FlightBlogger - Aviation News, Commentary and Analysis

Boeing brands the sky with 787 test flight (Update1)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:19:30 -0500

UPDATE 2/10 9:46 AM ET: Thirteen hours later, Airplane 35 is still flying. The aircraft is heading back for Seattle and, when complete, will likely mark the longest 787 flight to date, exceeding 19h.

SEA J12 EPH GEG 4733N 11706W 4236N 11831W 4450N 11752W 4414N 11230W 4710N 11126W 4714N 11125W 4730N 11443W 4214N 11629W 4140N 11325W 4714N 11126W 4645N 10711W 4105N 11056W 4405N 10902W CZI KD81U KD72W 4148N 10335W HANKI YANKI ONL 4201N 9830W KP72C CVA 4148N 9034W GIZCY FOD KP81C KP87A ONL ATY 4523N 9711W KP12C 4743N 9843W 4845N 9655W 4755N 9857W KP15A KP06Y 4248N 10523W MBW ALPOE 4026N 10616W KD60U 3947N 10516W DVV KD60W BENNZ KD63W 4027N 10500W 4040N 10510W 4131N 10501W GYZ KD81W 4728N 9907W 4610N 9804W AMMAJ SOBME 4400N 9820W 4324N 9850W ADEDY ANW 4203N 10104W ALU KD75W 4245N 10424W 4333N 10518W 4404N 10552W 4437N 10558W MARLS YAFLU KU15W POVNY KP18Y 4746N 10000W 4742N 9930W 4753N 9901W MIB JINUK LAMBE 4711N 10515W MLS 4603N 10613W FOURS CZI 4406N 10900W 4643N 10703W 4734N 11444W 4439N 11546W MADPE 4733N 11701W SEA

Boeing brands the sky with 787 test flight, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

I'm sitting at gate C34 at Houston Intercontinental Airport waiting for my flight to DCA and was tipped to 787 ZA236's flight plan (BOE236) for its systems functionality and reliability tests today. The aircraft is in the last stages of flying certification flights for the 787 airframe pairing with the General Electric GEnx-1B engine. Today's flight path, like the creative skywriting we've seen before from the 747-8, traces 787 and The Boeing Company logo from Washington State to Iowa.

Photos of Note: Lufthansa's first 747-8 takes flight

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:33:04 -0500

EVERETT -- Sometimes running late pays off.

I was zipping out the door this morning for the last day of the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance conference in Lynnwood and running a few minutes late (as those who know me I am sometimes prone to be) when Lufthansa's first 747-8 taxied into position on Runway 16R at Paine Field.

RC022 operating at Boeing 22, registered D-ABYA, did a quick rejected takeoff test turned around at the end of 16R and departed to the north a few minutes before 9 AM PT.

The aircraft is expected to be handed over to Lufthansa in March.

The full set of photos of D-ABYA's first takeoff, which were shot through a barely cracked window of my hotel room, are below the fold.

Movie Tuesday - February 7 - Three Approaches, Three Perspectives

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:42:10 -0500

SEATTLE -- Movie Monday comes a day later than usual today and gives a unique look at some of the worlds most interesting approaches.

The first video puts you in the flight deck of an A320 on approach to Paro, Bhutan's capital city and widely believed to be the most difficult approach in the world. The runway, which sits at 7,300ft, is surrounded by 12,000ft peaks.

The second video, which I shot in November, was filmed on the upper deck of an Air France A380. While it's not a flight deck point of view, the IFE onboard allows multiple external views. I took advantage of both and tuned one screen to a forward view from the A380's tail and the other to a straight-down view at the ground below.

After our turn final it became clear that there was a significant crosswind, and the superjumbo would crab into the wind. On the straight-down camera view, notice the offset angle of the markings on the runway as the A380 compensated for the perpendicular wind component.

The third video, I shot from the jumpseat of an Embraer Lineage 1000 while on approach to Santos Dumont Airport in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The views out the front of the modified Embraer 190 provided a look at the amazing terrain that defines Rio, including the city's iconic Sugarloaf.

The Jeppesen charts for the Bhutan and Santos Dumont arrival, which should under no circumstance be used for actual flying, are available after the jump.

All told, these three videos run about 17min. Enjoy!

Airbus looks to offer 20in aisle seats for A320 family

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:49:38 -0500

SEATTLE -- There was a collective "why didn't I think of that?" realization that dawned on the crowd at the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance conference in Lynnwood, Washington this afternoon when Airbus said it was offering a 20in aisle seat to airlines for the A320 family.

The goal is to use the 20in-wide seat as additional ancillary revenue opportunity (aka charge more) for the aisle seat in a six-abreast configuration. Some airlines charge for the aisle seat today, though the difference is that there's no major product differentiation with the middle and window seats. Airbus said the width of the A320's cabin allows for the 3in flexibility in the aisle seat in comparison to the other four seats at 17in.

Varying the width of certain seats isn't new for commercial cabins, Bombardier offers a 1in wider middle seat on the CSeries to make the five-abreast 3-2 configuration more attractive to the 20% of customers who will end up in that seat.

No word yet if any airlines have selected this for its A320 family aircraft.

Boeing inspects 787s after aft fuselage composite delamination

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:18:31 -0500

Prepared for Flightglobal Pro

Delamination prompts Boeing to inspect 787 fleet

Jon Ostrower/Washington, D.C.

Boeing again faces a manufacturing quality issue, requiring inspections and repairs of its 787 fleet.

Structural stiffeners were found to be improperly joined to the composite skin in the aft sections of the aircraft, causing parts of the aircraft's carbon fibre structure to delaminate, confirms the airframer.

"Boeing has found that incorrect shimming was performed on support structure on the aft fuselage on certain airplanes in our facility in Everett, [Washington]," said the airframer.

Flightglobal has confirmed there are at least three affected airframes, Airplanes 56, for All Nippon Airways, where the problem was first discovered, and Airplanes 57 and 58, the first two aircraft for Qatar Airways.

Boeing declined to say how many 787s have this issue, though sources indicated that there are "significantly more" than the three initially identified in the factory.

Programme sources say the stiffeners, or longerons that run along the length of the aircraft, are delaminating around the rear opening of the Section 48 section above and below the cutout known as the "bird's mouth" that holds the Alenia Aeronautica-built horizontal stabiliser.

Boeing said the issue is a "straightforward repair" and poses no "short-term safety concern" and the airframer said its inspections have revealed "delamination in some instances."

Boeing is currently conducting inspections on the already built 787s and those waiting to be assembled, at least 50 airframes, in Everett and its North Charleston, South Carolina facilities.

"We have this condition well-defined and we are making progress on the repair plan," said Boeing and declined to say if the inspections were slowing preparations for delivering additional 787s.

The issue, identified around 24 January was traced to assembly of the aft fuselage by Boeing South Carolina, Formerly Vought Aircraft Industries, where Sections 47 and 48 are fabricated, assembled and stuffed with systems before being delivered to final assembly lines in North Charleston or Everett.

When the longerons are installed on the wound carbon fibre barrel, frames and longerons are secured to the skin of the structure to give it strength. When natural variations in the fit of parts exists, aerospace mechanics will install shims, or spacers, which compensate for variations and wedge into structure to create a tighter fit.

Without the shims, damage can be sustained to the composite when fasteners are installed by pulling the structure together, damaging the layers of carbon fibre.

Over the long-term composite delamination can decrease the fatigue life of the aircraft's structure.

Boeing said it has "already taken appropriate steps to address this issue" in South Carolina, declining to elaborate on what steps it has taken.

"We have already notified our early customers to ensure they are informed and aware of our plans to make repairs, should they be needed," the company said.

ANA, currently the sole operator of five 787s, said: "Currently we are not experiencing the issue; however, we are aware of this issue arising at the factory, and will take appropriate action when contacted by Boeing."

For the affected aircraft, Boeing said its "current plan", which one programme source described as "tedious", will not require the removal of the 787's tail cone and horizontal stabiliser to fix the longerons, its initial remedy for aircraft in the factory, and it can "address this condition without removal of any major structural parts."

"Repairs, should they be needed, will be implemented in the most efficient manner possible," said Boeing in order to maintain a design that conforms with its airworthiness certification standards.

Boeing has faced manufacturing quality issues before, most notably the June 2010 inspection, teardown and reinstallation of many Alenia Aeronautica-built horizontal stabilisers after many were assembled without proper shimming creating gaps in the structure that threatened the fatigue life of the empennage.

A touch of truth and humor for Everett's most famous residents

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:34:00 -0500

Submitted without comment. Levity courtesy of reader WingBender:

Meet the Boeing family of wide body jetliners

787: She is drop-dead gorgeous, she has all the "right" friends, and all the boys want to date her. She loves spending time at the spa, and she is addicted to social media. Predictably, she is a drama queen. Every little problem gets blown out of proportion, resulting in tears and tantrums. She has an attitude of entitlement, believing that everyone exists to serve her needs and desires.

767: He isn't terribly smart, or good-looking, or popular, or talented. He is a little clumsy and socially awkward. Though he is a diligent and reliable worker, his only real option for the future is to go into the military, because frankly he has little prospect of finding employment in the private sector. But bless his heart, we love and adore him.

777: He's the family overachiever. Eagle Scout, 4.0 average, captain of the football team, scholarship offers flowing in, a gorgeous and smart girl friend. He wonders to himself how he could possibly be related to this cast of characters, and secretly wishes he weren't.

747: Quiet and studious, she tends to keep to herself. She's a bit heavy and has a touch of asthma. She seems wise beyond her years, and is burdened by an unspoken sadness. Yet she is unfailingly loyal and will go to the wall for you. Others would do the same for her in an instant.

ANA's 787 faces bumpy service entry on Haneda-Frankfurt

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:18:21 -0500

ANA's first 787 flights with JA801A and JA802A on domestic flights within Japan have been nearly flawless, with a 96.3% on time reliability during its first months of service. For JA805A, the first 158-seat 787 in long-haul international configuration, the introduction on the Tokyo-Haneda to Frankfurt route, the first long-haul service, has been anything but smooth.

All Nippon Airways first long-haul international service with its Boeing 787 has faced a rocky start since 21 January with two of its ten flights operating between Tokyo-Haneda and Frankfurt, Germany cancelled due to technical issues with the new aircraft, the airline confirmed.

ANA cancelled flight NH204 on 26 January and NH203 30 January. Other 787 flights to Germany operated on 21, 23, 26 and 28 January.

The 26 January service was cancelled in Frankfurt when the aircraft's flap system failed, while the 30 January cancellation in Haneda was due to "a temporary failure of the computer software which monitors and controls the aircraft", said ANA, adding "the aircraft has been repaired by replacing the computer's concerned parts and loading software."

Of the five 787 deliveries to ANA, JA805A, Airplane 31, delivered on December 30, is operating exclusively on the airline's long-range international flights.

Photo Credit Carsten Gurk

A Closer Look: Transitioning to the next generation 777 and A340

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:40:40 -0500

Building on last Friday's post about unlocking customers to evaluate competing airframer's products, I wanted to look a bit closer at the changes Airbus and Boeing made to develop their respective second generation 777s and A340s. For Boeing, the aircraft maker would evolve the 777-200ER and -300 into the the 777-300ER, -200LR and freighter, while Airbus would take its A340-300 and -200 to become the A340-600 and -500.

I went digging into the Flight International archive to find the technical evolution of each model and the structural changes that were required from their respective baseline designs. The changes to create the longer range A340s were significantly more extensive with its stretched wingbox, fuselage and revised empennage.

With its raised main landing gear, raked wingtip extensions and structural strengthening, the 777, by comparison did not need a fuselage stretch as the original 777-200 and -300 established the airframes for the -200LR and -300ER.

October 1996 - A340-500/600 soft launch

March 1997 - 777-200X/300X launch

Additional details of the 777 and A340's evolution are below the fold.

News Analysis: Norwegian order points to unlocked 737 market

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:37:49 -0500

To date, Airbus and Boeing have split three of the five announced 737 Max customers: American Airlines, Aviation Capital Group and now Norwegian Air Shuttle.

Norwegian's order for 100 737-8s is a big boost for the re-engined jet as it grows its firm backlog and hardly a surprise as the northern European airline is one of Boeing's stalwart narrowbody customers. Though accompanying that order were 100 more Airbus A320neos.

Fundamentally the "minimum change" Max is a derivative development from today's Next Generation 737, just as the Next Generation family was a derivative of the 737 Classic. With 75% non-commonality, the 737-600, -700, -800 and -900 unlocked the Classic's customers to consider the A320.

The consequence of Boeing's changes to the 737; a new tail cone, widespread structural re-gauging, engine development and a raised nose gear make the Max a manageable, yet expensive (which Boeing disputes), undertaking, concluded Bernstein Research in a report earlier this week. But the result, as illustrated by Norwegian's A320neo order, may also be an unlocked 737 market for Airbus and Boeing to fight over.

Photo Credit Boeing & Airbus

American unveils 777-300ER with Sky Interior elements

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:44:16 -0500

With its 1,000th unit coming down the line for Emirates, Boeing's 777 continues to evolve from its earliest incarnations. The latest interior catalog offerings, now selected by American Airlines, include a 787 and 737-style Sky Interior LED-lit entryway for its 777-300ERs, which enter the fleet in December. Long-time Boeing interior design firm Teague was believed to have been working on this feature for a while now.

The features of its 777 were hinted about last year when, just days after its bankruptcy filing, the carrier announced what would be aboard its new twin.

Arranged in a three-class cabin configuration, the new 777-300ER will provide the airline with more passenger and cargo capacity than any other aircraft in its fleet today. Customers will be welcomed into the aircraft by unique mood lighting. American will be the first carrier to use a dramatic archway and ceiling treatment on the 777-300 to create a feeling of spaciousness.

At that point, American's news release did not include any images or additional details about the interior. Whether the Sky Interior-inspired lighting will run the length of the 777 isn't clear from the photos release by the airline. Further, the carrier appears to be an early customer for the formerly branded Panasonic Fusion in-flight entertainment system, now known as the Integrated Smart Monitor, a photo of which is below the fold.

Additional photos of its business and first class seating are available on American's Facebook page.

UPDATE 3:46 PM ET: While Boeing and American have focused on upgrades to evolve the 777's interior, the company has been finding ways to improve the environmental efficiency of building and delivering each aircraft. While environmental efficiency is the banner under which 10 improvements have been made to the manufacturing process, the bottom line is how to reduce the cost to build each 777 through continuously improving and optimizing its processes.

Photo Credit American Airlines

Aircraft Design 101: What's trust got to do with it?

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:50:12 -0500

As we approach Wendesday's Boeing full year 2011 and quarterly earnings report, which is sure to be filled with questions of the pace of 787 and 747-8 deliveries and production ramp up, the burden of travelled work and change incorporation has been the central theme of aircraft development over the past decade.

I've recently started reading a new book called Smart Trust, by Stephen Covey and Greg Link, recommended to me by a colleague. It explores the role of trust in creating a prosperous, more energetic and happier organization, whether in microfinance in developing nations, the actions of governments and its citizenry or the relationships between customers and suppliers.

I'm still early on in the book, but one quote jumped out at me. While it wasn't referring specifically to aerospace and aircraft development, this paragraph captured the connection directly:

When trust goes down in a relationship, on a team, in an organization, or in a country, speed goes down and cost goes up. Why? Because of the many steps that have to be taken to compensate for the lack of trust. This is a tax-a low-trust tax. Everything takes more time, and miscommunication, redundancy, and rework create costly delays.

To look at the recent history of Airbus A380's wiring woes, the 787's supply chain, the lessons of both are seen in the A350 and CSeries programs, both working to position themselves to avoid similar pains. But was the prevalence of traveled work the root cause of the delays to these aircraft programs or just a symptom of something much deeper both between customer and supplier and within an organization?

Bombardier hints at Odyssey CSeries order

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:13:02 -0500

As part of its PrivatAir CSeries CS100 order announced yesterday, Bombardier provided a significant allusion to one of its unannounced customers.

"Included among the 11 customers that have selected the CSeries aircraft are major network carriers, national carriers, premium airlines serving city centre airports, a low-cost airline, leasing companies and now, with the order from PrivatAir announced today, a full service provider to airline partners," said Philippe Poutissou, Vice President, Marketing, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

The orders are indicated as follows: Firm orders for Republic Airways, Lufthansa, Lease Corporation International, Korean Air, Braathens Aviation, an unidentified major network carrier, an unidentified European customer, a well-established, unidentified airline, and letters of intent from Atlasjet and Ilyushin Finance.

With PrivatAir specifically not included in its list of operator descriptions above, Bombardier appears to be tipping its hand about its prospects for already having secured a premium configured CSeries operating out of a city center airport, like that of London City, which sounds an awful lot like the rumoured Odyssey Airlines.

Photo Credit Bombardier

Photo of Note: A juxtaposition of transportation safety and professionalism

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:47:59 -0500

At yesterday's Airbus Training Center event, professionalism and transportation safety kept coming up as a topic of conversation and how it remains the centerpiece for maintaining the integrity of global transit. While it wasn't mentioned explicitly, these were the two pictures that kept coming to mind.

Submitted without further comment.

Flutter concern prompts 747-8 tail fuel tank deactivation

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:27:37 -0500

Its first delivery of the 747-8 Intercontinental internally slated for February, Boeing is locking out the tail fuel tanks of its new jumbo after a structural flutter was found to occur in the event of a certain structural fitting failure. FULL STORY

"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."

The lock-out will be achieved through the pulling of a circuit breaker and the physical disconnection and capping of fuel lines running to the horizontal stabilizers' 3,300gal tanks.

Boeing says the restriction will shave 300-400nm off the range of the VIP configured 747-8 and will have little impact to the airline configured aircraft, as tail fuel usage is precluded if the non-fuel weight exceeds 60% of the aircraft's maximum structural payload. In such a situation, the fuel payload would be entirely carried by the wing tanks.

Boeing recently updated, then removed - pending review - its 747-8 and -8F maxiumum structural payload and operating empty weight (OEW) weights:

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).

47-8 airline launch customer Lufthansa says, "For our mission profile it's not a problem at the moment," adding the tail fuel restriction would not restrict the aircraft's deployment on its initial routes, which have not yet been announced.

"Of course you want an airplane that can run as long as possible" in unrestricted operation, it added.

Video: Airbus fly-by-wire control stick meets Brazilian landscape

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:04:18 -0500

MIAMI -- I'm here in Florida for the next two days for an Airbus simulator training that will explore the European airframer's digital fly-by-wire philosophy, which has oft been a point of discussion about the role of computers and the role of pilots in flying.

For Airbus, fly-by-wire has resulted in hard limits on the aircraft flight envelope, preventing over-speeding, stalling, and over-banking of the aircraft. The maximum bank allowed is 67-deg, with nose-down pitch not exceeding 15-deg and a 2.5g limit. An auto-thrust system complements the A-floor protection by automatically spooling up the engines, limiting nose up pitch (angle of attack) to prevent the aircraft from stalling and providing best climb performance.

Those philosophical discussions, both of which diverge and converge amongst commercial aircraft manufacturers, have guided aircraft development for three decades now, with some implementation of fly-by-wire included on every single new aircraft in development. The systems have evolved from simply providing a flight control input all the way to being the basis for structural design through limiting loads on an airframe.

The video above shows the technology in action aboard an A320 family aircraft operating around South America in routine operation and presented in rather dramatic fashion.