Boeing 787 (partie 2)

The 787-10 variant, seen as a "relatively small statement of work", said Piasecki, would be a stretch of the 250- to 290-seat 787-9, and would offer a performance of approximately 320 passengers, twin 74,000lb (329kN) engines, with a range of 6,800nm (12,600km), slightly lower than its June estimate of 6,900nm.
Ahead of the 787-10's potential launch, Boeing plans to introduce the 787-9 at the end of 2013, which is expected to undergo its critical programme review (CPR) later in September "building off the load and flight test data on the 787-8", said Piasecki.

All Nippon Airways, launch customer for the Boeing 787, has taken contractual delivery of its first of 55 aircraft three and a half years late.
Boeing completed the transaction early on 25 September in Everett, Washington, officially giving ANA ownership of the aircraft maker's majority composite flagship product, said Scott Fancher, 787 programme vice president and general manager.
Fancher announced the historic step while briefing reporters shortly after 09:00, local time.

©Boeing

Takeo Kukuchi, general manager of ANA's Seattle office, shakes hands with Paul Baldwin, a Boeing contracting officer, after signing the delivery forms for the first 787.
"Just about an hour ago we did sign the contract with ANA," Fancher said. "The title has been transferred of the first vehicle to ANA, so we're real excited about that."
ANA became launch customer on 26 April 2004, launching the then-dubbed 7E7, in a deal for 50 aircraft, the first of which was due for delivery in May 2008.
After years of delays due to supply chain issues and design changes, Boeing's delivery concludes the long wait by its launch customer, which was deeply involved in the design of the aircraft.

ANA is also Boeing's first non-US launch customer for a new widebody aircraft in its history, underscoring the international nature of the programme's partner base, 35% of which is built by Japanese supplier Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Fuji Heavy Industries.
The first 787, Airplane Eight registered JA801A, will arrive in Japan at 09:00 Tokyo local time on 28 September.

EVERETT -- With Saturday's first flight of Airplane 24, ZA103, registered JA802A, Rolls-Royce marked an important milestone, the first flight of the Package B Trent 1000 engine on a production aircraft, confirms program vice president and general manager Scott Fancher.
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UPDATE: Boeing and Rolls-Royce clarified earlier inaccurate remarks that said the Package B engines had flown on Airplane 24. That is, in fact, not the case and it looks like the Package B engines won't deliver until November or December ahead of the January start for ANA's long-haul international service to Frankfurt.

Certification of the Package B engine, expected soon, incorporates a revised six-stage low pressure turbine (LPT) design, high-aspect-ratio blades, relocation of the intermediate-pressure (IP) compressor bleed offtake ports and a fan outlet guide vanes with improved aerodynamics. The updated engine will bring specific fuel consumption to within 1% of the original specification.

ANA and Boeing declined to comment on the delivery timing of the second 787 to ANA, though several program sources point a handover in the second half of October.

At June's Paris Air Show, Rolls-Royce expected ANA's fifth 787 to be powered by the Package B engine and would inaugurate international long-haul service, though ANA senior vice president Satoru Fujiki said the second aircraft will delivered in its short to medium-haul configuration.

Boeing has completed the critical design review for the stretched 787-9, and according to sources, seems to be ‘happy’ that it is tracking its ambitious performance targets – both in terms of payload/range and critical aircraft structural weight.
The clock is ticking on the 787-9 as first deliveries are set to begin in only 27 months, and Boeing knows it cannot afford a repeat of the delays experienced on the 787-8. The key challenge for the 787-9 is to deliver approximately a 20% increase in passenger load (around 40 more seats), and additional range without a change in wingspan. Several weight-related design changes are being invoked with the shift to the -9, many as a result of lessons-learned on the -8, including a revised side-of-body structural join. Overall the -9, which was defined last summer, will be 20 ft longer than the -8 with a 206 ft fuselage. It will carry up to 290 passengers in standard configuration and have a range of up to 8,500 naut mile.
Further details of the 787-9 timetable and development may be revealed at briefings planned for later today. So watch this space.

To accommodate the maximum take-off weight of between 545,000 lb and 553,000 lb, around 50,000 lb more than the -8, the main landing gear truck is enlarged, its beam widened and the overall gauge increased. As a result the landing gear required additional stowage space, forcing Boeing to raise the height of the pressure deck to avoid any changes to the outer mold line. Overall, however, Jenks describes the structural changes as minor.

Rolls-Royce is gearing up to make the first run of a Trent 1000 with elements of the ‘Package C’ engine configuration in development for the 787-9. An engine containing discrete features of the ‘C’ upgrade is due to make its first run in Derby, England in October. Rated at around 74,000 lb thrust, the first full-up Package C engine will run in early 2012. The improved engine will incorporate advanced tip clearance control systems in the high, intermediate and low pressure turbines as well a range of changes to the secondary air system.

The first Package B engine is close to certification on the 787-8, having flown on test aircraft ZA004 since May this year. Aircraft type certification with Package B is expected around the start of November. The upgrade is designed to bring performance to within 1% of Boeing’s original specification and will be rated at 70,000 lb for delivery of the first long-haul 787-8 version for ANA - currently set for the late November-early December timeframe.

The package includes revisions to the twist of the fan blades and outlet guide vanes which were prompted when Boeing’s thrust requirement increased. The higher thrust resulted in a slightly smaller nozzle exit area which drove changes to the fan to match the higher pressure ratio. Package B also includes changes to aerodynamics in the six-stage low pressure turbine, while improved cooling flow was developed for the intermediate pressure turbine and changes made to the secondary air system to take off sealing and cooling air at a lower pressure stage.

After the first 787 Dreamliner was delivered Sunday in Everett, a tour of the 787 final-assembly line showed strong evidence that Boeing has made genuine progress in building the jets.

And at a briefing for the international media here for the milestone, the head of the program insisted that the gigantic investment Boeing has made on the new jet will pay off in the future.

On the 787 assembly line, the four jets lined up in production were strikingly more complete than jets seen on a June visit.

On that earlier visit, because of problems with parts coming in from suppliers in Europe and Australia, the horizontal tails on some 787s were not finished, and passenger doors as well as most of the wing trailing edges were missing.

Sunday, tails and doors were installed on all the planes. The one nearest the door was having its engines hung, a job that until now was mostly deferred until after the planes rolled out onto the flight line.

And out on Paine Field, there was more evidence of progress: Boeing is dismantling the large tentlike shelter it had constructed for modifying the faulty wing-body joins on its early 787s.

That work is now done, and the fix to the wing-body join on subsequent planes is being done on the mid-fuselage assembly line in Charleston, S.C.

Certainly, there are still issues. The planes lined up behind the one being fitted with engines were still missing one section of the trailing edge, which is supposed to be installed earlier.

"It's not all perfect yet," said Larry Coughlin, director of 787 final assembly. "It's getting better."

It may be that Boeing cleaned up the factory especially well and cleared away any temporary fixtures for the media visit.

But even if the production line isn't quite as shiny as it appeared, progress is undeniable.

The way the assembly line looks supports an assertion by a senior Boeing engineer — who asked not to be identified because he's not authorized to talk to the media — that production stability is finally within sight.

"We're actually finishing planes in final assembly now," he said last week. "We'll get to a stable production rate this winter."

Journalists on Sunday also got to tour the second 787 that will be delivered, Dreamliner No. 24.

This jet is the first one to be delivered that will benefit from some structural changes introduced on production plane No. 20 to save weight.

The airplane looks almost ready to go. You can already watch a movie on the seat-back video screens. That plane is scheduled for delivery to Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) on Oct. 14.

The first Dreamliner to be delivered, No. 8, was privately handed over to ANA early Sunday morning.

Afterward, Scott Fancher, 787 vice president, was asked by a journalist whether Boeing could get a return on its investment in the 787 as reported Sunday in The Seattle Times: more than $32 billion so far on developing the 787 and building the first 40-some planes.

Fancher said the investment was the "right business choice" that will prove worthwhile as the jet's innovative technologies become "the backbone" of future airplane development "for the next 30 years."

"We like the investment we made in the 787," he said. "We like the potential going forward."

He didn't comment on the $32 billion figure.

Fancher said Boeing has learned much from its challenges with the Dreamliner that it can apply to future jet projects.

It's not just the know-how to design and build an airplane out of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, he said, but also how to integrate sophisticated new airplane systems such as the 787's extensive use of electric power in place of hydraulics, and its "fly-by-wire" electronic flight controls.

"These technologies will serve us well for a generation," Fancher said.

A celebration by employees of the first delivery milestone is scheduled Monday morning, headlined by Boeing CEO Jim McNerney and ANA Chief Executive Shinichiro Ito.

In advance, Boeing briefed about 150 media representatives from the U.S., Japan, China, Australia and various European nations.

Takatomi Shindo, an anchor for a business-news show on TV Tokyo, said his audience is particularly interested in the Dreamliner as a validation of Japan's manufacturing prowess.

Japanese companies designed and build about 35 percent of the structure of the Dreamliner, including the wings.

Although many of those manufacturers are currently struggling in a weakened economy, Shindo said, "We like to see that Japanese companies can show the world that they can still contribute."

Satoru Fujiki, ANA senior vice president, said the airline will take four Dreamliners this year and eight more by the end of March. He said ANA will have all 50 of the 787s it has on order by 2017.

Boeing Chairman and CEO James McNerney says the 787 will be cash-positive before 2020, a reference to cash flow on a unit basis and not to the program’s overall profitability

Beyond the 3.5-per-month assembly rate that Albaugh forecasts for early next year, Rubel forecasts a monthly pace of five by the end of 2012. But that is just half of what Boeing wants by the end of 2013. “I don’t think there’s a chance whatsoever of getting to that rate,” says Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia.

He acknowledges that 787 production “is on the mend,” but says the company still must incorporate design improvements in Block 1 aircraft (through Line No. 21) as it matures an “entirely new supply chain and entirely new technologies.” Ten per month will be a record assembly rate for widebody jets, he notes.

On top of that, Aboulafia takes a wait-and-see approach to what adjustments Boeing might need to make with the airplane in service. “You don’t know how well it will perform until it does,” he declares.

Weight:
First prototype - ZA001: 7.8 tonnes (21,500 lbs.) overweight
LN7 - LN19: 6.1 tonnes (13,500 lbs.) overweight
LN-20: 4 tonnes (8,800 lbs.) overweight
LN-90: meets original weight targets

Engines:
R-R Trent Package A: 2% - 4% miss on SFC
R-R Trent Package B: 1% miss on SFC

GEnx-1B: 2% to 3% miss on SFC
PIP1: Reduces fuel burn by 1.4%
PIP2: Reduces fuel burn by 1.5%
2013 spec GEnx-1B: hits original SFC target (=+)

Aerodynamics of B-787: Slightly better than expected

Conclusion on B-787-8: Should finally hit the original factory specs in 2013

B-787-9: Weight is ahead of curve
B-787-10X: Probably EIS in 2016

As part of its upgraded design - which includes significant structural changes in some areas of the aircraft - Boeing will transition the larger -9 to a wing featuring more composite, with carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) in-spar ribs supplied by Korean Aerospace Industries.

Mark Jenks, 787 vice-president of engineering, said the first four inboard ribs of the 787-9's wing will be made from composite, rather than the current aluminium design.

Jenks said Boeing has not yet made a decision on whether or not the 787-9's new horizontal stabiliser architecture - which includes an integral multi-spar box design - will be incorporated back into the -8.

The new empennage also includes a centreline-spliced horizontal stabiliser, similar to the design of the 777, rather than the two co-cured boxes joined with a central junction base design, as on the 787-8.

SINGAPOUR, 12 octobre (Reuters) - Le directeur général d'Air New Zealand AIR.NZ a annoncé mercredi que de nouveaux retards étaient possibles dans la livraison des 787 Dreamliner commandés à Boeing BA.N , ajoutant que la compagnie est en négociations en vue de compensations.
Air New Zealand doit recevoir ses huit premiers Dreamliner d'ici à la fin de 2013, avec un retard de trois ans.
"Nous ne serions pas surpris de constater de nouveaux retards, mais nous
n'en avons pas encore été informés formellement", a déclaré Rob Fyfe à
Reuters.

http://www.boursorama.com/actualites/air-new-zealand-n-exclut-pas-de-nouveaux-retards-sur-dreamliner-1e862bf48079c983c8420252658cafce

Beochien a écrit:Bonjour !

Air India ... et ses 787, c'est toujours aussi incertain, pas nouveau , mais ...
En Fr dans le Figaro !
http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/2011/10/05/97002-20111005FILWWW00518-l-inde-reexamine-l-achat-de-27-b787.php

A day after news of China Eastern's (600115.SS) (0670.HK) cancellations, a Boeing executive said some orders would fall through as it adjusted delivery dates and that the pace of production of the fuel-efficient aircraft would pick up.

"Frankly as we look forward, we expect to see the Dreamliner order base increase, we expect to see more orders, we expect to see more cancellations, especially as we go through mitigation with our customers," Boeing marketing vice president Randy Tinseth told a briefing in Seoul.

China Eastern said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange it would instead spend $3.3 billion to buy 45 new Boeing 737 aircraft, more of a regional jet than the Dreamliner, and also buy 15 Airbus EADS (EAD.PA) A330s worth $2.5 billion.

Analysts said other Chinese airlines might also now decide to cancel Dreamliners as they re-assess the long-haul market.

China Eastern's purchase of Airbus (EAD.PA) A330s, a competitor to the Dreamliner, could add even more pressure on Boeing to ramp up production of the 787s, now three years behind original schedule. Each plane has a list price of $185 million.

"There is a good chance that other Chinese airlines will also cancel their 787 orders because most of the time they will act together," said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.

"This indicates that China Eastern is taking a bearish view on long-haul and believes the recovery in the United States and Europe won't come soon, so they don't want to invest so much on big planes for long-haul."

RISK TO 787 BACKLOG

Alex Hamilton, managing director of EarlyBirdCapital, also suspected Boeing's arch-rival, Airbus (EAD.PA), was using the Dreamliner delays to push keenly priced sales of its own jets.

"All this highlights the risk to the 787 backlog, especially if they can't get to 10 per month," Hamilton said, referring to Boeing's 787 production target.

Boeing's Tinseth told reporters the company was producing two 787s a month, and would "slowly but consistently increase the rate until the end of 2013 we'll be building 10-a-month".

Other aviation analysts said Chinese airlines were more likely to reconsider their Dreamliner orders than many rivals elsewhere, because they had a more aggressive growth profile and were more sensitive to any downgrade to global growth.

Australia's Qantas Airways (QAN.AX), struggling to revive profitability on its long-haul network, said on Tuesday that it remained fully committed to its 50 Dreamliner orders. Air New Zealand AIR.NZ also said it was not reconsidering its orders.

Korean Air Lines (003490.KS) also said it would introduce 10 787-9 Dreamliners from 2016 "as planned".

In Beijing, Boeing China said there was no sign of further cancellations of Chinese orders.

"The other committed Chinese airlines remain committed to the 787," Boeing said in a statement. "The 787 is the right choice for these airlines' international expansion for a number of reasons, including unmatched passenger experience, fuel efficiency and environmental performance."

Among Chinese airlines, China Southern (600029.SS) has 10 Dreamliners on order, Air China (601111.SS) 15, Hainan Airlines (600221.SS) 10 and Xiamen Air six. Hong Kong Airlines had in March signed an preliminary deal to buy 32 of the aircraft.

Boeing said the 24 787s canceled by China Eastern were part of a deal with China's government for the purchase of 60 787s. Globally for 2011, Boeing has reported 26 net cancellations for the Dreamliner, excluding China Eastern's decision.

The Dreamliner is about three years behind its original schedule because of kinks in the sprawling global supply chain.

Boeing still has more than 800 orders for the lightweight, carbon-composite aircraft on its books. It made first delivery of the Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways (9202.T) last month.

"The production system is working really well, our partners are doing exactly what we need them to be doing," he said.

"We had significant issues a year ago and we have resolved all of those."

Boeing has "sizeable resident teams" stationed at key suppliers in Japan and Italy to ensure there is no repeat, he added.

Meanwhile, the airframer is still attempting to cut the weight of its 787-8, although it declined to be drawn on how or when this will be achieved.

"I don't know specifically when we'll reach the design weight, but that's almost irrelevant now because we'll continue to push and plan further weight reduction opportunities forever," Maffeo said. "Anything that can save a pound of weight is a big deal."

The next step will be production and certification of the -9 variant. Boeing has completed its detailed design review of the aircraft and will begin assembly next year, with flight testing and certification scheduled for early 2013.

Maffeo also reaffirmed that the airframer's forecast of 25 to 30 combined 787 and 747 deliveries this year.

LOT Polish Airlines is expecting another delivery delay of its first Boeing 787, Polish Press Agency PAP reported.

The first delivery, most recently rescheduled for spring 2012, has been pushed back to 2013, more than five years behind the original schedule, PAP reported. Three more 787s were expected to be delivered by the end of next year (ATW Daily News, Aug 23).

LOT placed its first order for seven 787s in 2005, and increased the order to eight in 2007. Deliveries were originally slated to begin in 2008 (ATW Daily News, Sept. 8, 2005).

Boeing suffered a major setback this week when China Eastern (MU) revealed it was canceling its order for 24 787s and instead ordering 15 Airbus A330s (ATW Daily News, Oct. 18). MU has placed a new order for 45 737s, but analysts are saying that other Chinese airlines might now also cancel their Dreamliners.

Despite the 787 delivery delay, LOT plans to launch Warsaw-Beijing services next year. PEK will be its second route to the Far East, in addition to Hanoi.

PAP reported that LOT posted a loss of PLN52 million ($18.4 million) on its core business operations in the first three quarters of 2011, up by PLN44 million compared to the same period last year, CEO Marcin Pirog told PAP Monday.

"Proceeds from our core business operations rose by 6% over the nine months in 2011 while costs rose by 4% (year-on-year), despite fuel prices rising by as much as 27%," Pirog said. "The financial result on the core operations for the three quarters means that a loss declined from PLN96 million in 2010 to PLN52 million this year," he said.

Polish Leasing Co. PLL LOT posted net profits of PLN 5.4 million from January to September 2011.