Boeing 787

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by alphaone

the 747-8i (the new variant of the 747 based on 787 tech). I can't figure out if there's actually a market for it right now or not.

Yes, as an alternative to the A380, but which can land at several hundred more airports. That's the A380's weakness (for now) - during a recent stop at LAX (not a small airport) they didn't even have a gate that could accomodate it. They had to fool with the airstairs trucks to even get in and out...

Don

[alphaone]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Yes, as an alternative to the A380, but which can land at several hundred more airports. That's the A380's weakness (for now) - during a recent stop at LAX (not a small airport) they didn't even have a gate that could accomodate it. They had to fool with the airstairs trucks to even get in and out...

Don

Correct, however, I still don't know if there's a large market for a new 747 right now. They already have the 380 to look at and that's not going well for the 380. The thing is the market is already saturated with 747's, many of them being very new. Those planes are a massive investment and airplanes can't just go willy nilly and upgrade their fleet all the time. Therein lies the problem.

[alphaone]

They're starting to put the wings on now. They say that they expect that that will take about 2 weeks. Also the aft fuselage mounting to the center fuselage section has been stopped because they unexpectedly ran out of fasteners. Can you say oops? Someone's in trouble..

[cooker52]

Originally Posted by alphaone

Also the aft fuselage mounting to the center fuselage section has been stopped because they unexpectedly ran out of fasteners.

Yeah, big oops. But hey, mistakes happen. Unluckily, someone is going to have to pay. I feel sorry for that person and hope their boss is mericful.

[DonRotolo]

I called them and offered them a bag of 1/8" pop rivets, but they said they got some now, but thanks anyway...

[alphaone]

"If I work for Boeing and I'm in Seattle on July 8th, where can I watch [the rollout]?

Boeing is permitting 50,000 employees and retirees to come to a simulcast at Qwest Field. Attendance is limited to 50,000 people, and registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 25,000 guests will receive a 787 glider as a souvenir."

That is one of the coolest things I've heard a company do. So cool.. It's also going to be broadcast live on dishnetwork and directv, and the internet.

[J Flex 188]

Hmm, I had been hearing about that for awhile and they mentioned that supply was tight because they optioned it out to Alcoa, but I thought they had solved those problems. At least they were aware of it, but its weird that they couldn't solve it?

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...yndication=rss

Originally Posted by alphaone

They're starting to put the wings on now. They say that they expect that that will take about 2 weeks. Also the aft fuselage mounting to the center fuselage section has been stopped because they unexpectedly ran out of fasteners. Can you say oops? Someone's in trouble..

[popo308]

NATHAN ASNER {Randomest kid you will ever meet}

What if the plane had a cheese machine and it despensed swiss and cheddard.

[alphaone]

Begone! For this is not for your brains.

In other news, Rolls-Royce shipped one of the two Trent 1000 engines to boeing. This is good. I was worried that the engines would not be ready in time. Engines not being ready has a habit of killing airplanes.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

From the previously posted article:

A new plant in Suzhou, China, will open next year after three years of construction, Christopher said.

This makes me very angry. I'm sure this will cause downsizing at our local Alcoa, that employs a large part of the Quad Cities workforce...

[alphaone]

Well if there is a global shortage of fasteners isn't this a good thing overall?

[alphaone]

Update: picture of the wing going on: http://bp2.blogger.com/_9PoYPYFFn4Y/...-h/787wing.jpg

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by alphaone

Well if there is a global shortage of fasteners isn't this a good thing overall?

NO!?! I'll be out of a job... or they'd move me to that gosh-darn tool department.

Heh, in all seriousness, why would it be a good thing?

[alphaone]

Ok, I know virtually nothing about this area of trade, but if Alcoa can't keep up with demand and another company builds a new factory of their own: what is wrong with that?

But hey, I'm just a pilot.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by alphaone

Ok, I know virtually nothing about this area of trade, but if Alcoa can't keep up with demand and another company builds a new factory of their own: what is wrong with that?

But hey, I'm just a pilot.

It's Alcoa that's building a plant in China, if I understood it correctly. I guess, not such a bad thing since they are hiring back to full capacity, but it'd just be nice to have the Quad Cities back in the top 5 most industrialized cities, like it was back in the middle of the 20th century