118th AES Retired Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 It flies! My son and I just watched history in the making as the Boeing 787 took to the air for the first time. Congratulations Boeing. When will Lockheed (aka Lackheed) take to the air with a new heavy lifter? Or even a light lifter for that matter? Well, Airbus may have the A400-M, but Boeing has the 787 which also shows promise. Now, if the Pentagon just makes the right decision and goes with the Boeing tanker vs. the Airbus....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
118th AES Retired Posted December 15, 2009 Author Share Posted December 15, 2009 Congratulations to Boeing. Not only does it fly, but the 787 lands! The 787 is leading the way in composite large airplanes. Of course, there are a lot of things yet to be learned, and developments yet to come about. Just imagine someday, a C-130 that is mostly composite and think of the possibilities: Increased Speed; Higher Lifting Capacity; Fuel Efficiency; etc. Will Boeing make the next C-130? Or will Lackheed learn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseherc Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 They just announced 250-350 new jobs down in Charleston working on that thing. The modified 747 that carries the fuselage to Washington is pretty neat to see in person. The whole tail end comes unhinged and folds to the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Wilson Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Do you know if Boeing is building anything large that will compete with the Airbus A 380? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herkeng130 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Do you know if Boeing is building anything large that will compete with the Airbus A 380? Dan The 747-8 Boeing (after buying out McD) had in its hands the MD-12 and also had a concept that was in this same category called the Boeing NLA and decided to do nothing with it. I think it was a good call. The A380 is a very large aircraft and right now they are selling seats because of how new and unique she is... but this will die down. The 747-8 will do fine to compete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Wilson Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 Thanks for the reply Exterior wise it looks quite a bit like earlier 747's, it must have some pretty cosmic stuff inside though. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooseherc Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 The 747-8 Boeing (after buying out McD) had in its hands the MD-12 and also had a concept that was in this same category called the Boeing NLA and decided to do nothing with it. I think it was a good call. The A380 is a very large aircraft and right now they are selling seats because of how new and unique she is... but this will die down. The 747-8 will do fine to compete. What are the differences in the -8 model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herkeng130 Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 What are the differences in the -8 model? To the 747-400s? The -8 is 18.3 feet longer then the "older" -400 plus she will be getting new wings, more weight reducing composites and more powerful/more fuel efficient engines. Added 13ft in the wing length max takeoff weight has gone from 875,000lb to 975, 000lb (but empty weight also was increased from 406,900 lb to 472,900lb) She has extended her range over the 747-400ER from 7670 nm to 8000nm and her engines (GEnx-2B67 produces 66,500 lbf) has been increased 7000lbf-3200lbf depending on engine option for the 747-400 The 747-8 looks like she will be able to keep going well into the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.