Posted on 02/25/2005 8:23:17 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
SEATTLE, Feb. 22, 2005 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] today said development of the 747 Large Cargo Freighter is proceeding according to plan and the modified freighters will be ready to support final assembly of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2007.
"We have a top-notch team of engineers working to design what will be one of the most unique airplanes flying," said 787 Vice President of Manufacturing and Quality Scott Strode. "This kind of modification is an engineer's dream. It's an extremely challenging project, and it's essential to the success of the Dreamliner."
Boeing announced last week the critical "swing zone" of the freighter, the part of the Large Cargo Freighter's aft fuselage that opens to allow loading and unloading of the 787's large composite structures, is being designed in partnership with Gamesa Aeronautica of Spain. Gamesa is the first Spanish supplier supporting the Dreamliner program.
Boeing also said today that engineers from Boeing Rocketdyne, located in Canoga Park, Calif., are assisting its structural design team in Everett, Wash., with changes to the Large Cargo Freighter's cockpit area, the only part of the airplane that will be pressurized. Strode said the work is focused on modifications to the upper and lower decks, and relocation of several systems in the forward section of the aircraft.
Engineers at the Boeing Design Center in Moscow are helping design the freighter's enlarged upper fuselage and rear fuselage, as well as the main cargo deck floor and "transition zone" that marries the new structure to the existing airplane structure. The expanded girth of the Large Cargo Freighter will hold three times the cargo by volume of the 747-400 freighters flying today.
The design supplier for the pressure bulkhead that joins the cockpit area to the fuselage will be named after contracts are finalized. No design changes are necessary to the freighter's wings, and Boeing engineers will extend the airplane's vertical fin by five feet to aid the pilots' control during flight.
The Large Cargo Freighter team achieved firm configuration of the airplane in October. Once the detailed design work is completed, the components will largely be provided by current 747 suppliers, Strode said. Those parts will then be shipped to Taipei, where the airplanes will be modified by Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corporation (EGAT), a joint venture between EVA Air and General Electric, and part of Taiwan 's Evergreen Group.
Systems updates will be provided by the existing 747 suppliers.
Boeing has decided the airplane will remain without a livery until an operator for the airplanes is chosen later this year. "We know Boeing will not operate these airplanes," Strode said. "We are talking with a number of interested parties, and we expect that branding of the airplane will be part of the negotiation process."
Two Large Cargo Freighters will be needed to support initial 787 production. Two 747-400s that will be converted to the new configuration were purchased by Boeing last year. Boeing continues looking for a third airplane that will enter service later. Certification of the first Large Cargo Freighter will occur in 2006, with the airplane returning to service in 2007 to support final assembly of the first Dreamliners.
The 787 is an all-new family of mid-sized airplanes that will provide exceptional fuel efficiencies for airlines and superior comfort for passengers. It is to enter service in 2008. Boeing has 191 announced firm orders and commitments for the 787 from 15 airlines.
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Ping!
It looks like a flying Thermos.
So these planes are being developed just to assemble the 787 not to compete with Airbus?
Wow, it's like loading a battery stick into my Streamlight.
I'm sure if some other company needed a large freighter, Boeing would be willing to manufacture more of them. This is just a conversion of the standard 747-400 passenger aircraft of which more than 500 have been built.
Yes, these are cargo aircraft no passenger aircraft. Possibly Boeing will make more for other airlines?
Moscow? Are we talking Russkies, or does Idaho have a design facility?
I bet Fed Ex is wondering if they made a mistake buying that Airslop 380
I think Boeing ceased production of the 747 family aircraft a few years ago.
No they're still building them just at a low rate. Most of the new ones are freighters. In fact Boeing is talking about taking the technology developed for the 787 and applying it to a new generation of slightly stretched, more efficient 747s that would seat about 450 people. It would be about midway between a 777-300ER and an A-380 in capacity. They're also talking about massively stretching the freighter version.
This plane is not really suited for Fed Ex. The cargo hold is not pressurized. Notice the diagram mentions a new pressure bulkhead. It is located just behind the passenger door. The front of the plane is the only section that is pressurized.
It has gotten by with some bizarre transportation methods for oversized major assemblies --- they use barges, modified rail cars, and tractor trailers that steer at both ends. They all work but are unwieldy and already at their limits for size of the pieces they could transport.
Airbus saw the need for air transport when they started their company, and bought up all the available Super Guppy transport planes for themselves.
They use them to fly in whole fuselage sections to their assembly plant in France. Obviously Boeing intends to copy their methods, but they have to build their own transport to do it.
Not only that, they bought the plans and converted three more, because the company that built them had alread gone out of business.
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