ANA orders 777's and 767's

On December 21st, All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan placed an order for five 777-200ER and five 767-300ER aircraft, with a total cost of $2 billion at list prices.  I believe these aircraft will serve as stopgaps for ANA's expansion plans until they can get their hands on their 787 Dreamliners, which are scheduled to be delivered to ANA (the launch customer for the Dreamliner) sometime in late 2010.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

It's official: C-17 and F/A-18 gets additional funding

On Monday, December 21st, President Barack Obama signed into law the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations bill (the House had provided its approval on December 17th, while the Senate had passed it with a vote of 88-10 on Saturday, December 19th).  The bill includes funding for an additional 10 C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft and 18 F/A-18 fighter aircraft, as well as provisions for the Pentagon to enter into a multi-year procurement program for future F/A-18 purchases.  Funding was also provided for some of Boeing's other defense programs, including the CH-47 Chinook, V-22 Osprey, EA-18G Growler, and P-8A Poseidon.  This news is especially important for the C-17 program, which faced an inevitable closure of the production line unless the Pentagon stepped in to purchase more than the 205 C-17's it has on order.  Below is a link for a C-17 advocacy web site, which urges people to write to their members of Congress as well as to sign a petition to help save the C-17 line.  Looks like their efforts paid off, and the C-17 lives again!

C-17 for America Website

Photo Credit / CC BY-SA 2.0

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Boeing acquires Alenia's stake in Global Aeronautica

Today Boeing acquired Alenia North America's 50% stake of Global Aeronautica.  Having acquired the other 50% stake from Vought Aircraft Industries in 2008, Boeing now completely owns the South Carolina-based facility.  Another important move for Boeing's expansion of Dreamliner production in South Carolina; Global Aeronautica is a fuselage subassembly facility for the 787 Dreamliner, and sits right next to the Boeing Charleston site.

News Link

2nd 787 Dreamliner takes to the skies

Now we have two 787 Dreamliners that have tasted the sky for 2009!  Today the 2nd 787 Dreamliner flight test aircraft took off from Paine Field in Everett, Washington around 9:09 AM PST.  Featuring the livery colors of launch customer All Nippon Airways (based in Japan), the aircraft completed a two-hour long flight before landing back at Paine Field.

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Ryanair abanons Boeing aircraft purchase

So this was probably the reason why the stock dropped about a dollar today.  Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, announced that they have abandoned plans to purchase up to 200 Boeing 737-800 aircraft for delivery from 2013 through 2016.  Although the two sides were able to come to an agreement on pricing, talks collapsed when an agreement couldn't be reached on unspecified "terms and conditions."  I'm really not too surprised by this since I had posted earlier about Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary having publicly threatened to abandon talks unless he got his way with Boeing.  But I guess Boeing refused to blink.  The money that Ryanair had allocated for this aircraft purchase will instead go back to investors.  Although it sucks to have lost a potential 200-plane order, there is still some potential for negotiations to resume between the two sides and that a deal can be reached.  Ryanair has made it no secret that it wants to continue expanding, which means at some point in the future it will need more additional aircraft.  Whether it buys again from Boeing, or goes elsewhere, remains to be seen.  This announcement does not affect an existing order of 112 737's that will be delivered over the next 3 years.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC 2.0

House passes 2010 DOD spending bill; includes 10 C-17's

On Tuesday, December 16th, the House passed the Department of Defense's fiscal year 2010 spending bill, totaling $636.3 billion.  $2.5 billion of that amount will be used for purchasing 10 additional C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft.  This is welcome news for Boeing, since the Obama administration had explicitly stated that they did not want any more C-17's than the 205 aircraft already on order.  This is also great news for the C-17 plant in Long Beach, California, as well as the hundreds of C-17 suppliers scattered around the nation.  With the lifeline extended indefinitely, it could potentially buy the program more time to seek follow-on orders from foreign governments, most notably those who need a stopgap solution to their air-cargo capability as they wait for EADS' A400M airlifter to become fully operational.  The bill also includes $465 million for the highly-controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter second engine program, as well as $45 million to recoup R&D costs from the development of the also-controversial VH-71 Presidential helicopter program, but no money was included to purchase additional F-22 Raptor stealth fighters aside from the 187 already on order.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

787 Dreamliner first flight wrap-up

Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the past several days, then chances are you would have heard a sound byte or two about the Dreamliner's first flight.  I believe most major media news outlets (TV, radio, internet, newspaper) devoted resources to reporting on this truly historical event.  I'm a little bit disappointed that I wasn't able to witness the plane taking off.  So good job on Boeing for providing videos and pictures for the multitudes who couldn't be there.  In retrospect, it was likely more comfortable watching a streaming video in front of my computer than standing outside on the airfield in the cold Seattle weather.  Below is a recap of the flight:

* First flight occurred at Paine Field in Everett, Washington
* Estimated crowd of 12,000+ employees and guests
* Guests included former Boeing BCA CEO Scott Carson and former
  787 Program Lead Mike Bair
* Approximately 3 hour test flight (takeoff 10:27AM PST, landing
  1:33PM PST)
* Flight was cut short from 5 hours to 3 hours because of bad weather
* Test Pilots: 787 Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Captain Randy Neville
* Revised flight path over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca
* Original flight path would have taken plane over the Cascade
  Mountains 
* ZA001 accompanied by two T-33 jet trainers
* Reached an altitude of 15,000 ft. and a speed of 207 mph
* ZA001 powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines
* Six total flight test aircraft (two of which are powered by GE GEnx
  engines)
* Scheduled first delivery: 4th quarter of 2010

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC 2.0

787 Dreamliner ZA001 arrives safely at Paine Field

The aircraft safely landed on the wet and slick runway of Paine Field at 1:33PM PST today, capping off a successful first flight for this revolutionary aircraft.  As the plane touched down, it was greeted by cheering crowds of Boeing employees, suppliers, and customers, along with local and national news media.  The videos of both the takeoff and landing are available for viewing at the link below.  Now that they got this thing up and running, the next step now is to actually start turning a profit on the airplane.

Dreamliner Takeoff and Landing Videos

Photo Credit / CC BY-ND 2.0

UK to purchase 22 Chinooks and a C-17

In an effort to provide more airlift capability for its soldiers, Britain has agreed to purchase 22 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters and one C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft from Boeing.  This year alone, one hundred British soldiers performing operations in Afghanistan have been killed due to attacks by roadside bombs, and the British government has been blamed for not having provided enough helicopters to transport its soldiers; the helicopters would help negate the threat posed by these roadside bombs.  The British Royal Air Force expects to have the first of the new Chinooks in operation around 2013, bringing its total fleet to 70 Chinooks.  The addition of the C-17 order (expected to be delivered in December 2010) would bring its total fleet to seven C-17 aircraft.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

787 Dreamliner makes it first flight, finally!!

As I'm sure most of you have already heard by now, the 787 did indeed make its first flight today, taking off from Paine Field in Everett, WA at approximately 10:27AM PST.  The aircraft (ZA001), piloted by Captains Mike Carriker and Randy Neville, is expected to land back at Paine Field around 1PM PST.  A live webcast of the landing as well as the post-flight press conference will be streamed at the website link below.  Kinda weird that the stock price for Boeing actually dropped when the Dreamliner finally took off.  Maybe investors are still wary about the months leading up to first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airlines.  But regardless of the mood of nervous investors, I'm sure Boeing is breathing a sigh of relief that they've finally managed to achieve this important milestone for the program.

787 Dreamliner First Flight Webcast

Photo Credit / CC BY 2.0

787 set to fly on Dec. 15th

The moment is almost upon us!  Last Saturday, Boeing completed taxi testing on flight test aircraft ZA001.  Along with the completion of structural analysis, functional testing, a flight readiness review, and receipt of an experimental ticket from the FAA, the 787 Dreamliner is now on track for first flight tomorrow, December 15th, at approximately 10AM PST.  This is, of course, valid pending any adverse weather conditions, and the Weather Channel is indeed reporting 80-90% chance of rain tomorrow in the Seattle area.  So let's hope the sun is shining on Tuesday!

News Link

Airbus A400M military airlifter takes to the skies

I had posted earlier about an Irish bookmaker taking bets on which aircraft would fly first: Airbus' A400M or Boeing's 787?  Well we now have an answer, and it looks like the folks across the Atlantic beat Boeing to the finish line.  After having run 3 years behind schedule and beset with financial late penalties and cost overruns, the Airbus A400M military airlifter finally made its maiden flight today in Seville, Spain.  Seven European countries (Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Turkey, Belgium, and Luxembourg) as well as Malaysia and South Africa have all placed orders for the aircraft in order to meet each country's airlifting needs.  But even with all these orders, EADS says that the program itself will be unprofitable.  In fact, EADS is trying to persuade the partner nations to shoulder some of the financial burden.  And because the A400M won't actually be delivered for quite some time, the various Air Forces may have to find stopgap solutions for the time being.  This could mean potential new orders for other competing airlifters, such as Lockheed's C-130 and Boeing's C-17.

News Link

Window for first flight of 787 begins on Dec. 15

So it's now official!  Boeing has confirmed that the much-anticipated first flight window of the 787 Dreamliner can take place as early as Dec. 15th.  They specify a "window" because of weather concerns at Paine Field in Seattle, where the flight-test will take place.  And weather is always a concern in the dreary and wet Seattle area.  A detailed flight test review also needs to take place, as well as paperwork that needs to be filed with the FAA, but these shouldn't be huge hurdles to overcome.  And if geographical or financial concerns are preventing you from being there personally to witness the first flight, then not to worry.  Boeing has decided to webcast this historic event, from takeoff to landing to the post-flight press briefing.  The webcast link is available below.  Once the exact date of first flight is confirmed, then the webcast will go live 24 hours prior to that date, so keep checking it daily.  The tentative time of wheels-up will be around 10am, with the actual flight-test occurring for about 5 hours.  The post-flight press conference will take place sometime before nightfall.

787 Live Webcast

787 completes static test analysis and gauntlet tests

On Wednesday, December 10th, Boeing completed the analysis of the side-of-body fix on the static test aircraft.  The results indicate that the fix did work and that the airplane structure, particularly the section where the wing attaches to the fuselage, has been validated and deemed ready for flight test.  Boeing also completed the final series of gauntlet testing on ZA001.  The next step now is for the plane to undergo final flight readiness reviews and taxi testing.

News Link

787 final gauntlet testing begins

On Tuesday, Boeing began a series of final gauntlet tests on the 1st Dreamliner aircraft ZA001.  With only days leading up to first flight (which could come as early as next week), Boeing has been ramping up its ground, system and taxi tests.  What took almost two years to realize may finally come to fruition in just a matter of days.

Boeing to provide dual-sourcing for 787

In a move that could upset an already anxious Puget Sound workforce, Boeing has decided to set up a second 787 supply chain in Charleston, South Carolina, which is also the home of the second 787 production line.  This means that even some of the more complicated components of the Dreamliner, such as the vertical tail-in (currently manufactured in a state-of-the-art composites-manufacturing center in Frederickson, Washington), will also be manufactured in Charleston.  According to Boeing brass, this would allow the Charleston production line to operate independently and without interruption in the event that another Union strike affects the Puget Sound area.  Boeing has insisted that they are not replacing any work in Puget Sound, but rather than they are simply adding additional sourcing options.  But for the IAM, this is just more evidence of the writing of the wall that all Boeing production work will inevitably head down South to Charleston.

News Link

United Airlines to purchase 787's

Very good news for the 787 order books.  United Airlines, the No. 3 U.S. airline by traffic, has announced that it plans to purchase 25 787-8's, worth around $4 billion at list prices.  United will join domestic rivals Delta, American Airlines, and Continental as operators of the 787 Dreamliner.  But United didn't solely choose Boeing to help replace its twin-aisle fleet of 767-300's and 747-400's.  The airline also announced that it will purchase 25 of Airbus' new A350, which is a direct competitor to the 787.  The price of that contract is roughly around $6 billion.  Not really sure how United plans to pay for these new aircraft, what with United having emerged from bankruptcy-court reorganization in 2006 and continually reducing its capacity in the face of sky-rocketing oil prices and the global recession.  No word yet on whether Boeing and/or Airbus has agreed to provide financing.  On another note, this is a pretty shrewd move by UAL to split the order between the two companies, since it would force the two manufacturers to be more competitive for future UAL orders.  In fact, the airline has secured purchase options for 50 of each aircraft.  So this could be just the beginning of United's future order scenarios.  Others have also speculated that by having both new aircraft types in its fleet, it would make United more palatable to any potential merger.  However way you interpret it, this is still great news for Boeing.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

UAE wants to spend $3.2 billion on Chinook

The United Arab Emirates is interested in spending as much as $3.2 billion on the acquisition of 30 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters and associated equipment and logistics support.   This would not only help to increase the UAE's airlift capability in the region, but would also support U.S. and NATO airlift requirements for the war in Afghanistan.  Although the UAE is a NATO ally, Congress would still have to approve the sale before a contract can be negotiated.

News Link

News Link 2

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC 2.0

Copa Airlines orders two 737-800's

Last week, Copa Airlines (Panama's flagship airline) placed an order for two additional 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, bringing their total orders to 15 for this year.  Currently Copa flies a mix of 737-700's and -800's in its fleet.

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC 2.0

3rd WGS satellite begins transmitting data

WGS-3, the 3rd of 6 satellites total that comprise the DOD's latest satellite communications system, has begun transmitting signals to ground stations on Earth, indicating that the satellite is functioning and ready for operation.  The satellite was launched on December 5, 2009 on-board a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket.  WGS-3, which will be placed into geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean, will join its sister satellites WGS-1 (operating over the Pacific Ocean) and WGS-2 (operating over the Middle East).  Built on the Boeing 702 satellite platform, WGS provides secure high-data-rate communications for the U.S. military.  The remaining 3 satellites will be launched in 2011 and 2013.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY 2.0

Korean Air places order for 747-8's

Korean Air has agreed to purchase from Boeing five 747-8 Intercontinental aircraft.  It is the first airline to order both the passenger (-8I) and freighter (-8F) versions of the aircraft (it has seven 747-8 Freighters currently on order), and the first Asian airline to operate the -8I.  It is also the 2nd major airline to place an order for the -8I (Lufthansa was the first).  This will help to dispel any doubts that the 747-8 is an antiquated airframe and that no preeminent airline will want to fly it.  In fact, this vote of confidence from Korean Air may help open the path for future orders from other hesitant airlines.  The contract is worth about $1.5 billion, and the planes are scheduled for delivery beginning in April 2013 thru May 2015.

News Link

News Link 2

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

First flight for 787 could come as early as Dec.14

Now here's a first: the 787 Dreamliner is actually AHEAD of schedule!  Company officials are advancing their gauntlet testing on the flight test aircraft (ZA001), which could result in wheels up as early as Dec. 14th.  If nothing huge comes up during this final battery of ground and system tests, and if the weather remains relatively clear around Paine Field...  Still a lot of if's to deal with.

News Link

Northrop pulling out of tanker competition?

In a highly risky maneuver, Northrop has informed the Pentagon that it will drop out of the $35 billion Air Force refueling tanker competition unless the draft request for proposals is changed significantly.  In Northrop's opinion, the guidelines for the competition are constructed in such a way that it would favor the smaller and less expensive Boeing 767 Tanker proposal.  Although Northrop's entry, based on an Airbus A330 airframe, would cost more per aircraft, its bigger size would translate into additional fuel and cargo capacity.  Final bids are still not due until January 2010.  The Pentagon's response is that they will not make any changes to their request for proposals (at least for right now anyways).  Furthermore, although it would be ideal to have two competitors vying for the contract, they can't force Northrop to bid.  If Northrop indeed follows through with opting out, that means that Boeing would most likely be awarded the contract.  Although it looks like the Pentagon is holding firm, the political winds may be strong enough to force them to change the requirements.  Time will tell if Northrop's "posturing" move works or not.

News Link 1

News Link 2

DIRECTV 12 satellite ready to launch in December

On Nov. 25, Boeing shipped the DIRECTV 12 satellite to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch facility in Kazakhstan.  There, it will be prepped and loaded onto a Proton/Breeze M rocket for a launch sometime in December.  This is the 11th satellite that Boeing has built for the popular satellite TV company.  Once operational, DIRECTV 12 will increase DIRECTV's HD programming by 50%.  So for those of you still looking for a reason to switch from cable (3 words: NFL Sunday Ticket), how about an extra 1500 channels of high-definition programming, perfect for showing off your brand new LED 52" TV to your friends.

News Link

Photo Credit / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Side-of-body fix verified on 787 static test airplane

Well, this is it.  We have officially reached December, the proposed month in which the 787 Dreamliner will take to the sky for the first time.  As such, Boeing took one step closer to achieving that goal; the company announced that they had completed validation of the side-of-body fix on the static test airframe, which is required before they can proceed with full flight testing.  During the test, the wings and trailing edges were subjected to the highest limit loads (about 2.5G) that the aircraft is expected to encounter during flight.  They still need to analyze all the test results, which Boeing says will take about 10 days to complete.  In the meantime, the company has rolled out A/C 1 to the fuel dock on Paine Field.  There, the aircraft will be fueled and then subjected to engine run-ups and system tests.  If that goes well, then they can proceed with taxi tests.  And if that goes well, then the expected first flight of Dec. 22 could very well be attainable.

News Link

News Link 2

U.S. Navy orders additional C-40A

Last week, the U.S. Navy placed an additional order for Boeing's C-40A aircraft (valued at around $64.6 million), bringing the Navy's total C-40 fleet to 12 planes.  They currently have nine in operation, with two aircraft to be delivered in 2010 and 2011.  This 12th plane will be delivered sometime around fall 2011.  The C-40A is a modified 737-700 Next Gen aircraft, and will be used by the Navy to carry both passengers and cargo.

News Link