If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
Posted on 05/24/2007 10:33:04 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative
If you want on or off my aerospace ping list, please contact me by Freep mail.
Not mentioned in the article is how much longer this will tie up Airbus’s launch of the mythical A350XWB. It was previously slated to be intro’d in 2012-13. Since this is a major redesign it will probably add 1.5 to 2 years to the intro. By that time Boeing will be about to release the composite 737 and will be a couple of years from a composite 777. Airbus is so screwed. The toulouse goose is cooked.
“All-composite barrels have sealed Boeing’s fate! Their satanically numbered 7**s are roasting in hell.”
I hope by then Boeing has some more imaginative concepts. Not that I don’t like the 737 or the 777, but how about a couple of blended wing designs?
Airbust is screwed.
A airline CEO was saying this week that Airbust is pushing for the A350 to be much bigger than the 787. That airlines won’t buy it since it’s capacity will be bigger than the airlines need for the routes that would be typical for the 787.
Time for Embraer to consider buying Airbus :)
Might happen, but remember, modern commercial aviation is an evolutionary business. Look what happened to the Concorde.
According to the article EIS is pushed back until at least 2014.
At the rate things are going Boeing may have to set up a second production line for the 787 given that Airbus will be excessively late with the A350XWB....
That’ll add a year or so to the launch... Sniff /s
Boeing's been trying for over a decade to figure out how to get such a craft into existing airports and address the survivability of a non-round, light, pressure vessel. No small feat.
They seem to be about to do a freighter. Seems like a prudent step to work out many issues. If they do this, look for a launch in 5 - 7 years.
There’s a very real chance that there could be a BWB military tanker. It would be limited to just tanker roles, but it would be a very good tanker.
Boeing is working on it.
Boeing's BWB wings way towards air cargo market
By Graham Warwick
Airframer in talks with two potential customers to define commercial freighter version
Boeing is working with two potential customers to define a commercial freighter variant of its blended wing body large transport aircraft as it prepares to fly a subscale model of the flying-wing design at NASA Dryden in California.
"We have been working with a couple of customers," says George Muellner, president, advanced systems, for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "We have a customer, we have finalised what they want, and it is now an issue of customer funding and our desire to invest."
Boeing has been working on the BWB concept for years, but the design is still at an early stage. "The earliest it could be out there is eight to 10 years, initially as a commercial freighter and beyond that for military applications," says Muellner.
He says two issues need to be overcome before the BWB becomes a reality. The first is an understanding of the design's low-speed flying qualities. This will be tackled with the two X-48B unmanned subscale vehicles now at Dryden. Flight testing is expected to begin next month.
The second is manufacturability. "The basic design is not a tube, it's a rectangular pressure vessel, so material design is an issue," Muellner says. "The internal structure is like an array of ISO containers," he says, which is one part of its appeal to freight operators. "It's fuel efficient and it's easy to load."
Boeing Commercial Airplanes has been careful to distance itself from the military division's work on BWB because of concerns about passenger acceptance. "BCA is scared because it has no windows," says Muellner.
Especially if a BWB tanker really can have three booms.
The no windows design issue could be solved with putting a screen in the back of each chair and giving choices of a small camera (front, back, top side, bottom side) for the view. I would love to be able to look out the front of the airline while it's flying.
By then (2014), airlines operating the oldest B777’s [this excludes the -300ER, -200LR and partly of the -200ER population] will probably be deciding whether to go 1. More B777’s or 2. try out the A350 XWB family [which is what nAirbus is counting on-their A350 XWB to be a B777 competitor]
It's emergency exits that are the biggest problem. Someone sitting in the middle of the aircraft could be a long distance from any emergency exit. Putting some in the floor wouldn't help if the landing gear is destroyed, and the plane is resting on the bottom of the fuselage. There's also a problem with excessive G forces in the seats furthest from the centerline of the aircraft that could make the ride uncomfortable. That's the main reason they're talking about this being a freighter, but even then it would be non-live freight. I don't think race horse owners would want their expensive horses subjected to excessive G forces away from the centerline.
Where the 747F(reighter) Trounces the A380F is (despite the higher volume of the WhaleJet) is that it's 1 main cargo floor is very strongly supported for heavier loads in very dense capacity.
Whereas, the A380F, though possessing 2 cargo floors, is not designed for dense weights so it can only carry lighter yet bulky items such as FEDEX, DHL, UPS, etc. do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
