Posted on 02/09/2007 7:14:08 AM PST by lowbuck
Speaking in Sydney, Boeing VP-Marketing Randy Baseler told ATWOnline that the program is on time for a rollout in July with first flight scheduled for August. He said the company will begin final assembly of the first 787 early in the second quarter. "The schedule for the 787 is very aggressive, 6-18 months more aggressive than any other Boeing airplane, but we are progressing right on track," he said.
A recent Morgan Stanley report indicated that the manufacturer has stuck to its schedule on new programs. It has produced 21 new or derivative commercial jets since the 747-200 in 1971 and all but one was on time--the 747-400 was three months late.
Looking ahead, Baseler said he expects Boeing to have another good year but doesn't expect it to be a record. On competing with the A350 XWB, he said it appears most airlines have "yet to get firm data" on the Airbus offering. He suggested the A350 seems to be targeting the 777-300ER end of the market but noted the 777's wing is 20% larger than the 787's. He also commented that the A350 fuselage is one full seat narrower than the 777.
Airbus has yet to respond to ATWOnline's request for the wing area of the XWB.
Ah, a jab with the sharp elbow. Normally ATW is a bit of a cheerleader for Airbus.
Ping...
Good for Boeing. But they'd better get it right. Rushing is sometimes not a good idea, and their schedule is very aggressive. And the 787 includes quite a bit of technology new to commercial airliners. All it took was a single bad pylon mounting bolt to begin McDonnell-Douglas on its downward slide to commercial irrelevancy...
Give the first one to bella pelosi and .....
Uh oh. When this one goes into service, only 797 and 717 designations are left. There's some BIG change coming in the near future when they run out of 7X7 numbers.
They used the 717 already, too: for the MD-95 when they took it over from McDonnell-Douglas. It's probably time for a new numbering scheme, anyway.
Caused by some maintenance slackers at O'Hare.
They've got lots more!
26 of 'em: 7A7, 7B7,...
Well OK, 25, leave out the 7E7.
The 717 designation has been used twice. First as an internal Boeing designation for the KC-135, and second as the Boeing name for the McDonnell Douglas MD-95 inherited from the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.
Original 717
MD-95 marketed as the 717.
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Ahead Warp Factor 3
I forgot about the KC-135, but didn't know about the MD-95.
This is bad news -- only 797 is left!
Made bad by mechanics at American using forklifts instead of engine stands to improperly remove/install engines and pylons to save time and money.
Re: pic in #11...Thats an environment I could learn to love in my Trans-Pac flights...:)
I have been inside the interior mockup in Seattle. The 787 interior is a sight to behold. The roominess is incredible. The subconscious effects of the lighting and the colors is amazing. That you will be able to have your window darkened so that the outside light is not coming in, but you are still able to look out (like through sunglasses) is revolutionary. There is more.......people will want to fly on these airplanes.
Yes...I've been following the development of the 787 in the trade mags and it looks like a honey. The lighting and other effects being incorporated from the design boards onward are going to bring pax travel to the nest level.
As a side note - I had and early model of one of them SW69's. Liked the size and ergonomics. Didn't like the double action trigger pull (always shot low...very low on 1st bang) and wound up with a cracked frame. And this was before +p's in 9mm. Returned to Smith 2x's and finally just about gave it away. It was an experiment that didn't work out!
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