Re: USAF VC-25B News and Discussion Thread

I know military planes are referred to by a different type but surely if the last 767 freighter was being built people wouldn't claim that was the last 767 with tankers still to be produced. No, but the VC-25Bs have been produced and they have been delivered to the USAF, who has been the legal, reg...

Re: Airbus and Boeing Orders - 2023

Looks like 78 are "considered firm" per Yahoo Finance, who spoke with Boeing CEO David Calhoun about the announcement afterwards, with 43 as options. So we should see those 78 frames added to the order book soon enough.

Re: USAF VC-25B News and Discussion Thread

Either that or they did not want to pay for the expense maintaining polished surface. This is going to be my guess since the VCs always need to look stunning from close-in so I imagine the number of hours Airmen and Tech Sergeants spend polishing that cladding layer on the VC-25A was considered tim...

Re: 30 years ago today: the A321 flew for the first time.

Definitely caught Boeing flat footed when in 2005 the 757 was discontinued under the belief that airlines would want smaller narrow bodies. Boeing cancelled the 757 because airlines stopped ordering it. And the situation for the 757 would only get worse once the A321-200's operating rates started t...

Re: USAF VC-25B News and Discussion Thread

That may depend on the result of the next presidential election! I tend to think we're safe, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will likely be the Republican nominee and he hates Trump with a passion so I expect he would stick with the livery Biden approved. That being said, if we could tow both bird...

Re: Lockheed reveals new LMXT refueling tanker

The point is we're still buying low-survivability tankers at a time where we know they should be replaced in the near future by high-survivability tankers. As morrisond noted, a low-observable tanker designed to survive in highly-contested airspace is probably going to be very expensive so the numb...

Re: Boeing KC-46 News, Production and Delivery Thread

Well, if LMXT platform had to integrate the same refuel systems as KC-46 I can’t see what the point of the offer is/was. Perhaps the USAF felt the same considering that the only real benefit of LMXT was the higher offload fuel capacity for trans-Pacific drags. Contrary to KC-46 who currently strugg...

Re: Lockheed reveals new LMXT refueling tanker

Question would be whether Airbus could place or implement any restrictions on the US of the Airbus tanker, regardless of how much US sourced content or where it is assembled, its still regarded as an Airbus product. F-16's are assembled outside the USA, does the US government have the ability to pr...

Re: Boeing KC-46 News, Production and Delivery Thread

My real question is, was this ever a chance for A330MRTT to get back into the game, as so many seemed to hope it was? I tend to think "no". The USAF really wants to retire the KC-10A fleet so they don't seem to feel they need a "heavy" tanker when they can just use additional KC...

Re: Lockheed reveals new LMXT refueling tanker

Personally, I'm cynical enough to suggest this is all a ploy...Personally I think this is a gravy train for Boeing for the rest of the 2020s and for the 2030s as well, 15/year just like clockwork, when the next largest tanker fleet in the world is 22 aircraft. I could see it being a ploy, as well, ...

Re: Boeing KC-46 News, Production and Delivery Thread

I am wondering what options Congress (?) has here to force Boeing into compliance (given that this is not the first major issue with the KC46). None, really. I mean they can stop funding the KC-46A program, but that's not going to happen. Or what Congress could be stipulating for future contracts, ...

Re: Lockheed reveals new LMXT refueling tanker

Makes sense, to me. The KC-46A is already in service and is continuing to mature as a platform and with the anti-air environment only becoming more deadly, moving to a Low Observable next generation tanker platform sounds like a prudent option. And if that program lags, the USAF can always just add ...

Re: Boeing KC-46 News, Production and Delivery Thread

Makes sense, to me. The KC-46A is already in service and is continuing to mature as a platform and with the anti-air environment only becoming more deadly, moving to a Low Observable next generation tanker platform sounds like a prudent option. And if that program lags, the USAF can always just add ...

Re: Boeing 777X Testing/Production - 2023

And so, besides this major hurdle now being resolved, what justifies that it will still take at least 2 years to get this aircraft certified? The FAA leadtime? The type has technically not begun the FAA certification process since it has not received TIA and no FAA personnel have been aboard the 77...

Re: Airbus and Boeing Orders - 2023

jbs2886 wrote:

With MAX 8s? Or are you confusing GBA's commitment for 787s?

Re: Airbus and Boeing Orders - 2023

Maybe Luxair is considering re-starting one or two of their old long-haul routes like JFK or JNB...

Re: USAF Boeing E-7 AEW News and Discussion Thread

Question: Suppose instead of buying 26 E-7s, the USAF bought a larger number of Saab GlobalEyes. I can see both advantages and disadvantages of this. Which would you think best? The Erieye ER radar system on the GlobalEye is quite advanced and is said to be better at detecting low-observable (steal...

Re: USAF Boeing E-7 AEW News and Discussion Thread

How difficult is it for Boeing to build an NG on the same lines as the Max? It strikes me that after this order, there is the replacement of 17 or so NATO AWACS as well. It's not really necessary since there is a dedicated NG line for the military frames in the building adjacent to the MAX FAL and ...

Re: Future E-7A buy

Looks like the USAF plans a total of 26 frames through FY2032 per Reuters.

Re: 787F As Successor to 767F?

I was purely saying that it might be difficult to convert 787's because of the way they are built. I am not doubting the lower door at all, I was saying that it might be hard to cut a 134*103 or slightly larger actually hole in the side of the 787's carbon fibre fuselage without either it fraying a...

Re: Boeing 767 Production / Activity - 2023

What is Boeing going to do for freighter sales. They are going to let the 767 go extinct due to engines?? I am sure Boeing and GE have been discussing a New Engine Option for the 767 with potential customers ever since the ICAO rules looked to go into effect and that we do not have such an option i...

Re: Boeing 777 Production/Deliveries - 2023

tootallsd wrote:

Does a design, firm enough to build airframes, even exist for the -8 or -8F?

Re: Boeing E-4B Replacement News and Discussion Thread

We're not privy to the current OPLAN for conducting a nuclear engagement, but I imagine it is not like the 1950s and 1960s where the general view was that a nuclear engagement would be carried out over a period of weeks and even months with dozens or even scores of follow-on strikes after the initia...

Re: Boeing E-4B Replacement News and Discussion Thread

SteelChair wrote:

Is there any chance USAF leadership will ever relent on the archaic 4 engine requirement?.

Re: Boeing E-4B Replacement News and Discussion Thread

Considering the USAF is taking delivery of new flight simulators for the E-4B, my guess is the actual need to replace the plane is not that great and therefore the replacement studies will be just that - studies - and that the fleet will likely continue to service into the 2030s.

Re: Boeing adding 737 line in Everett

Say, if Boeing did a MAX 10 style fuselage stretch to a MAX 11. Could this still be grandfathered? As others have noted, any future variant of the 737 family would be required to meet current certification standards. Also, Boeing would have already stretched the MAX-10 as far as they realistically ...

Re: Boeing adding 737 line in Everett

5) Consider the 737 may eventually get composite wings.. those would be made in Everett. if that happens, yes all 737s will come from Everett. Would that be a new generation of 737 beyond the Max? The MAX will be the last generation of 737, so this would be switching the MAX wings from aluminum to ...

Re: Boeing adding 737 line in Everett

It is likely that the wing production at RNT has limits as well, I would guess the previous rate 52 was near its capacity. Same with the components, so a 2nd wing production line may be needed as well. A chance to gain efficiency as I am sure the RNT plant is tight for floor space. Boeing planned t...

Re: Boeing adding 737 line in Everett

Until we have an a220-500, in those 15-18 per month, I'm guessing the effect will still only be limited to the smaller MAX 7 as well. And it would probably be disingenuous to presume that a ~185 seat A220-500 would only compete with the ~210-seat 737-8 and would be no threat to the ~195-seat A320-2...

Re: Boeing 787 Production/Deliveries - 2023

When the 787 was first produced, I remember lots of airplanes needed rework. I remember seeing pages upon pages of planes awaiting rework before delivery, after certification. How many were impacted then, as compared to how many today? If someone remembers. Boeing began Change Incorporation in Marc...

Re: Boeing 747-8 Production/Deliveries - 2022 - 2023

amtravels wrote:

Has anyone heard of this issue before? I’d love to know what the cause and solution was.