Aircraft

Boeing has revealed plans to launch a new cargo version of the 767, dubbed the 767-200 Long Range Freighter, a derivative of which will form the basis of its proposal to meet the US Air Force's KC-X tanker requirement.

Few details have been released, but structurally the -200LRXF is expected to borrow heavily from the design of the -200C, the company-funded prototype of what was to be the original USAF KC-767A before that proposed lease deal was shelved.

The single completed 767-200C, line number 923, is stored at Everett, and was to be equipped with the larger -400ER's flightdeck, and incorporate the stretched version's heavier gauge flaps and strengthened main landing gear.

Boeing has seen a recent resurgence of interest in the 767 that, as recently as 2005, was under threat of closure, and says it has "seen some commercial interest" in the -200LRXF.

As a result of new orders, the company has dodged the problem of bridging the gap to the start of production of the USAF aircraft, should it win the $20 billion tanker contest. Fifty-seven aircraft now remain on backlog following the recent order for 767-300ERs from freight carrier UPS.

Meanwhile, Boeing has completed the first extension and retraction of the KC-767 Tanker's refuelling hose from the centreline hose drum unit (HDU) during a test flight over Kansas.

While the US Air Force primarily uses a boom for aerial refuelling, KC-767 customer the Italian air force and other NATO countries predominantly use hose and drogue refuelling. The USAF is specifying a boom and an HDU refuelling capability for its next-generation KC-X tanker.