Boeing 747-8F et I

art_way a écrit:Rhooo Rasta tu exagères De toute façon tu comprends rien...

The announcement Monday during the Asian Aerospace exhibition in Hong Kong that Air China has ordered five 747-8 Intercontinentals was good news for Boeing, which has seen the passenger version of the newest edition of its iconic intercontinental transport lag behind freighters.

But the news set some observers wondering what inducements Boeing might have offered to win the deal. “Can you say, ‘Compensation for 787 delays?’” piped in one of them.

This line of thinking suggests that the discounts were very deep on the new four-engine jet because of Air China’s discontent over delivery delays for Boeing’s two-engine wonder.


It should be noted that Air China is no stranger to the 747. It bought its first in 1986 and ordered 16 over the years, including 14 747-400s.

Those who have followed the 787 program might recall that when Air China and other Chinese carriers signed their initial intent to buy the new plane, Boeing officially changed its name from 7E7 (“E” for efficient) to 787. At the time, company officials noted the happy coincidence that the number eight just happens to be fortuitous in the Chinese language.


The signing ceremony was in Washington and a big deal. The general agreement – formalities came later – was penned by Yang Jiechi, then China’s ambassador to the U.S., and Alan Mulally, then Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ CEO.

With a list-price value of $7.2 billion (reportedly the largest ever signed for new aircraft by Chinese authorities), it easily exceeded another deal of the moment – a $1.4 billion commitment from China Southern Airlines to buy five Airbus A380s.

Six Chinese carriers were involved in the 787 order, but when Yang and Mulally met the exact distribution of the 60 planes was not announced.

But it was clear what China did want by being one of Boeing’s early 787 customers. It wanted at least one of the shiny new airplanes to carry passengers to the Beijing Olympics in August 2008.

Well, we know how that worked out.

Once the order was completed, Air China emerged as the buyer of 15 long-range 787-9s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s. With the 747-8I it will switch powerplants to a derivative of the Trent’s competitor on the 787, the General Electric GEnx-2B67. The GEnx is the sole powerplant on 747-8s.

Here’s some other comments by people who don’t want to be quoted but who say they have heard from within Air China’s ranks (the airline isn’t talking). Some of the new 747-8s will be assigned to a VIP role for senior Chinese government officials. Apparently one reason for that assignment is that they prefer four-engine transports, thus ruling out any of the 19 777-300ERs that Air China has on order or the 10 777-200s it already flies.

aubla a écrit:Bonjour à tous

Premier vol pour le Boeing 747-8I ce weekend,
un bel oiseau.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/03/20/354560/boeing-747-8i-completes-first-flight.html




bonne journée
aubla

The Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing have come to final agreement on the outboard aileron modal suppression system that is designed to dampen out the vibration in the wing of the 747-8F. The 22 page Special Condition the FAA has assigned the nomenclature of limit cycle oscillation (LCO) to describe the vibration, which is also how the inboard aileron power control unit (PCU) problem was identified, only serving to confuse us all. Also worth noting, the lead engineer and developer of OAMS, Pio Fitzgerald, was awarded Boeing Commercial Airplanes Engineer of the Year.

Boeing expects to resume flight tests of the 747-8 passenger model tomorrow (Mar 30), following the completion of intermediate inspections and systems checks.
The aircraft, RC001, has been at Boeing Field since the completion of its 4 hr., 25 min. first flight on Mar 20., with Boeing captains Mark Feuerstein and Paul Stemer on the flightdeck. Boeing originally hoped to resume flight tests around Mar 27, but extended testing over the last two days to complete calibration checks of the communications, angle of attack and pitch systems.

Boeing began flutter testing Friday to evaluate the aeroelastic stability of the first 747-8 Intercontinental, as the aircraft advances toward its type inspection authorization (TIA), which will formally kick off the Federal Aviation Administration's involvement in certification flight tests, the company confirms.

Matt Cawby's KPAE blog captured RC001, Boeing's first 747-8I, at 32,000ft in the flutter track high above Washington state on its first day of flutter testing. Company sources say the aircraft achieved a Mach .96 cruise at 35,000ft during the first day of testing. According to audio of the test, the outboard aileron modal suppression system (OAMS) was tested on RC001, which was absent during the aircraft's first flight.

Coincidentally, flutter testing for the 747-8F began almost exactly one year ago, coming eight weeks after the new freighter's first flight. As an indication of the new jet's maturity, Boeing has begun flutter testing roughly 20 days after its March 20 first flight.

Additionally, RC503 has ferried to Keflavik, Iceland for crosswind and limit wind testing, while RC001 continues runway performance and max brake energy tests in Palmdale after leaving Edwards Air Force Base.

At the time Boeing claimed the 747-8 would burn 13% less fuel per seat than a 416-seat 747-400 and 12% less than a 542-seat A380, the latter figure later raised to 13% less than the A380. Based mainly on the heavier weight of the A380 (about 40kg per seat in terms of operating empty weight), Boeing also said cost per seat would be -6%, and cost per trip -22% less than the A380.