Boeing 747-8

vonrichthoffen a écrit:...."ça sent l'AD contraignante tôt dans la vie opérationnelle de l'avion.
N'oublions pas qu'il s'agit d'un fix, sans lequel la FAA n'aurait pas certifié l'avion"....

Transaero Airlines (UN), Russia’s second-largest carrier, is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Airbus Friday for A380s, ATW learned from a well-placed source. If the MOU is signed, it would make UN the first carrier in Russia and the CIS to order the A380. Deliveries are expected to start no earlier than 2015.

UN could not be reached for comment, but in August CEO Olga Pleshakova revealed the company was analyzing possible orders for the A380 and/or the Boeing 747-8 ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

The A380s / 747-8s would be used to replace older 747s and expand the carrier's fleet from 2015 onward, Pleshakova said. She noted the final decision will “be based upon deep research of commercial offers, the Russian aviation market situation and airport infrastructure development.”

According to Russian media, Moscow Domodedovo (DME) airport is analyzing the installation of double-deck passenger boarding bridges for A380 use. UN would deploy the A380 from DME, but reportedly Emirates has also indicated interest in operating the A380 to DME.

In August, UN signed an MOU with Airbus to buy eight A320neos plus options on an additional four, making it the first A320neo customer in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe ([Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]).

Privately held UN is historically a loyal Boeing customer and operates 70 aircraft, comprising 19 747s, eight 777s, 13 767s, 27 737s and three Tupolev Tu-214s. It operated an Airbus A310 from 2000-2002. It is the largest operator of widebodies in Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe.

Russia's Transaero is set to become the launch carrier for the Airbus A380 in the country, after signing a tentative agreement to take four of the type.

The airline intends to fit the aircraft with around 700 seats, in three classes, the second-highest density so far disclosed for the type.

Transaero already operates a fleet of high-capacity aircraft including Boeing 747s and 777, and had been a loyal Boeing customer before opting to acquire Airbus A320neos earlier this year.

The Moscow-based carrier has not identified an engine selection or a potential delivery date, but Airbus said it had signed a memorandum of understanding for the four double-deck aircraft.

"Transaero is experienced in operating long-range wide-body aircraft, and is now ready to offer the A380," said Transaero chief Olga Pleshakova.

"I am sure that the operation of this high-capacity aircraft will stimulate the development of Russia's aviation sector, in particular airports' infrastructure, while passengers will benefit from a completely new experience."

Flightglobal reported in August that Airbus viewed both Transaero and Aeroflot as potential customers for the A380. The airframer displayed the A380 at the MAKS Moscow Air Show for the first time this year.

Boeing completes 747-8I certification flight testing

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

Boeing has [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on its 747-8 Intercontinental test fleet, the company confirms, setting the jumbo on a path to US Federal Aviation Administration approval later this quarter.

After flying from Barbados to Houston today, the aircraft marked the completion of its systems functionality and reliability (F&R) flight testing, the final phase of its evaluations. [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], flying as BOE440, signifying the 1440th 747 built, is [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. The aircraft was non-instrumented for the trials.

The airframer quietly announced in its 10Q US Securities and Exchange Commission last week that the first delivery of a VIP configured "green" 747-8I would slip to 2012, citing "a delay in flight testing and the time required to incorporate all flight test driven changes."

While flying for FAA certification credit is complete, the test fleet of three aircraft will continue post-certification testing and additional validation of the VIP and airline interiors.

Further, with the completion of extended operations (ETOPS) and F&R trials, the 747-8I becomes the first four-engine passenger aircraft to complete ETOPS evaluations. ETOPS rules were updated in 2007 to include four-engine aircraft starting in 2015, though Boeing opted to include it in the Intercontinental's certification ahead of the requirement.

Because of overlapping certification efforts, the -8F will also be certified under ETOPS rules. The freighter did not undergo ETOPS testing because its customers did not require it for its shorter missions.

Boeing began the 747-8I's flight test campaign on March 20 with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s first flight from Paine Field.

Delivery to Lufthansa, whose [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] served as test aircraft, will eventually become D-ABYE, is expected in the first quarter of 2012.

Cathay Pacific took delivery of its first Boeing 747-8 Freighter aircraft on 31 October.

"We took delivery of our first [Boeing] 747-8F on 31 October Seattle time and the aircraft is on its way to Hong Kong now," said a Cathay Pacific official.

The carrier, which has 10 747-8Fs on order, is the second customer to take delivery of the type after Cargolux.

Cathay Pacific also has eight Boeing 777-200 Freighters on order.

• "Airbus serait ravi de recevoir d'Emirates une commande supplémentaire d'A380-800 ;
  
• "mais ceci ne doit pas être amalgamé avec une annulation de la composante de 20 x A350-XWB- 1000 de la commande de 70 x A350-XWB, passée il y a quelques années ;
  
• "Emirates & Airbus sont contractuellement liés dans cette affaire, et il ne faut pas oublier RR, non plus ;
  
• "dans le milieu de l'aéronautique et de l'aviation, il n'est pas l'usage de laver son linge sale en public, ou de chercher à faire du chantage, ou d'exercer la pressions sur ses partenaires via la media ;
  
• "si vous cherchez, de nouveau, à déshonorer publiquement votre signature, comme Emirates l'a fait dans le cas de l'affaire de l'A340-600HGW (et ne pas oublier que l'A350-XWB-1000 a été quasiment taillé sur mesure pour vous, avec votre accord et votre collaboration dans la mise au point de sa configuration, en remplaçant l'A340-600HGW précité, cette affaire ne saurait faire l'objet d'un amalgame avec le marché des A380, ou avec celui de Boeing, et notamment, la transformation, par votre "moving of the goalposts", pour essayer de redéfinir l'avion comme un genre de 'Superbi-', que vous aimeriez voir remplacer l'actuel B777-300ER, technologiquement obsolescente, voir obsolète, et bien trop coûteux dans les opérations, et en terme de "Cost of Ownership" ;
  
• "si vous ne pouvez pas traiter cette affaire avec la dsicrétion d'usage, nous missionnerons nos avocats pour reprendre contact avec les vôtres ; il serait préférable de trouver un terrain d'entente, bien sûr, mais nou n'hésiterons pas à vous conduire devant le Tribunal ;
  
• "bien sûr, il y a une possibilité de conversion, entre les appareils de la famille A350-XWB ; Airbus serait ravi de vous voir convertir vos 20 x A350-XWB-1000 en 35 x A350-XWB-900, par exemple, ... ce qui résoudrait le problème pour RR d'une manière à la fois équitable et efficace ;
  
• "mais il n'y a pas de possibilité de conversion en A380 ; et, il serait futile de nous menacer, ou de nous faire du chantage -- ce qui n'est ni fait ni à faire dans nos milieux industriels et commerciaux, comme vous le savez -- , avec une commande de B747-8I, car, comme la planète entière, vous savez que ce dernier quadriréacteur de Boeing ne saurait se mesurer avec l'A380-800 ;
  
• "enfin, pour ce qui est des A350-XWB-1000, dans sa nouvelle version, nous avons une perspective de nombreuses commandes, de plusieurs clients, d'excellente facture, et malgré un certain regret, devant ce comportement d'Emirates, , ... que nous devons constater de nouveau, hélas, nous ne voyons pas de gros impacts négatifs sur l'imminent Salon de Dubai, ou sur notre carnet de commandes, ... mais le contraire ;
  
• "par contre, il est certain qu'Emirates se donnera en specatacle, ce qui serait doblement regrettable, étant donné qu'il est celui qui invite le monde entier sur ses terres pour ce Salon ;
  
• " il est toujours contreproductif de salir son propre nid ! "
  

Jeannot a écrit:ttt... ttt... vous en dites trop ou pas assez....

• 8 x A300-600R ;
  
• 16 x A330-300 et 14 x A330-200 ;(moteurs P&W)
  
• 10 x A380. (moteurs EA : GP7200)
  

• B747, ... B777-200(ER), .... B777-300 et B777-300ER, ... et B747-8I (mélange de moteurs P&W & GE), et B787 (moteurs GEnx) .
  

Slow 747-8I sales not a concern for Lufthansa

By: [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] : 02:00 28 May 2008
Source: [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]

German flag carrier [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] is unconcerned about its continuing status as the only confirmed airline customer for the passenger version of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], insisting that freighter conversion potential means the aircraft will hold its value.
Slow sales of the 747-8I have not prompted a rethink at the German airline. Lufthansa chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber says the carrier is "not at all" bothered about its lonely position, pointing to the airline's experience with 747s and the type's enduring appeal as a freighter.

"We could operate the B747-8 for 20 or 30 years and then use them as freighters," he (Mayrhuber) says. "They will retain their value."

Lufthansa the first to order Boeing's 747-8

Carrier to buy 20, but maintains loyalty to Airbus

By : JAMES WALLAC, Seattle Post-Intelligencer[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir cette image]
P-I AEROSPACE REPORTER
Updated 10:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Calling The Boeing Co.'s new 747-8 a "highly modern" passenger jet, Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa became the first customer to order what will be the biggest 747 ever.
"The Boeing 747-8 is more than just a derivative of the successful Boeing 747 series," Lufthansa Chief Executive [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] said Wednesday after the airline ordered 20 of the planes and took options to buy 20 more.
...
But another Lufthansa executive said the decision to buy the 747-8 should not be seen as anything negative against the A380, which is two years behind schedule. "It was a well-evaluated decision to go with the 747-8, rather than us being against something else," [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], senior vice president of fleet planning for Lufthansa, said at a hastily arranged news conference in Seattle with Boeing executives.
......In addition to the 20 747- 8s, Lufthansa also ordered seven A340-600s from Airbus.
Lufthansa is one of the few airlines in the world that continues to order the four-engine A340 rather than Boeing's more fuel-efficient two-engine 777. Buchholz said the A340- 600 complements Lufthansa's fleet. It seats about 300 passengers in Lufthansa's configuration. "It makes a lot of sense to have it in our fleet," he said.
.....
The 747-8 will "fit nicely" between the A340-600 and the A380, Buchholz said.

Lufthansa will be the first airline to operate the 747-8 Intercontinental, starting in 2010 when the plane becomes available. Deliveries of the first 20 planes are scheduled into 2013.
Buchholz said the market will determine when Lufthansa might begin to take additional planes.

The 747-8 Intercontinental has an average list price of $277.5 million. But as the launch customer for the 747-8 Intercontinental, Lufthansa probably received a discount of more than 30 percent.

Lufthansa received a "very good price," said [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], vice president of sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The airline also has already negotiated the price on its 20 options.

The 747-8 ......will have the fuel-efficient engines developed by General Electric for the 787 Dreamliner.
The 747-8 also will have a redesigned and more efficient wing. Lufthansa has long urged Boeing to develop a bigger version of the 747, but it was not until the new engines came along that Boeing could design an updated version of its jumbo jet that made economic sense for airlines.

• depuis le nombre initialement prévu (405,...... déjà bien inférieur au nombre de 467 affiché par Boeing ... ), ...
  
  
• au nombre de 386 !
  

"The engines were the breakthrough," Buchholz acknowledged.

Ceux qui doutent de l'authenticité de ce scénario n'ont aucune base factuelle pour contredire l'analyse ou les conclusions dans ce post.

Jeannot a écrit:DAE loue 9 777F à Emirates

DAE leases Nine New Boeing 777 Freighters

DUBAI - DAE Capital, the aircraft leasing division of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), has reached an agreement to lease nine new Boeing 777 Freighters on a long-term basis to Emirates Airline. These aircrafts are from DAE’s order book with Boeing and will be delivered in the 2012 – 2015 timeframe.

Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “This agreement ensures Emirates SkyCargo will receive a pipeline of new, state-of-the-art, freighter aircraft over the next four years. Emirates SkyCargo continues to build on its leadership position in the global cargo market and these aircrafts will play an important role in this growth.”

“DAE is delighted to be able to further deepen its existing relationship with Emirates and deliver one of the most modern, technologically advanced freighter aircraft to assist Emirates as it seeks to serve increasing demand for global air cargo,"said Khalifa H. AlDaboos, DAE Managing Director .

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

En fait, si l'on regarde de plus près, est-ce qu'il n'y a pas une opération d'annulation de B747-8 lié à ce dossier ?

European cargo carrier Cargolux's first Boeing 747-8 commercial flight into the USA landed at Huntsville International airport (HSV) on 21 November.

The launch customer took delivery of the first two 747-8 freighters in October, after a month-long stand-off over a contractual dispute.

HSV received certification by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to accommodate the 747-8s, which are 18.3 feet longer and 13 feet wider in wingspan than the current 747 models, on its 10,000-foot and 12,600-foot runways.

Cargolux, an all 747 freighter operator, holds 13 747-8F aircraft on order.

Boeing plans to fly its first 747-8 Intercontinental for a visit to Lufthansa, its airline launch customer for the aircraft, from 6 to 9 December (Sevrien : 2011).

The arrival in Germany occurs exactly six years to the day when Lufthansa placed the launch order for 20 of the General Electric GEnx-2B67-powered aircraft in 2006.

The aircraft is expected arrive at the airline's Frankfurt, Germany base in the early afternoon local time following a 9h flight from Seattle, with three Lufthansa pilots and two Boeing pilots on board.

While in Germany the aircraft will be used to validate ground-handling processes with the airline's equipment.

The aircraft, the second of three in the -8I test fleet dubbed RC021, was responsible for conducting interior evaluations on the new type, which will enter service in the first quarter of 2012 with 386-seats, including the carrier's new business class offering supplied by B/E Aerospace.

RC021 is painted with a white body, gray belly and navy blue tail, representing Lufthansa's colours, but excludes the airline's decals. This particular aircraft will enter Lufthansa's fleet in the third quarter 2012 as the carrier's fifth delivery following post-flight test refurbishment.

First delivery of a 747-8I is slated for early 2012 to a completion centre to be configured as a VIP transport.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted Boeing an amended type certificate (ATC) for its 747-8 Intercontinental, the largest passenger aircraft in its history and the third Boeing commercial aircraft certified in 2011.

The certification validates that the 467-seat 747-8I complies with all aviation regulatory requirements and Boeing's production system is capable of manufacturing a conforming design that is safe and reliable. The ATC clears the way for the first 747-8I to be delivered to a VIP completion centre early next year.

The European Aviation Safety Agency is expected to follow the FAA's approval on 15 December.

Boeing completed certification flight testing on 31 October.

The General Electric GEnx-2B-powered 747-8I joins the 787 and 747-8 freighter in Boeing's stable of certified products, both achieving US regulatory validation in August.

The 747-8I's certification comes approximately after two years of delays incurred by its freighter sibling, which entered service in October, following supply chain issues, design changes and flight test discoveries that slowed the development of both models. The delays to the 747-8F, as well as the 787 slowed the 747-8I's development, pushing it a year beyond its original late-2010 first delivery target.

Boeing holds firm orders for 38 747-8 passenger aircraft, including nine VIP configured aircraft and 20 for airline launch customer Lufthansa, which expects its first 386-seat aircraft in the first quarter of 2012. Arik Air and Korean Air hold orders for two and five, respectively.

Air China, which announced an order for five 747-8I aircraft in March, is currently pending Chinese government approval, while Hong Kong Airlines is believed to be responsible for an undisclosed customer order for 15 aircraft announced at June's Paris air show, but have not yet been firmed by the carrier.

The aircraft, the largest passenger aircraft ever built by Boeing, features a 442t (975,000lb) maximum takeoff weight and a nose-to-tail length of 76.3m (250ft 2in) and a wingspan of 68.5m (224ft 7in).

Boeing is scrambling to hand over three more 787s to All Nippon Airways before the close of 2011, aiming to meet at least a portion of its delivery guidance for the new twinjet. Boeing scrambles to meet 787 delivery targets for 2011.

However, the slow pace of deliveries has already had an effect on ANA's commercial deployment of the type.

Airplane 31, registration JA805A, the next aircraft in line for delivery, entered customer flight evaluations on 21 December. It flew on 5 December for the first time and then undertook further Boeing crew production flights, including one on 9 December that resulted in a declared emergency for what is believed to have been an issue with the aircraft's flaps.

The 787 was due to have been handed over in November, but ANA announced a delay citing "productivity reasons", while Boeing blamed the need to "incorporate design changes on assembled" aircraft.

Boeing's most recent delivery guidance is set at 15 to 20 747-8s and 787s, with the new twin accounting for approximately one-third of those deliveries.

It's a figure that has steadily decreased throughout the year. Boeing began 2011 with guidance of 25 to 40 deliveries, which was then cut to 25 to 30 in July. Boeing has so far delivered two 787s to ANA and eight 747-8 Freighters to three customers - Cathay Pacific, Atlas Air and Cargolux.

Part of the problem is the need for additional work to be undertaken on each aircraft.

Although the airframer's final assembly line in Everett, Washington is running reliably at 2.5 aircraft per month, the need for each 787 to undergo change incorporation and modification operations - split between the Everett Modification Center (EMC) and the Global Service & Support Facility in San Antonio, Texas - means the company is struggling to meet its proposed delivery rate.

Programme sources said another cause of the delivery delay has been the replacement of the Hamilton Sundstrand APS-500 auxiliary power unit on Airplane 31, as well as two additional unidentified 787s. Boeing confirmed three APUs had been removed and returned to Hamilton Sundstrand for root cause analysis because of "a recent start-up issue", but declined to say if Airplane 31 had been one of the three.

Airplanes 41 (JA807A) and nine (JA804A), the latter of which had already been through the company's change incorporation process for its trials in system functionality and reliability (F&R) and extended operations (ETOPS), are slated to join Airplane 31 as 2011 deliveries. Airplane 41 made its maiden sortie on 19 December and Airplane nine returned to flying on 21 December.

However, programme sources acknowledge that delivering those aircraft during the remainder of 2011 will be a challenge.

The delayed deliveries have slowed the type's deployment, with ANA postponing its first scheduled international service, connecting Tokyo-Haneda to Beijing, from December to 14 January. Although its first long-haul link between Haneda and Frankfurt is still set to begin on 21 January, ANA will alternate a 777-200ER and a 787-8 on the route beginning 1 February, pushing its initially planned daily 787 service to the German city to 1 March.

Long-range routes will be enabled by the now-certified Package B Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, which was given its US Federal Aviation Administration certification pairing with the 787 airframe on 19 December.

It brings the engine specific fuel consumption within 1% of the engine-maker's original specification.

ANA announced on 21 December its first US routes with the 787 would connect Tokyo Narita to Seattle and San Jose, California some time during its 2012 fiscal year, which begins on 1 April.

"Wait & see" !

Boeing has increased the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of its 747-8 Intercontinental and 747-8 freighter after its flight loads survey revealed additional structural margin available to customers.

According to its latest airport planning document, Boeing has increased the aircraft's MTOW to 448t (987,000lb), an increase of 6t (13,000lb) from 442t (975,000lb).

Early freighter deliveries, said Boeing, have been certified at 442t MTOW and, after April, deliveries will reflect
the expanded 448t MTOW.

A service bulletin to operators expected at the same time will approve the 442t MTOW aircraft for operation at 448t, the
airframer said.

Boeing completed 747-8F and Intercontinental certification flight testing in August and October, respectively.

While Boeing said the move is not aimed specifically at regaining payload and range capability after a growth in structural weight during development, the programme has faced cancellations due to a performance shortfall of early freighters.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings cancelled three 747-8F aircraft in September 2011 after "lengthy delays and performance considerations."

Additionally, Boeing's December 2011 update to its 747-8 and -8F airport planning document included references to the aircraft's operating empty weight (OEW) and max structural payload.

The document listed the maximum structural payload for the passenger configured model as 82.1t (181,000lb) and the pre-service bulletin for the 747-8F at 134t (295,200lb), which increased after April's update to 139t (306,000lb).

Further, the OEW of the freighter model was set to transition from 191.3t to 190.9t (421,800lb to 421,000lb), a reduction of 363kgs (800lb), while the passenger model was listed at 213t (470,000lb).

The figures were later listed as "TBD" or to be determined and Boeing said the removal was due to a further review of its catalog weights and ranges for the 747-8 family.

Boeing delivered a total of nine 747-8F aircraft in 2011, and is readying to deliver its first 747-8 to a completion centre
for outfitting for a VIP customer in February, followed by airline launch customer Lufthansa in March, said programme sources.

Industry sources suggest Boeing's aggressive marketing of the 747-8I has been hampering Airbus's efforts to achieve better pricing on new A380 deals. Leahy denies this. "Not at all," he said. "If you give away a dog, it's still a dog."

• lorsqu'on contemple les résultats médiocres, tant pour "l'airframe" que pour les moteurs, réalisés ou obtenus par, respectivement, Boeing et GE, sur ce B747-8I,
  
• il faut reconnaître et comprendre le scepticisme, et le bien-fondé de ce scepticisme, qui existe dans le marché, et parmi les observateurs, surtout ceux qui sont vraiment indépendants (oui : vraiment), à l'encontre d'un deuxième exercice de "revamping" ou de "plat réchauffé",
  
• surtout pour un gros porteur de grande taille, tel que le Superbi, futur "remplaçant' du B777-300ER (et, bien entendu, du Superbide, B747-8I, quasiment simultanément !
  

Boeing has increased the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of its 747-8 Intercontinental and 747-8 freighter after its flight loads survey revealed additional structural margin available to customers.

According to its latest airport planning document, Boeing has increased the aircraft's MTOW to 448t (987,000lb), an increase of 6t (13,000lb) from 442t (975,000lb).

Early freighter deliveries, said Boeing, have been certified at 442t MTOW and, after April, deliveries will reflect
the expanded 448t MTOW.

A service bulletin to operators expected at the same time will approve the 442t MTOW aircraft for operation at 448t, the
airframer said.

Boeing completed 747-8F and Intercontinental certification flight testing in August and October, respectively.

While Boeing said the move is not aimed specifically at regaining payload and range capability after a growth in structural weight during development, the programme has faced cancellations due to a performance shortfall of early freighters.

"Not aimed specifically at regaining payload and range capability after a growth in structural weight during development", ..... ?

ValleyS a écrit:Je n'osais pas écrire que cette certification ressemblait à une tromperie

Cargolux le sait, pas seulement Atlas Air

Depuis des mois ... des mois ( passage de provisions sur item 747-8 en 2010 correspondait déjà à de telles prévisions d'augmentation de masse maxi au décollage et dégradation de perfs avec les moteurs que nous savons )

Ce programme de réduction de surpoids est une belle désinformation, une chimère

" Promises & Lies "

Boeing locks out 747-8 tail fuel tanks on flutter concerns

In order to meet certification requirements ahead of its first delivery, Boeing will lock out the 12,500l (3,300gal) horizontal stabiliser tail fuel tanks on its 747-8 Intercontinental after a flutter condition was found to occur in a certain structural failure scenario, the airframer confirmed.

"Boeing certified the 747-8 Intercontinental with the tail fuel tanks locked out because during design review of flight test data...it was discovered that, under a certain regulatory-required structural failure scenario, the airplane can experience flutter events when the fuel tanks in the horizontal stabiliser are filled over 15% of their capacity," said Boeing.

To comply with US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, Boeing will deactivate the tail fuel system to satisfy the requirement that no structural flutter be present in the airframe after any single failure condition.

"These conditions do not present themselves when the tanks are empty," Boeing said of the structural failure evaluations, which were only found to occur if the aircraft's wing-to-strut join fitting had failed.

The "requirement for all key structural fittings...need to have a design tolerant of 'any single failure'", said Boeing. "We're actively working on ways to activate the fuel tanks for the long term."

Boeing said the lock-out is accomplished through the pulling of a circuit breaker and the FAA has requested a physical separation in the fuel system by removing and capping certain fuel lines between fuel tail tanks.

The change to the fuel system has not affected the pacing of deliveries and only five 747-8s rolled out prior to this decision will require rework as part of the larger post-certification change incorporation operation. The balance of the 747-8s that will be assembled will have their tanks locked out inside the factory.

Reactivating the tanks and incorporating the fix will be be accomplished during normal maintenance operations as part of a service bulletin expected to be issued by the airframer once a solution is identified, said Boeing.

According to its airport planning documents, Boeing lists the 747-8's usable fuel capacity at 238,584l (63,034gal) as established during flight testing and includes the fuel stored in the horizontal stabiliser.

The horizontal tail fuel system is limited to the passenger model of the 747-8, as the recently delivered 747-8F's performance requirement prioritise cargo capacity over range.

Boeing said the absence of tail fuel tanks will reduce the range of the VIP configured 747-8 by about 550-930km (300-400nm), depending on the aircraft's configuration.

For airline operators, the impact on performance will be minimal, said Boeing, as chosen configurations of its customers will prohibit the use of the tail's fuel tanks when non-fuel payload exceeds 60% of the aircraft's maximum structural payload. The balance of the payload would be fuel stored in the aircraft's wing tanks.

"For our mission profile it's not a problem at the moment," said a Lufthansa spokesman, who said the tail fuel restriction would not restrict the aircraft's deployment on its initial routes, which have not yet been announced.

Boeing indicates the passenger capacity of the 747-8 as up to 467 seats in a three-class configuration. Lufthansa will operate the aircraft in a three-class configuration seating 386.

Lufthansa said it is "still quite positive that there will be a modification" that will restore access to the tail fuel tanks, but "of course you want an airplane that can run as long as possible" in unrestricted operation.

Lufthansa is "waiting to hear from Boeing how they will solve this problem," the airline added.

Despite not having a timeframe for a fix, the airline said it is its expectation that the restriction will not exist on deliveries in 2013.

Lufthansa launched the 747-8 in December 2006 with an order for 20 of the General Electric GEnx-2B-powered aircraft. The 747-8 will have the longest range of any aircraft in the airline's fleet, it said, exceeding that of the Airbus A380.

The 747-8's range is advertised by Boeing as being around 14,800km (8,000nm) at maximum takeoff weight of 448t (987,000lb), though the airframer is currently updating the figure for its catalog specifications.

The 5.6m-shorter (18.3ft) 747-400 also features a 12,500l tail fuel system in the geometrically identical horizontal stabiliser. Despite this similarity, the 747-8 structurally varies from the -400 with an additional 1.5m (4.9ft) stretch behind the wing, along with strengthening for the higher aircraft weight and different materials from its predecessor.

Boeing declined to speculate on why the flutter condition existed on the 747-8 and not in the case of the failure of the wing-to-strut join fitting on the earlier 747-400.

Boeing notes the fitting has never failed in the type's 40 years of service.

The 747-8 programme has faced vibration concerns before, after a 2.3Hz limit cycle oscillation (LCO) in the wings prompted Boeing to develop the Outboard Aileron Modal Suppression (OAMS) system to dampen out vibration with the aircraft's fly-by-wire ailerons.

Certified by the FAA in December, the lock out of fuel tanks allows Boeing to deliver its first 747-8 to a completion centre for VIP configuration in February with airline launch customer Lufthansa to follow in March, said programme sources of the schedule.

Boeing holds firm orders for 36 747-8 aircraft, including five for Korean Air, two for Arik Air and nine for VIP customers.

Jeannot a écrit:Pour obtenir sa certification, Boeing condamne le réservoir de queue du 747-8I

Boeing locks out 747-8 tail fuel tanks on flutter concerns

In order to meet certification requirements ahead of its first delivery, Boeing will lock out the 12,500l (3,300gal) horizontal stabiliser tail fuel tanks on its 747-8 Intercontinental after a flutter condition was found to occur in a certain structural failure scenario, the airframer confirmed.

"Boeing certified the 747-8 Intercontinental with the tail fuel tanks locked out because during design review of flight test data...it was discovered that, under a certain regulatory-required structural failure scenario, the airplane can experience flutter events when the fuel tanks in the horizontal stabiliser are filled over 15% of their capacity," said Boeing.

• 'peut déclencher un processus de vibration, capable de conduire jusqu'à la désintégration de l'avion', .. "in a worst case scenario".
  

• en raison d'une condition dont la "root cause" prend son origine dans les caractéristiques de la région du queue de l'avion,...
  
• plus précisément dans le réservoir de carburant du stabilisateur horizontal, ...
  
• lequel resérvoir, peut devenir fatalement -- oui, "fatally" dangereux pour l'intégrité de l'avion, dès lors que son état de remplissage dépasse 15% de sa contenance !
  

To comply with US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, Boeing will deactivate the tail fuel system to satisfy the requirement that no structural flutter be present in the airframe after any single failure condition.

"These conditions do not present themselves when the tanks are empty," Boeing said of the structural failure evaluations, which were only found to occur if the aircraft's wing-to-strut join fitting had failed.

The "requirement for all key structural fittings...need to have a design tolerant of 'any single failure'", said Boeing. "We're actively working on ways to activate the fuel tanks for the long term."

• avec ou sans aides publiques (ce ,n'est pas le vrai problème) , ...
  
• avec son objectif d'excellence technologique,
  
• apporter une concurrence efficace et gênante, ....
  
• et troubler la tranquillité de Boeing,
  
• alors que certains des dirigeants de ce dernier auraient voulu continuer leur bonhomme de chemin, en servant de la médiocrité aux clients, au marché !
  

Boeing said the lock-out is accomplished through the pulling of a circuit breaker and the FAA has requested a physical separation in the fuel system by removing and capping certain fuel lines between fuel tail tanks.

The change to the fuel system has not affected the pacing of deliveries and only five 747-8s rolled out prior to this decision will require rework as part of the larger post-certification change incorporation operation. The balance of the 747-8s that will be assembled will have their tanks locked out inside the factory.

Reactivating the tanks and incorporating the fix will be be accomplished during normal maintenance operations as part of a service bulletin expected to be issued by the airframer once a solution is identified, said Boeing.

According to its airport planning documents, Boeing lists the 747-8's usable fuel capacity at 238,584l (63,034gal) as established during flight testing and includes the fuel stored in the horizontal stabiliser.

The horizontal tail fuel system is limited to the passenger model of the 747-8, as the recently delivered 747-8F's performance requirement prioritise cargo capacity over range.

Boeing said the absence of tail fuel tanks will reduce the range of the VIP configured 747-8 by about 550-930km (300-400nm), depending on the aircraft's configuration.

For airline operators, the impact on performance will be minimal, said Boeing,....

.... as chosen configurations of its customers will prohibit the use of the tail's fuel tanks when non-fuel payload exceeds 60% of the aircraft's maximum structural payload. The balance of the payload would be fuel stored in the aircraft's wing tanks.

"For our mission profile it's not a problem at the moment," said a Lufthansa spokesman, who said the tail fuel restriction would not restrict the aircraft's deployment on its initial routes, which have not yet been announced.

Boeing indicates the passenger capacity of the 747-8 as up to 467 seats in a three-class configuration. Lufthansa will operate the aircraft in a three-class configuration seating 386.

Lufthansa said it is "still quite positive that there will be a modification" that will restore access to the tail fuel tanks, but "of course you want an airplane that can run as long as possible" in unrestricted operation.

Lufthansa is "waiting to hear from Boeing how they will solve this problem," the airline added.

Despite not having a timeframe for a fix, the airline said it is its expectation that the restriction will not exist on deliveries in 2013.

Lufthansa launched the 747-8 in December 2006 with an order for 20 of the General Electric GEnx-2B-powered aircraft. The 747-8 will have the longest range of any aircraft in the airline's fleet, it said, exceeding that of the Airbus A380.

The 747-8's range is advertised by Boeing as being around 14,800km (8,000nm) at maximum takeoff weight of 448t (987,000lb), though the airframer is currently updating the figure for its catalog specifications.

The 5.6m-shorter (18.3ft) 747-400 also features a 12,500l tail fuel system in the geometrically identical horizontal stabiliser. Despite this similarity, the 747-8 structurally varies from the -400 with an additional 1.5m (4.9ft) stretch behind the wing, along with strengthening for the higher aircraft weight and different materials from its predecessor.

Boeing declined to speculate on why the flutter condition existed on the 747-8 and not in the case of the failure of the wing-to-strut join fitting on the earlier 747-400.

Boeing notes the fitting has never failed in the type's 40 years of service.

The 747-8 programme has faced vibration concerns before, after a 2.3Hz limit cycle oscillation (LCO) in the wings prompted Boeing to develop the Outboard Aileron Modal Suppression (OAMS) system to dampen out vibration with the aircraft's fly-by-wire ailerons.

Certified by the FAA in December, the lock out of fuel tanks allows Boeing to deliver its first 747-8 to a completion centre for VIP configuration in February with airline launch customer Lufthansa to follow in March, said programme sources of the schedule.

Boeing holds firm orders for 36 747-8 aircraft, including five for Korean Air, two for Arik Air and nine for VIP customers.

Jeannot a écrit:C'est pas la joie...

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

Jeannot a écrit:On peut se demander pourquoi LHA ne refuserait pas la livraison de ces appareils ?

• "Prenez ! Prenez, Lufthansa, ... je vous en supplie, .... prenez !
  
• "On vous fera 55% de rabais ! Comment ? ....
  
• "Allez : 58% ! Non, .... 59% de rabais ! Allez, ... 59% par rapport au prix catalogue !
  
• "Non, .. pas en -8F : En -8I, .... pour que Boeing puisse montrer au monde entier qu'un acquéreur d'A380 achète bien des B747-8I pour sa flotte passagers !
  
• "Et on vous fera un joli cadeau sur l'opération de conversion en -8F, le moment venu !
  
• "Allez, ... signons tout de suite ; avant de changer d'avis ! Si, si ... tout de suite !
  
• "OK ! 60% ! 60% sur le prix catalogue !
  
• "Et la conversion au prix coûtant .... avec frais de dossier de 3% !
  
• "OK, ... seulement 2% pour les frais de dossier !
  
• "D'accord, ... au prix coûtant, .... sans frais de dossier " !
  
• "OK ! Signons ! Signons !"
  

Et, à l'époque, Boeing a dû se dire, "Eh, les gars, ... on a été vraiment bon sur ce coup-là ! Exceptionnel ! On n'a même pas eu besoin de faire du "low-balling" !

Et, comme dirait Sergio LEONE, "That is how the West was won" !

Under a mandate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing's new 747-8 Intercontinental passenger jet will not be allowed to carry fuel in its tail until engineers can come up with a fix for a potential wing vibration problem, Boeing said Thursday.

Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said engineers are working toward designing, certifying and implementing a fix to the vibration issue sometime in 2013.

Until then, a section of fuel line will be removed to prevent fuel flowing back to the tank inside the horizontal stabilizer the small wings on either side of the tail.

This restriction will cut fuel capacity by about 3,300 gallons and reduce the range of the jet by 300 to 400 miles, said Proulx.

The big jet's total fuel capacity, including the tail tank, is advertised at 63,055 gallons, giving it a range of 9,200 miles while carrying 467 passengers.

"This is something we are working to rectify," said Proulx. "It isn't something that will keep the plane from going into service."

The first delivery of the 747-8 passennger model is expected next month, going to an unidentified VIP customer, believed to be the royal family of Kuwait. German carrier Lufthansa will take the second jet, probably in March.

Proulx said five of the jets have already rolled out without the required block to the tanks in the tail. Those jets will have to be modified by removing the section of fuel line, work that can be accomplished over three shifts, he said.

Subsequent airplanes will have the tail tank blocked inside the factory during assembly.

Boeing first discovered the problem last summer, according to a person with knowledge of the issue.

Engineering computer models were run to simulate the failure of a specific wing mounting strut, one of several redundant components that hold the outboard engines on the wings. For safety reasons, such a potential failure must be proven not to threaten flight safety if it occurs.

The computer analysis revealed that if that engine mounting strut were to fail, then extra weight at the rear of the aircraft from fuel in the tail would cause wing flutter.

Flutter is a phenomenon whereby structural vibrations enter a feedback cycle that enhances the shaking and can cause serious damage.

Proulx said this specific engine mounting strut has never actually failed on any previous 747 model nor in flight tests of the 747-8.

"This is something we found during analysis, not test," he said.

The problem does not affect the 747-8 freighter, which doesn't have a fuel tank in the tail.

Nor does it affect the 747-400 passenger jets currently flying.

Flutter is unpredictable and can become an issue in any physical structure when relatively minor changes are introduced into a design. The 747-8 has a 60-inch fuselage extension behind the wing compared to the 747-400. That's enough to introduce potential flutter issues.

The person familiar with the details, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said eliminating the flutter problem will mean redesigning the mounting strut.

In the meantime, Boeing will deliver the big jets with the fuel tank inside the tail deactivated and physically separated from the main fuel tanks in the wings.

Boeing had initially hoped just to cap the fuel lines that lead to the tail tank. To avoid nuisance warning messages, it decided not to turn off the power to various electrical systems inside the tank, such as the fuel pumps and the fuel gauge system.

The person with knowledge of the details said guards will be placed over switches controlling the tail tank fuel pumps to ensure mechanics don't accidentally switch them on during routine maintenance.

However, the FAA expressed concerned that if Boeing merely sealed off the fuel lines, the seals could at some stage leak. If even a little fuel leaked into the tail tank, the vapor would then create a potential ignition hazard from the electrical components.

The FAA therefore mandated as a condition of certification that the tail tank had to be physically separated from the main tanks. Boeing agreed, and in December the FAA duly certified the airplane with the tail tank separated.

"It's not a showstopper," said the person familiar with the issue, "only if you needed the extra range."

News of the problem was first reported Thursday by Flightblogger on the website of Flight International magazine.

Flight quoted a Lufthansa spokesperson saying that the fuel restriction won't restrict the aircraft's deployment on its initial routes.

"For our mission profile, it's not a problem at the moment, " Lufthansa told Flight.

The extra range would be needed only to fly non-stop on ultra-long routes, such as from New York to Auckland, New Zealand.

Boeing has just 36 orders for the 250-foot-long passenger plane. Lufthansa has ordered 20, Korean Air five, and Arik Air of Nigeria two.

The remaining nine orders are for unidentiifed VIP customers buying their own giant personal jets. At least five of those are for Middle Eastern customers in Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.