally are focusing on the impact of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Boeing’s 787, as typified in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], but Boeing gets stuff for its other 7-Series programs from Japan as well. Buckingham Research outlined this in a recent research note. Aviation Week has [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
6. The story behind the Korean 747 order
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] for two Boeing 747-8Fs merely pick up the two orders canceled by Guggenheim Aviation. Guggenheim was going to lease the airplanes to KAL but canceled when it could not reach agreement with Boeing on penalties for being late. At the same time, KAL was negotiating with Boeing over penalties for the late deliveries of the 787s and 747-8F ordered directly from Boeing. In a “global” settlement, KAL swapped the 787-8 orders for 787-9s and ordered the Guggenheim 747-8Fs at a bargain-basement price.
Watch for Guggenheim to do a sale-leaseback with KAL on the freighters.
7. World’s scariest airports
[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
8. DOD to provide “microscopic” oversight on KC-46A
The Defense Department, perhaps just a tad sensitive over the tanker award and statements by loser EADS that Boeing is unlikely to deliver as promised, says it will provide microscopic oversight on the KC-46A, according to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. Further, Heidi Wood at Morgan Stanley says Boeing management admitted that the profit margins on its bid are below company average. Military.com’s Line of Departure has [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] of the procurement process.
9. Name that tanker
The Air Force is getting nominations for the name of the KC-46A, according to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in the Air Force Times.
What do our readers think the name of the tanker should be? Submit your nominations in the Comments; after a while we will compile them and hold a vote of the best choices.
10. Frankenfish
With apologies to Boeing, [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Jeannot a écrit:La FAA deamnde que à Boeing de prouver que le 747-8 est à l'abri d'interférence (volontaires ou malheureuses) avec ses systèmes de vol.

747-8 must prevent inadvertent or malicious interference with flight-critical systems

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] must prove that its new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] jumbo will prevent all unintentional or malicious interference to flight-critical domains from passenger systems in order to receive US FAA certification.
First proposed late last year but published in final form last week, the FAA's 'special condition' to protect the 747-8's flight-critical domains from unauthorised passenger systems access comes at a time when the agency is scrutinising the potential for in-flight connectivity to interfere with avionics after certain Honeywell display units proved susceptible to blanking during electro magnetic interference (EPI) testing.
Boeing, meanwhile, has launched a thorough review of avionics parts numbers to ensure no others are susceptible, and the airframer has deferred the activation of wireless systems that interface with passenger devices until the review is complete.
The e-enabled 747-8 aircraft will incorporate a digital systems architecture composed of several connected networks, which will be used for a diverse set of functions in the cockpit and the cabin, including the capability to allow access to or by external network sources.
Noting the "novel or unusual design features" of this architecture, the FAA in its special condition says: "The [747-8] design must prevent all inadvertent or malicious changes to, and all adverse impacts upon, all systems, networks, hardware, software, and data in the 'aircraft control domain' and in the 'airline information domain' from all points within the 'passenger information and entertainment domain'."
The aircraft control domain includes all flight-safety related control, communication and navigation systems in the cockpit, while the airline information domain covers airline business and administrative support. The passenger information and entertainment domain, meanwhile, covers all in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) systems in the passenger cabin.

Boeing this week confirmed that the 747-8 Intercontinental passenger aircraft will make its first flight on 20 March. Two flight test aircraft are expected to accumulate 600 flight test hours in the lead-up to the new 467-seat jumbo's certification and delivery by the close of 2011.
Launch airline [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] wants Panasonic's in-flight high-speed Internet system eXConnect and partner AeroMobile's in-flight mobile connectivity system eXPhone to be already installed via linefit when it takes delivery of its new 747-8s, Panasonic has previously said.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

En réalité, la config. cabine se stabilisera à une capacité d'entre 395 à 420 places en 3 classes std., selon les normes modernes de confort spacieux ! Sauf changement non encore publié, Lufthansa a fixé le nombre de places correspondant, pour sa config. cabine, à 405.

Jeannot a écrit:Thai pourrait partager sa commande entre Airbus et Boeing (350-900 et 787-777)

Thai Airways may split aircraft order

Airways THAI.BK may split its order for the wide-body aircraft it plans to add to its fleet by 2017 between Airbus and Boeing, the airline's president said.
"The wide-bodies could be A350s and/or 787s, and they could also be supplemented with some 777s," Piyasvasti Amranand told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday.
Thai Airways, 51 percent owned by the Thai Finance Ministry, has said it plans to add 37 aircraft -- 11 narrow-bodies and 26 wide-bodies -- worth about 216 billion Thai baht by 2017 to replace some of its older planes and expand its fleet.
If the carrier decided on some Airbus A350s, it would probably choose the A350-900 as the A350-800 is "too small".
No final decision has been made yet on what types of aircraft the carrier will order as the government first needs to sign off on its plans to acquire more planes.

"The timeframe (for a decision) is probably going to be the middle of this year. The contract signing could come shortly after that," Amranand said.

He said he was happy for Airbus and Boeing to compete for the planned orders, which could be for delivery from 2013.
"Playing one manufacturer off the other can often be a good thing," he said.

The planned narrow-body orders will not be for latest-generation aircraft, he said.
"We need them as soon as possible," Amranand said, adding these aircraft may be added to the fleet by the end of this year.
"These could be A320s, Boeing 737s, something along those lines."

He said the company had not yet decided whether to order more A380 aircraft, in addition to six it has already ordered. "It's very large. It's hard to fill up in the off season."
The orders will boost Thai Airways' fleet to 105 planes from 85 now and reduce the average age of its aircraft to about 8.5 years from 11.5 years.

COPING MECHANISM

Airlines around the world have used a number of strategies to cope with the rising cost of jet fuel, including hedging, dropping less profitable routes and replacing old gas-guzzling aircraft with newer, more efficient ones.
Thai Airways has said soaring oil prices may cause it to review its target for 2011 revenue of about 200 billion baht. Amranand said there was no new target yet.

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Jeannot a écrit: On apprend que Cathay doit signer pour 14 nouveaux 777-300er. Boeing espérait placer ses 747-8 et pour finir cela semble être du 777. Airbus visait le 380 mais... bon. Sans doute un problème de délai de livraison.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Pour ce qui est du B747-8,..... Cathay n'a jamais voulu la version -8I ! Jamais ! Seul la variante -8F l'a intéressé !

British Airways renews interest in 747-8?

Whether it’s the rising tempo of 747-8 flight tests in the U.S. or the fact some people in U.K. aviation circles have more time on their hands right now in the build-up to the Royal wedding, the rumor mill is churning. This time it is once again over renewed interest by British Airways in Boeing’s newest aircraft. Passed over for the A380 in September 2007 when BA ordered 12 plus seven options (as well as 24 787-8/9s plus 18 options), the event seemed to mark a symbolic end to a 40 year relationship with the Jumbo. This was apparently re-confirmed in August 2008 when BA ordered six 777-300ERs and optioned four more to cover 787 delays

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Yet six years ago, the former BA CEO Rod Eddington told [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]in late September that his favored solution for the replacement of the airline’s 50 plus 747-400s was a mix of 777-300ERs and 747-8s. At the time Boeing was pitching the perceived advantages of lower fuel burn per seat, an argument that has not radically changed since 2005. At the time Boeing claimed the 747-8 would burn 13% less fuel per seat than a 416-seat 747-400 and 12% less than a 542-seat A380, the latter figure later raised to 13% less than the A380. Based mainly on the heavier weight of the A380 (about 40kg per seat in terms of operating empty weight), Boeing also said cost per seat would be -6%, and cost per trip -22% less than the A380.

Airbus, naturally argued the converse and in 2006 forecast a 9% delta between the two aircraft, in favor of the A380 on cost per seat, and a 2% advantage in terms of fuel burn per seat. By 2010, it had operational experience in hand and confidently grew its predicted advantage in relative fuel burn per seat over the 747-8 to 8% (based on A380 at 525 seats and 747-8 at 405 over 6,000nm). Over the same time period Boeing slightly trimmed its claimed fuel per seat advantage to around 10% (based on A380 at 555 seats and 747-8 at 467 over the same 6,000nm sector). The claimed advantage for the 747-8 in relative fuel per trip however remained substantial at more than 30%.

Emirates Airlines, which operates the A380 and has ordered the 747-8F, meanwhile is [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]predicting the Airbus will have 12% lower operating costs than the Boeing aircraft, while Lufthansa (which, along with Korean Air) is so far the only operator to select both the A380 and 747-8 passenger models, predicts the 747-8 will burn 3.5 litres of fuel/100 passenger kms compared to 3.4 litres for the A380.

Certainly the jury remains out until the 747-8 completes nautical air miles tests and certification, and actually enters service with Lufthansa early in 2012. However, Boeing and engine maker GE know they have a hill to climb, particularly since flight tests on the freighter version showed the GEnx-2B engines common to both models are missing specification by a few percent. Improvements are in the pipeline, and only time will tell how the 747-8 and A380 will truly compare.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Back to the BA rumor which says that, as a by-product of the on-going planning for the consolidation of the 2010 merger with Iberia, the initial BA A380s will be diverted for use on Spanish trunk routes – with only limited use on mainline BA routes. The interest in the 747-8, so says the rumor, is based more on rebalancing capacity needs for BA’s long haul routes and a focus on frequency rather than volume. To this end, the airline and its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] alliance partner American, are also planning a “clockface” service this summer between London and New York that will see the two carriers provide flights between the two hubs on an hourly basis every day between 9am and 7pm. Yet, while frequency and sector demand may mitigate against size, the constant pressure on slots at London Heathrow continues to push capacity requirements the other way, as my colleague [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]recently notes.[/font]

Boeing holding 747-8 line until June 7
Just out from the Seattle Times:

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
By Dominic Gates

Boeing will stop moving planes forward on its 747-8 jet production line in Everett for a month so mechanics can catch up on a backlog of about 11,000 unfinished jobs that are choking the line.
Boeing said the temporary halt won't affect the first delivery of a freighter model of the jumbo jet to Cargolux, scheduled for this summer.

Spokesman Jim Proulx said the company is "evaluating the effect on the delivery schedule" for airplanes coming after the first one.

Boeing holds up 747-8 line for a month as work backs up

Boeing will stop moving planes forward on its 747-8 jet production line in Everett for a month so mechanics can catch up on a backlog of thousands of unfinished jobs that are choking the line.
Boeing said the temporary halt won't affect the first delivery of a freighter model of the jumbo jet to Cargolux, scheduled for summer.
Spokesman Jim Proulx said the company is "evaluating the effect on the delivery schedule" for subsequent airplanes and keeping customers informed.
Elizabeth Lund, 747-8 vice president and program manager, sent a note to employees Thursday afternoon, telling them the production line will freeze in place from May 6 through June 7. The planes won't move from their positions so they can be worked on.
"Work will continue on all our airplanes in all stages of production," Lund told employees. "I'm counting on your continued dedication as we work through this challenge."
The 747-8 is the latest and largest version of Boeing's venerable jumbo jet, 250 feet long with a 224-foot wingspan and a takeoff weight just shy of 500 tons.
With a new wing, new engines and updated flight-deck avionics, the list price is nearly $320 million.
The freighter version flew first in February 2010; the passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental, had its first flight in March.
So far, 20 of the jets have rolled out of the factory. Five freighter models and two passenger models are in flight test, while the rest are parked on the Everett flight line.
Lund listed three reasons for the hold on production movement: a buildup of unfinished work; the need to retrofit required design changes to planes already built, because of information learned in the ongoing flight tests; and early preparations for a production-rate increase next year from 1.5 jets per month to two per month.
A production worker said the program is 11,000 jobs behind, meaning that the number of tasks that should be completed have instead traveled forward in the production process still unfinished. Proulx declined to confirm that figure.
The design changes stemming from flight testing include modifications to correct barely perceptible vibrations at the wingtips and in a movable control surface on the wing, detected early on in flight tests during extreme flight conditions.
The passenger model of the airplane is particularly backed up with incomplete work.
"The process of starting up the regular production of the 747-8 Intercontinental has created some challenges," said Lund.
Lund described the next month of catch-up work as a "tough challenge."
"While we have worked hard to create the best plan possible, we know it's not going to be perfect," Lund told employees. "I absolutely depend on you to help us overcome the inevitable challenges we'll face and to do everything you can to ensure that when we resume our normal factory schedule in June, we'll have a production line that's healthy."
One longtime production worker said the hold on the line is something that has happened on new programs and is not necessarily very negative.
"On the 747-400 in 1989, it was used to clean house and get everything in order after the big push to get the first models out and speed up the production rate," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "After that, everything ran fine. You have to stop and do your spring cleaning. It's a proven way to ramp up production."
By holding the line for a month, Boeing will avoid sending more unfinished planes out to the flight line at Everett, which is already full of 787 Dreamliners and previously built 747-8s, many of them still needing extensive work.
It's much easier to catch up on work inside the factory, protected from the weather and with cranes and other equipment readily available.
Last year, when the 787 program struggled with a huge backup of work, Boeing put a hold on that production line on three separate occasions, for weeks at a time.
In the end, that didn't stop unfinished planes from rolling out and piling up on the flight line and around the edges of Paine Field airport.

Jeannot a écrit:Boeing arrête la chaine de production du 747-8 jusqu'au 7 juin

Boeing holding 747-8 line until June 7
Just out from the Seattle Times:

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
By Dominic Gates

Boeing will stop moving planes forward on its 747-8 jet production line in Everett for a month so mechanics can catch up on a backlog of about 11,000 unfinished jobs that are choking the line.
Boeing said the temporary halt won't affect the first delivery of a freighter model of the jumbo jet to Cargolux, scheduled for this summer.

Spokesman Jim Proulx said the company is "evaluating the effect on the delivery schedule" for airplanes coming after the first one.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Nous avons vu que les équipes ne savent plus organiser et gérer la construction des d'avions de toute nouvelle génération, depuis leur conception jusqu'à leur réalisation finale, et leur mise en service. Maintenant nous sommes obligés de constater la même chose, pour les "upgrades et variantes en plat réchauffé" !

Jeannot a écrit:Le détail du post précédent...

Boeing holds up 747-8 line for a month as work backs up

Boeing will stop moving planes forward on its 747-8 jet production line in Everett for a month so mechanics can catch up on a backlog of thousands of unfinished jobs that are choking the line.
Boeing said the temporary halt won't affect the first delivery of a freighter model of the jumbo jet to Cargolux, scheduled for summer.
Spokesman Jim Proulx said the company is "evaluating the effect on the delivery schedule" for subsequent airplanes and keeping customers informed.
Elizabeth Lund, 747-8 vice president and program manager, sent a note to employees Thursday afternoon, telling them the production line will freeze in place from May 6 through June 7. The planes won't move from their positions so they can be worked on.
"Work will continue on all our airplanes in all stages of production," Lund told employees. "I'm counting on your continued dedication as we work through this challenge."

The 747-8 is the latest and largest version of Boeing's venerable jumbo jet, 250 feet long with a 224-foot wingspan and a takeoff weight just shy of 500 tons.
With a new wing, new engines and updated flight-deck avionics, the list price is nearly $320 million.
The freighter version flew first in February 2010; the passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental, had its first flight in March.
So far, 20 of the jets have rolled out of the factory. Five freighter models and two passenger models are in flight test, while the rest are parked on the Everett flight line.

Lund listed three reasons for the hold on production movement: a buildup of unfinished work; the need to retrofit required design changes to planes already built, because of information learned in the ongoing flight tests; and early preparations for a production-rate increase next year from 1.5 jets per month to two per month.

A production worker said the program is 11,000 jobs behind, meaning that the number of tasks that should be completed have instead traveled forward in the production process still unfinished. Proulx declined to confirm that figure.

The design changes stemming from flight testing include modifications to correct barely perceptible vibrations at the wingtips and in a movable control surface on the wing, detected early on in flight tests during extreme flight conditions.

The passenger model of the airplane is particularly backed up with incomplete work.

"The process of starting up the regular production of the 747-8 Intercontinental has created some challenges," said Lund.
Lund described the next month of catch-up work as a "tough challenge."

"While we have worked hard to create the best plan possible, we know it's not going to be perfect," Lund told employees. "I absolutely depend on you to help us overcome the inevitable challenges we'll face and to do everything you can to ensure that when we resume our normal factory schedule in June, we'll have a production line that's healthy."
One longtime production worker said the hold on the line is something that has happened on new programs and is not necessarily very negative.

"On the 747-400 in 1989, it was used to clean house and get everything in order after the big push to get the first models out and speed up the production rate," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "After that, everything ran fine. You have to stop and do your spring cleaning. It's a proven way to ramp up production."

By holding the line for a month, Boeing will avoid sending more unfinished planes out to the flight line at Everett, which is already full of 787 Dreamliners and previously built 747-8s, many of them still needing extensive work.

It's much easier to catch up on work inside the factory, protected from the weather and with cranes and other equipment readily available.

Last year, when the 787 program struggled with a huge backup of work, Boeing put a hold on that production line on three separate occasions, for weeks at a time.

In the end, that didn't stop unfinished planes from rolling out and piling up on the flight line and around the edges of Paine Field airport.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Boeing says 747-8 still on track for 2011

Boeing Co, which is ramping up production of its 747-8 airplane, denied a news report that it is freezing production for a month and delaying delivery.
"Production is not frozen. We are continuing to work on all airplanes, in all phases of production," said spokesman Jim Proulx. "Our guidance for 2011 deliveries remains unchanged."
A report in Aviation Week said a temporary freeze is widely expected to push delivery of the 747-8 passenger plane into early 2012
Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager of the 747-8 program, in a staff letter on Thursday said the company was gearing up for a 33 percent production rate increase.
To address some challenges, she said, Boeing will "complete some unfinished work, incorporate design changes driven by discoveries in flight test and make sure we have a healthy production line as we move up in rate next year."
The airplanes will remain in the current places on the production line for that work until June 7.
"This action is not going to change the 2011 deliveries guidance, nor is it going to change the first deliveries of either one of the submodels of this airplane," said Proulx.

Jeannot a écrit:Boeing affirme que le 747-8 sera toujours livré en 2011

Boeing says 747-8 still on track for 2011

Boeing Co, which is ramping up production of its 747-8 airplane, denied a news report that it is freezing production for a month and delaying delivery.
"Production is not frozen. We are continuing to work on all airplanes, in all phases of production," said spokesman Jim Proulx. "Our guidance for 2011 deliveries remains unchanged."
A report in Aviation Week said a temporary freeze is widely expected to push delivery of the 747-8 passenger plane into early 2012
Elizabeth Lund, vice president and general manager of the 747-8 program, in a staff letter on Thursday said the company was gearing up for a 33 percent production rate increase.
To address some challenges, she said, Boeing will "complete some unfinished work, incorporate design changes driven by discoveries in flight test and make sure we have a healthy production line as we move up in rate next year."
The airplanes will remain in the current places on the production line for that work until June 7.
"This action is not going to change the 2011 deliveries guidance, nor is it going to change the first deliveries of either one of the submodels of this airplane," said Proulx.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

Jeannot a écrit:Boeing affirme que le 747-8 sera toujours livré en 2011

Forumiste d'ailleurs a écrit:
Boeing sees demand for bigger 787

He (Carson)said some would-be customers want as many as 425 seats and a plane that can fly perhaps 5,000 miles, while others are looking for 380 seats as long as it can fly 7,500 miles.

Carson said Boeing was looking at building what he called a "simple" stretch for the 787-10, suggesting one approach would be to take the 787-9 and extend its fuselage while retaining the same wing, engines and landing gear.

[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

boeing va peut-être réagir ?..l'A350 XWB leur mets sur la défensive ....

Sevrien a écrit: Bien sûr, Boeing est sur la défensive !
Carson peut dire ce qu'il veut ! Nous avons fait toutes les analyses ! S'il fait un "simple stretch, Boeing n'arrivera jamais à 380 ou 425 passagers, config. std. 3 classes, normes confort spacieuses, ... avec la même aile et les mêmes moteurs ! Ce n'est pas vrai ! Là, on parle d'un nouvel avion, n'ayant aucune vraie "commonality" avec les B787 actuels ('trop petits') !

Il s'agirait plutôt d'un nouveau B777, ou, comme je l'appelle, un Super-bi de 400 à 420 places (tout compoosite) ! Boeing, et encore moins les BCL, ne peut nier l'évidence !

OK, .. si quelqu'un veut pinailler, il s'agirait d'un Super-Bi, 375 à 425 places ! Mais, Boeing aurait intérêt à le faire comme une entrée de gamme à 410-420 places environ, remplaçant simultanément les B777-300ER (déjà en état de mort lente, malgré les récentes commandes ; je ferai un post pour expliquer ces commandes récentes, du style Cathay , Emirates et Qatar), et le concept B747-8I, que personne ne veut vraiment !

Cela metrrait la pression sur Airbus (son A350-XWB-1000), et ouvrirait la voie vers un "stretch" Boeing à 480-490 places, gardant la pression sur Airbus, .. pour le plus grand bien de l'aviation civile, dans les longs courriers / gros-porteurs !

Si Boeing parle d'un avion ne se vendant qu'à 200 exemplaires environ, .. cela veut dire qu'il est en train de se laisser avoir par sa vieille tare traditionnelle, qu'est le fait de lorgner sur une exclusivité moteur. RR pourrait réaliser l'affaire les yeux fermés ! Mais, comme d'habitude, Boeing cherchera d'abord à aller vers GE ! La 'prima donna' n'a pas encore rentabilsé son investissment sur B777-300ER /-200LR et GE90-115B /-110B !

On n' empêche pas un vieu singe de répéter ses erreurs ! Mais cela ne se passera pas comme ça ! Tout le monde sait que c'est GE qui a la grande difficulté à réaliser les poussées requises, en conformité avec le cahier des charges, soit à partir d'un "same bill of materials" ! Personne ne va lui faire de cadeau !

Là, les conseillers de Tim CLARK d'Emirates, notamment les ingénieurs Conseils (moteurs) indépendants, ont vu juste !

Et puis, il y a le problème du poids excédentaire très important, sur le plan proportionnel (4.4%?), du B787-9, qui est la plate-forme que Boeing envisage de "stretcher" : 14,000 lbs / 6.4 tonnes de surpoids, au niveau du "Net Operating Empty Weight !" (NB : Sèvrien : chiffre que nous avions indiqué vers la fin de 2006 ! ).

Où est Lightweight ? Où sont les dires de dupont ? Aile optimisée pour fuselage et moteur ? On n'a toujours pas répondu à ma question simple : "Comment l'aile peut-elle être optimisée pour un fuselage ayant du surpoids ?" Maintenant qu'il est annoncé par ILFC (qui a tout de même commandé 74 x B787 ! ), à 6.4 tonnes sur un "Net Operating Empty Weight " que Lightweight avait estimé à 145 tonnes, me semble-t-il ? 4.4% !

Que'est-ce que cela implique pour le B787-10 ?

Déjà, l'argument / l'attitude de Carson est défaitiste pour la distance franchissable ! Tout le monde sait que la norme "rule of thumb" ou "zone " ou "ball-park" / 'règle standard approximative', ou 'zone' est spontanément 8,000 NM (14,800 à 14,900 kms.) pour un gros porteur, long courrier (je ne parle pas de "ultra-long-courrier ! ).

Et ici on parle de 5,000 miles (425 pax) et 7,500 miles (380 PAX) ! Eh, oui, ... comme disait Randy BASELER, ... "we may decide to sacrifice range" Oui, ...oui ! Sacrifier la distance franchissable !

Et qui achète ? On aura déjà perdu Cathay, BA, Emirates, Qantas & Qatar, et peut-être même KLM / AF. Et Boeing n'arrivera pas à convaincre LHA !

Et si Boeing parlait de miles et non pas de NM (nautical miles), ... cela signifierait que :
-- 5,000 miles = 8,000 kms. (moins que les 10,500 kms des A330-300)
-- 7,500 miles = 12,000kms (moins que les 12,500 kms des A330-200) !
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Pour mémoire :
-- 5,000 NM = 9,300 kms.
-- 7,500 nm = 13,950 kms.
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Qu'est-ce que Boeing nous raconte là ?

Sur la défensive ? C'est bien pire ! Il a besoin de "sort out his thinking " ! Il faut qu'il arrive à démêler les chevaux ! C'est un sac de noeuds dans sa tête ! Là, il ne fait pas semblant ! Ou il doit parler aux mauvais clients !

Quel cirque ! Et le Forum ne réagit pas ?

Boeing sait faire mieux que ça ! Il y a surement un certain désarroi dans l'air ! L'aviation civile a intérêt à ce que Boeing commence à penser plus clairement, et qu'il reconnaisse le besoin de tourner définitivement la page de ses B777-300ER/B747-8I !