Boeing recently announced
that it had completed major assembly of the first pair of wings destined for the 747-8F.
that it had completed major assembly of the first pair of wings destined for the 747-8F.The first 747-8F is due to roll out in late August 2009 with first flight tentatively scheduled to be conducted by the end of the third quarter of this year. First delivery is slated to launch customer Cargolux in the third quarter of next year. At last weeks earnings call, Boeing also announced that the 747-8 Intercontinental program would see its first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2011. Airline launch customer Lufthansa reiterated its plans to keep the order and says it will “stay as it is.”
in the third quarter of next year. At last weeks earnings call, Boeing also announced that the 747-8 Intercontinental program would see its first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2011. Airline launch customer Lufthansa reiterated its plans to keep the order and says it will “stay as it is.”For the 747-8 family, Boeing has given the wing an extensive overhaul to incorporate the newest techology to allow the airplane to fly further while carrying more fuel, all in a more efficient manner than preceding 747′s.
Image courtesy of Boeing (Click To Enlarge)
Speaking earlier this year, 747 Chief Engineer Michael Teal revealed some insight into the new wings for the 747-8 family.
“The improvements in performance come from two large areas. One is the new aerodynamic wing that improves the lift over drag and also the engine. Because the engine and the wing are the same on both airplanes, the technology changes that increase the improvements for fuel efficiency you get on both airplanes. In terms of the percentage improvement, it’s different whether you’re measuring in tonne-mile costs on the freighter versus seat-mile costs on the passenger, and of course they fly different distances, that’s why you’ll see different numbers,” he said.
“We went in to the wind-tunnels and we were doing all the initial design work on the wing, we realised that we needed a “leap improvement” to get the performance that was required – so it was later in the design process that we agreed we had to change the aerodynamic shape of the wing which pretty much has the same structural load paths [as the 747-400], so that aerodynamic change meant we ended up changing more parts and we later realised the significance of that change,” Teal added.
Being the first major derivative of the 747 in a number of years, three 747-8F’s will be involved in the flight test program with two 747-8I’s involved in certification for the passenger model.
Boeing also today announced that it had reached the 25% design milestone on the 747-8 Intercontinental.
that it had reached the 25% design milestone on the 747-8 Intercontinental.“We have made tremendous progress on the design engineering,” said Mo Yahyavi, vice president and general manager for the 747 Program. “The engineering is proceeding as planned and we are a step closer to bringing the 747-8 Intercontinental to market.“
First delivery of the 747-8I is destined for a VIP customer in the Middle East.
No comments:
Post a Comment