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Aviation History
1981
1981 - 1549.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 May 198/ 1547 Boeing profit up 20 per cent on 1979 BOEING earned some $600 million from sales valued at $9,426 million during 1980. The profit figure is al most 20 per cent up on that for the previous year, while sales increased by a smaller proportion. Order back log at December 31 stood at more than $20,000 million—up a ninth on the 1979 figure. About 84 per cent of the outstanding work relates to commer cial customers, the US Government accounting for the remainder. During the year, three 707s, 131 727, 92 737s and 73 747s were deliv ered by Boeing Commercial Airplane Company. Current plans see the hand over in 1981 of three 707s, 99 727s, 109 737s and 58 747s. New jet trans port orders received in 1980 from 66 customers are worth $10 300 million; the business covers 361 aircraft (against 306 ordered in 1979). Although competition from 757 and 767 will continue to be felt in the 727 marketplace, chairman T. Wilson says that 25-30 727s will be handed over in 1982. while a further 12 are slated for 1983 delivery when the two new types are going to be in service. Re duced 727 and 747 orders in 1980 are balanced by sales of 103 737s, the highest total for any commercial transport last year, Boeing claims. The company expects that its new types will account for about half of the $122,000-million market it estimates exists for commercial jet transports of this size over the next ten years. Customers for the 737 now exceed 100 with 10 new buyers added in INDUSTRY Internationa 1980. Air New Zealand was a first- time 747 purchaser last year, order ing five of the 49 units sold. Among the 82 727 sales was an order from the type's 99th customer. The 707 is no longer offered in civil form but military orders should provide useful work until at least June 1984. Boeing Aerospace Company reports "significant" growth in 1980 with a number of production contracts. These include its establishment as prime contractor on the Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) programme, USAF and Nato contracts to build 27 E-3A Airborne Warning and Control Sys tems (Awacs) aircraft and a pro gramme to modify E-4 Advanced Air borne Command Posts. The company's AGM-86B has been selected as the USAF's ALCM, of which at least 3 400 are to be bought over several years to equip the B-52 force. A new manu facturing plant is being set up near Seattle for the programme. Some 40 missiles a month will be built. Awacs work covers a total fleet of 34 aircraft, of which the 1980 order includes 27 units valued at $2,200 mil lion. Three E-3As were completed and delivered in 1980; 23 are now in ser vice. Under the E-4 contract two air- BAe pioneers titanium forging technique BRITISH AEROSPACE is the first manufacturer to use titanium-alloy super-plastic forming and diffusion bonding (SPFDB) in an airliner. The company has a £660,000 Airbus con tract for housings—called "cans"— into which A310 leading-edge slat jacks and tracks will retract. BAe claims that the units will be as strong as conventionally formed items, but about 40 per cent lighter. Reduced costs save about £l,000/air- craft. Two slat cans are fitted to each wing. They project into the main fuel tanks and are designed to withstand high pressures. SPFDB is a production-engineer's ideal: the technique allows complica ted, closed-volume structures with in ternal stiffening to be formed in a single operation. This brings together two processes that incidentally need exactly the same conditions to work. Super-plastic forming achieves large, very accurate deformations of metal by blowing it into a mould at high temperatures (950°C for titanium), using inert gas at pressures of up to 3001b / in2 for thicker plate. The titanium / vanadium / aluminium alloy has particularly good deep- forming properties. Elongations of up to 1,000 per cent are possible, and the metal loses none of its original strength. Coincidentally, diffusion bonding of titanium also occurs at around 950°C. Two metal surfaces are held together by gas or mechanical pressure and heated until the molecules diffuse across the interface. Metallurgically, the bond is good enough to be treated as if the metal were continuous. The two techniques are ideally suited to titanium which, although very light, heat resistant and tough, is difficult to form and weld by tradi tional methods. It exhibits a high de gree of "springback" when cold- formed and rapidly produces its own oxide layer, which helps corrosion resistance but demands specialised welding. Bringing superplastic form ing and diffusion bonding together for titanium alloy results in savings of up to 60 per cent in costs on tradi tional fabrication methods, says BAe. The company has been developing the SPFDB techniques for about ten years. It is now examining manufac turing costs of larger items such as engine-thrust beams and mounting frames, fuselage-floor structures, fair ing panels and pressure doors. craft will be modified to the E-4B con figuration. The new Roland missile facility with in Seattle's Plant 2 has begun pro duction. First units are expected to be delivered to the US Army in the middle of this year. Work continues on the Wasp anti-tank missile. Boeing is one of two companies competing for a full-scale engineering development contract to be awarded in 1983. The company's first overseas space- systems customer appears with the agreement to supply Sweden with the spacecraft platform for its Viking satellite to be launched in 1984. Boeing Military Airplane Com pany is working on a new transport project and has considerable work on updating existing USAF types. Its pro posal in the new C-X competition has been submitted and a contract deci sion is expected in a few months. Improved systems Three different programmes are under way to improve B-52 effective ness: improved avionics, navigation and weapons-delivery systems kits are being produced for 269 B-52B/H air craft, cruise-missile integration kits are to be supplied for 173 B-52Gs while a contract provides for defen sive avionics development. A single KC-135 tanker is being re-engined with GE/Snecma CFM56 turbofans for the USAF; 600 examples remain in service from the original 777 machines, but no decision has been made about the number to be re- equipped. KC-135 wing reskinning is aimed at seeing the type through to at least the end of the century. Variable- camber wings are being studied to im prove manoeuvring performance and a flight-test programme will feature an F-lll next year. The company also makes parts and sub-assemblies for the 757 and 767 programmes. Two military contracts were won by Boeing Vertol last year. CH-47s are to be modernised under a US Army contract covering 436 aircraft over the next 12 years. More efficient engines and transmissions, composite rotor blades and modern electrical, avionics and hydraulic systems are to be introduced. The US Navy and Marine Corps CH-46 fleets are to be updated during the next eight years in a contract involving 368 machines. Twelve CH-47 Chinooks were de livered in 1980—one to the Argentine, six to the US Army and five to the Royal Air Force. Three CH-47Cs will be handed over to the Spanish Air Force this year. Boeing Vertol's Model 234 Commercial Chinook is in pro duction for British Airways Helicop ters. Development of a heavy-lift helicopter was resumed after five years with receipt of a Nasa contract. The company builds parts and as semblies for the 727, 737, 747, 757 and 767.
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