The battle of wing extensions for new single-aisle

"Dual feather winglet."

This is the new solution proposed by Boeing for the new 737MAX. The winglet on the 737 MAX will have two tips, one bending up, the other down.

The company previously had estimated the MAX would offer fuel savings of 10 percent to 12 percent compared to the current 737, with this solution the additional saving is 1.5 percent on fuel.

"Incorporating this advanced technology into the 737 MAX design will give our customers even more advantage in today's volatile fuel-price environment," Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in the statement. Boeing launched the upgraded 737 MAX last August to compete with the A320 new engine option, or A320neo, which rival Airbus announced in late 2010. Both re-engined single-aisle jets are expected to offer improved fuel savings.

"The concept is more efficient than any other wing-tip device in the single-aisle market because the effective wing span increase is uniquely balanced between the upper and lower parts of the winglet," said Michael Teal, chief project engineer for the  737 MAX. Boeing said the dual feather winglet was validated during wind tunnel testing of the 737 MAX. The new winglet fits existing airport gate constraints "while providing more effective span, thereby reducing drag," the company said. "We have assessed the risk and understand how to leverage this new technology on the MAX within our current schedule," said Teal. "This puts us on track to deliver substantial additional fuel savings to our customers in 2017." The company estimates the 737 MAX will use 18 percent less fuel than the current Airbus A320.

In 2009, Airbus announced it would offer fuel-saving wing tips that the company calls "sharklets" as an option on the A320. The neo adds winglets — Airbus calls them "sharklets" — to the current A320 design, but they are very similar to the upward swooping winglets on today's 737s.

Because the 737 already has winglets, Airbus executives have argued that the MAX cannot gain the extra 3.5 percent fuel-burn improvement the European plane-maker will gain by adding winglets to the neo. Wednesday's announcement of a radical new Boeing winglet design undercuts that argument. Boeing had previously claimed a 5 percent fuel-burn advantage over the neo. Spokeswoman Lauren Penning said the new MAX wingtip's incremental fuel-burn advantage adds up to a further 1.5 percent advantage compared with the neo. Airbus hotly disputes Boeing's figures. Before news of the "dual feather" winglet, Airbus had been claiming the neo would burn 8 to 11 percent less fuel than the MAX, depending on which sub-models are compared.

Airbus hotly disputes Boeing's figures. Before news of the "dual feather" winglet, Airbus had been claiming the neo would burn 8 to 11 percent less fuel than the MAX, depending on which sub-models are compared.

Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said Wednesday the company's engineers looked at the option of a split-tip winglet for the neo but decided on the "sharklet" design. Separately, Boeing revealed that the MAX will require a slight bump in the door of the nose landing gear. That's because the nose gear must be extended by 8 inches, compared with the current 737, to lift the wing and allow sufficient ground clearance for the new, bigger CFM engines. To fit the longer nose gear into the wheel well without major structural changes, Boeing is shaping the landing-gear door so that it bulges outward to accommodate the tires. That will add some drag, but Teal said the impact is "negligible." The projected fuel-burn improvement takes into account all the changes, negative and positive.Airbus has produced the first new-build A320 with Sharklets. Depicted here at its roll-out in Toulouse, MSN 5098 will be one of several A320 Family aircraft in the certification flight-test campaign starting in May this year and lasting around 600 flight hours. These Sharklet tests follow the successful ‘early flight-test’ campaign with Airbus’ A320 MSN 001 test aircraft.

In a conference call with journalists, Michael Teal, chief project engineer for the 737 MAX, called the concept "the most advanced wingtip technology in the single-aisle market." The design is innovative. No commercial airplanes in service today have anything similar, though the concept resembles a split-tip winglet design Seattle-based Aviation Partners is flight testing. Winglets in general add extra wing surface without extending the overall wing span. They increase the wing's lift while their shape reduces the drag caused by air vortices at the wingtip. Teal said the split ends of the new wingtip maximize the aerodynamic gain without adding as much weight as a longer, single winglet would.

The overall MAX wing span will be just a few inches longer than the current 737. Teal said the upper feather of the new winglet is close to the size of today's 737 winglets, which are nearly 8 feet tall. The lower feather will be shorter to ensure sufficient ground clearance. Boeing aerodynamicists came up with the design using computer simulations, then tested it in two advanced wind tunnels, Teal said.

He said the new winglets can be incorporated into the overall design within the previously announced schedule, which will see the MAX enter service in 2017. Final details for the jet's design and manufacturing will be pinned down next year. Last fall, at a Las Vegas business-jet conference, a somewhat similar design called the Blended Split-Tip Scimitar Winglet was showcased by Aviation Partners, which pioneered winglet technology and works with Boeing in a joint venture that produces winglets for the 737.

Boeing 787-10 or 777-8x: decision Likely This Year

A potential double-stretched 787-10 variant depends more on what Boeing decides to do with the 777 more than anything else.

Not for the first time, talk about a double-stretched 787 has entered the fray only this time, Boeing’s decision to establish a dedicated development team for the 777 puts the decision making into a rather grey area. Some of this is compounded by the ever-growing uncertainty over the rival Airbus A350-1000, which thus far is failing to make the grade on paper (or sales) against the 777-300ER.

There is equally the possibility that Boeing could do both moves and squeeze the big Airbus jet – it is a poor selling model in contrast to other 777, A350 and 787 variants. For whatever its worth, there’s more chance of a 787-10 and/or enhanced 777 emerging than there is of a so-called 150 seat CSeries.

Boeing hopes to make a decision this year on the 787-10 and aims to ensure that this larger-capacity 787 avoids cannibalizing sales of the 777, another family of Boeing aircraft that also may be getting new models, the 777-8X and 777-9X. While the 777 looks more than likely to benefit from a revamp rather than a full overhaul, this is paced more with the fact that the larger A350-1000 is still undefined and program sources attribute significant issues with the baseline A350-900 that have to be ironed out first before a stretch can happen, much less meet the advertised specifications Airbus has listed. 

Boeing is loathe to grow the 787 into 777 territory – a stretch too far, and you end up with a useless airplane like the A340-600 which trades passengers and payload for range and is saddled with higher costs.

A second stretch of the 787 would also raise engine thrust issues, affecting performance. As Boeing studies its options with 777, the company feels that a lower cost approach to improving that would be far more beneficial to countering the perceived angst any A350-1000 could cause.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh said, “We will do the 787-10 by all likelihood. We’re now working through design concepts. Assuming the customer interest is there, later this year [a decision will be made], and we will have something to offer toward the end of the year.” He says the 787-10 will have a shorter range than the -9 but will be able to carry 40 more passengers, so “the economics are very good.”

The fact that the 787-10 is a stretch of the 787-9 means it will be in the realm of the 777 in terms of seating capacity. Albaugh, however, suggests otherwise. “We think we’ve got a good separation between the models. There’s 15% separation between the models. We’ve spread the sizing between them, so we don’t cannibalize any one aircraft.”

There have been some reports about a 777-8LX model, which promises more range, but Albaugh is dismissive. “I’ve seen something on a chart mentioning that, but I am focused on the 777-9X and 777-8X,” he says, referring to the new stretched version of the 777-300ER and 777-200, respectively. Albaugh was speaking to Aviation Week in Singapore yesterday during a media roundtable.

He says the 777-8X and 777-9X are hugely important to the company. Boeing sold 200 777s last year, and the aircraft is unbeatable in terms of efficiency, asserts Albaugh. But he also says Boeing is mindful of the fact that Airbus is planning the A350-1000, and declines to disclose details on the 777-9X, except to say “it will be a significant improvement over the 777-300ER.”

As for the 737 MAX, Albaugh says, “I hope we can have a couple of thousand orders before we deliver the first aircraft.” Boeing already has secured firm orders for the 737-8 and 737-9. Albaugh says it also has secured a 737-7 customer, but has yet to disclose who that is.

Albaugh declines to say when the 737 MAX specifications will be locked, but asserts they are already effectively firmed up because Boeing is giving MAX customers guarantees when it comes to the specs. He also says, “I don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver. I want to ensure that it is on spec and delivered on time.” Boeing has learned from the lessons of the 787 program, he adds.

Boeing has started delivering 787-8s, but has had to do some post-production fixes to the aircraft in response to concerns about delamination.

Boeing says 787 woes should be in the past now

Boeing says 787 woes should be in the past now

A top Boeing executive said the plane maker is frustrated with its latest 787 Dreamliner production glitch, but that it should not delay output goals.

Boeing vice president of development Mark Jenks said at a news conference yesterday in Singapore that the company has fixed a shimming problem discovered earlier this month on about 787 fuselages. Jenks said Boeing still plans to boost production from a current two to three 787s a month, to 10 of the planes a month by the end of next year. Jenks said the production mistake was “clearly frustrating and we’d rather it not happen.”

Boeing delivered its first Dreamliners last year to All Nippon Airways after several delays pushed back delivery by three years. ANA has so far received just two of the mid-sized, fuel-efficient jets, which is set to star at the Singapore Airshow this week where companies touting private jets and defense hardware to the Asian market will also be out in force.

Not to be outdone in Singapore, Airbus SAS — Boeing’s European rival — will display a large-scale model of its A350 XWB, which is still under development and is scheduled to enter into service by 2014. The A350 XWB is a mid-size, long-range plane which its makers tout as using 25 percent less fuel than similar sized aircraft in use today.

With Europe mired in a debt crisis and the US economic recovery still gaining traction, the world’s aircraft makers, major defense contractors and aerospace companies are looking at Asia’s robust markets, analysts said. Singaporean Second Minister for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran said Asia will account for 29 percent of global aircraft deliveries by 2026 and 32 percent of world air traffic in 2028.

However, with several airlines having already announced major purchases during the past 18 months, a key area of interest at the airshow — which starts tomorrow and runs through Sunday — will be the growing market for private jets in a region with expanding ranks of super-rich. “I’m expecting more focus on the private jet market,” said Shukor Yusof, a Singapore-based aviation analyst at Standard & Poor’s Equity Research.

“I think makers like Bombardier, Gulfstream and Embraer have more to offer in terms of the growing private jet business in mainland China and parts of Southeast Asia,” he said. Shukor said Asian tycoons are increasingly drawn to the convenience of a private jets over commercial flights, especially in a geographically fragmented region. “It’s more than just a status symbol, it’s more for practicality ... It’s probably more economical as well,” he said.

Defense companies will also make their presence felt at the biennial show.

India recently said it prefers the Rafale, made by French firm Dassault Group, over the Eurofighter after an intense bidding process for 126 fighter jets in a contract estimated to be worth US$12 billion. It is the world’s biggest single defense deal currently in process and underscores the region’s potential as a lucrative defense market.

“I think we can describe the picture in the Asia-Pacific market as an arms race,” said Guy Anderson, chief analyst at Jane’s Defence Industry. “We have a combination of growing national wealth, emerging national resources and the need to protect growth,” he said. “The rise of China remains a factor, but there are also numerous lower level regional rivalries ... Countries typically seek to achieve parity with their regional peers.”

For the first time, a Land Defense Expo will be launched in conjunction with the Singapore Airshow, organizers said. Consultancy Frost and Sullivan estimates the Asia-Pacific market for land defense systems should reach US$9.4 billion by 2016, up from US$5.4 billion in 2009.

The shift by regional armed forces toward weapons centered on high-tech networks, including the use of drones, is among the drivers for military modernization program, according to analysts.

Source:AP and AFP, SINGAPORE

The entire global fleet of Airbus A380 superjumbo jets are to be checked for cracks inside the wings.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) last month ordered “a detailed visual inspection”. The checks are to be extended to the entire fleet of 68 planes flying with seven different airlines, it was announced yesterday.

The EASA say they are working with Airbus on a “long-term fix” for the problem that should be ready by the summer. The decision to extend the order was made after the first set of results of inspections, but EASA say they don’t have details on how many cracks have been found in total. The checks are on the aircraft’s “wing rib feet” - the metal brackets that connect the wing’s ribs to its skin. (Graphic showing the location of the wing rib brackets in an A380 superjumbo, which are at the centre of concerns over cracking. Source: Airbus) 

The EASA’s original order came when Airbus said it had found new cracks on the brackets inside the wings of two superjumbos after inspections launched following a 2010 incident in which a Qantas A380’s engine disintegrated in flight. The agency gave airlines between four days and six weeks from January 24 to carry out checks on the initial batch of superjumbos, whose future customers include British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Under the extended order, planes that have flown fewer than 1,300 takeoff and landing cycles will have to be checked before reaching that point, and planes that have flown more will have to be inspected within three weeks. 

Airbus said it has developed repair kits for the problem, which are currently being installed, and that the aircraft remained safe to fly. “These brackets are located on wing ribs which are not main load bearing structure, and, thus, the safe operation of the aircraft is not affected. “Nearly 4,000 such brackets are used on the A380 to join the wing-skin to the ribs. Only a handful of brackets per aircraft have been found to have been affected.” EADS said.

Still, EASA in its directive said that "this condition, if not detected and corrected, could potentially affect the structural integrity of the airplane."The airworthiness directive last month applied to the 20 planes that have flown the most. EASA spokesman Dominique Fouda said the updated directive extends the checks to the entire fleet of 68, currently flying with seven different airlines."In parallel, we are working with Airbus on a long-term fix that should be ready by the summer," He said the decision to extend the order was made "given the first results" of the inspections, but said he didn't have details on how many cracks have been found in total. EASA's original Jan. 20 order came after Airbus said it had found new cracks on the brackets inside the wings of two superjumbos after inspections launched following a 2010 incident in which a Qantas A380's engine disintegrated in flight. 

The agency gave airlines between four days and six weeks from Jan. 24 to carry out checks on the initial batch of planes. Earlier Wednesday, Australia's Qantas Airways said it was temporarily grounding one of its A380s after discovering dozens of hairline cracks in its wings. It said, however, that the cracks were of a different type from those that prompted EASA's Jan. 20 directive

Boeing and Korean Air today celebrated delivery of the airline’s first 747-8 and 777 Freighters.

The Boeing Co. delivered two aircraft to Korean Air on Monday in a ceremony at the Future of Flight Aviation Center near Mukilteo. Korean Air will be the first carrier to operate both 777 and 747-8 freighters.

With the milestone delivery, Korean Air becomes the first airline in the world to operate both the 747-8 and 777 Freighters.

“We are very proud to become the first airline in the world to have the combined strengths of these two freighters in its fleet. Our cargo fleet is being improved by these fuel-saving planes. They can help reduce carbon emissions by 17 percent and this supports our goal to be a responsible citizen of the world,” said Yang Ho Cho, chairman of Korean Air.

Korea’s flagship carrier is the first Boeing customer to order both variations of the new 747-8 airplane and is also a key supplier partner on this new airplane program.

Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said: “Boeing is honored to celebrate this historic delivery with YH Cho and the Korean Air family, It is hard to imagine reaching this day without the leadership of YH and his vision to transform Korean Air into one of the best global airlines in the world.”

Korean Air plans to operate the 747-8 Freighter on its transpacific route, with stops in Osaka and Narita, Japan, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The 777 Freighter is Korean Air’s first twin-engine freighter and will allow the airline to open into new markets in Europe, including Vienna, Frankfurt and London.

Aviation Safety: evolution of airplane interiors

The accident fatality rate for jet airplanes has fallen dramatically during the last 50 years. This decrease is due in part to continuing efforts by airplane manufacturers and regulators to use information gained from accidents to develop safer, more survivable airplanes. 

A history of improving airplane interiors

Since the first passenger airplane was introduced in the 1930s, airplane manufacturers have worked to make airplanes safer for the passengers and crew who fly in them. For example, Boeing has worked continuously to enhance the safety of its products and to lead the industry to higher levels of safety through global collaboration by working together, regulators, operators, and manufacturers can maximize safety by sharing knowledge and targeting safety efforts to address areas with the most risk. Some recent events highlight the safety of today’s passenger jet airplane interiors during takeoff and landing accidents.

Boeing 247, 1933

In December 2008, an airplane crashed while taking off, ending up on fire in a 40 foot deep ravine several hundred yards from the runway. There were no fatalities among the 115 passengers and crew, even though the metal fuselage had been breached by fire. 

In December 2009, an airplane carrying 154 passengers and crew overran the runway during a landing in heavy rain and broke apart. There were no fatalities. accidents involving the current generation of commercial airplanes are rare but offer important insights into advancements in the safety and crashworthiness of airplane design. These advancements reflect decades of innovation and targeted efforts to improve survivability in an airplane accident, especially during takeoffs and landings. 

Boeing 707, 1958

in august 2010, an airplane crashed while attempting to land during poor weather, breaking into three pieces on impact. There were 125 survivors among the 127 passengers and crew aboard the flight. The industry’s work on airplane safety and survivability of airplane interiors emphasizes three areas: surviving impact, surviving a fire, and evacuation.

Surviving Impact

Survivability is greatly influenced by seat design. The greater the ability of airplane seats to remain in place and absorb energy during an impact, the greater the likelihood of passenger survival. in addition, the seat back is designed to protect passengers behind the seat from head injury. Seat design. in the 1930s, passenger airplane seats could withstand a static force six times the force of gravity (6g). For commercial jet airplanes beginning in the 1950s, the 6g requirement was raised to 9g. Today’s seats are required to withstand a 16g dynamic force. a 16g seat is tested in a manner that simulates the loads that could be expected in an impactsurvivable accident. 

Boeing 787, 2001

Two separate dynamic tests are conducted to simulate two different accident scenarios: one in which the forces are predominantly in the vertical downward direction and one in which the forces are predominantly in the longitudinal forward direction. The highest load factor is in the forward direction at a force of 16g. Head injury protection. Where head contact with seats or other structure can occur, boeing provides protection so that the head impact does not exceed the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) established by the u.S. Federal aviation administration (FAA). HIC measures the likelihood of head injury resulting from an impact. compliance with the Hic limit is demonstrated during a dynamic sled test that includes a 50 percent male size test dummy, the seat, and any airplane structure that could be impacted by the occupant’s head. 

Surviving a fire

Floor proximity lighting under dark conditions

In 1985, the FAA developed a new test standard for large surface area panels, such as ceilings, walls, overhead bins, and partitions. The standard required that all commercial airplanes produced after august 20, 1988, utilize panels that exhibit reduced heat and smoke emissions, delaying the onset of a flashover (i.e., the simultaneous or near simultaneous ignition of all flammable material in an enclosed area). interiors are updated and refurbished many times during the life of an airplane. This results in interiors that incorporate these enhancements even in older airplanes. in addition, airplanes manufactured on or after august 20, 1990, must comply with definitive standards of a maximum peak heat release rate of 65 kilowatts per square meter, a maximum total heat release of 65 kilowatt minutes per square meter, and specific optical smoke density of 200 (i.e., the OSu 65/65/200 fire safety standard defined by Ohio State university). extensive fire protection systems are also part of every Boeing passenger airplane. These systems include the use of fire protective materials, smoke detection and fire extinguishing systems, and insulation blankets designed to resist burn through from a fuel fire next to the bottom half of the fuselage. 

Evacuating the Airplane

Floor proximity lighting under smoky conditions

The FAA requires that an airplane can be evacuated of all passengers in 90 seconds. Boeing airplane interiors include a number of features to facilitate this process. These features include floor proximity lighting and escape slides. Floor proximity lighting. When passengers evacuate after a crash, buoyant hot smoke and gases can fill the cabin down to near floor level, obscuring overhead lighting. evacuation is improved through the use of lights, reflectors, or other devices to mark the emergency escape path along the floor. The Faa determined that floor lighting could improve the evacuation rate by 20 percent under certain conditions. as a result, the U.S. commercial fleet was retrofitted with floor proximity lighting by 1986, marking the completion of a two year compliance schedule. The 777 was the first Boeing airplane to include floor proximity lighting in production models.