Boeing Dreamliner 787 test flight makes emergency landing

[browski]

How soon before we read a "If it's a Boeing, I'm not going!" comment?

Personally I think we should all be way more interested in this particular Boeing aircraft than any of the previous Boeing or Airbus aircraft. Not for the sensationalism, just because this is aircraft is uniquely designed.

The fuselage is made of revolutionary (ie plastic ) material. it will be under huge scrutiny. Does it flex enough; is it too brittle, is it strong enough?

Fun times ahead.

 

[markis10]

The fuselage is made of revolutionary (ie plastic ) material. it will be under huge scrutiny. Does it flex enough; is it too brittle, is it strong enough?

Fun times ahead.

Its not that revolutionary in terms of composite use, my Avatar is an example of the first commercial passenger plane that used composite materials and that was a long time ago now.

 

[samh004]

How soon before we read a "If it's a Boeing, I'm not going!" comment?

Personally I think we should all be way more interested in this particular Boeing aircraft than any of the previous Boeing or Airbus aircraft. Not for the sensationalism, just because this is aircraft is uniquely designed.

The fuselage is made of revolutionary (ie plastic ) material. it will be under huge scrutiny. Does it flex enough; is it too brittle, is it strong enough?

Fun times ahead.

Isn’t the A350 going to be made from plastic too? Sort of stuck between a rock and a hard place in that case… or a whole lot of plastic.

 

[straitman]

Composite aircraft of different degrees have been around for years. The big difference between the B787/A350 compared to what we have seen on previous airliners is the amount of composite material being used and some of the areas on the airframe that it is being used.

 

[codash1099]

Where there's smoke, there's fire:

787 test fleet grounded following in-flight fire

 

[SeaWolf]

QANTAS must be seething. After more than three years of delays, now this. They'd have to be wondering if they're ever going to take delivery of these planes. All these delays must be upsetting their plans quite a bit. I'm surprised they haven't started buying into alternatives.

 

[straitman]

QANTAS must be seething. After more than three years of delays, now this. They'd have to be wondering if they're ever going to take delivery of these planes. All these delays must be upsetting their plans quite a bit. I'm surprised they haven't started buying into alternatives.

QF are not alone with this so there are many unhappy customers out there.

To sus out and procure an alternate could take longer and most people are not happy with RR and Airbus at the moment either :!:

 

[browski]

Is it too early to suggest (with magnificent hindsight of course), that the B777s have proved themselves to be an enormous success and would have been the best replacement for the aging B747s. Since Boeing has subesequently developed the B747-800, was the B777 actually designed as a 747 replacement?

 

[PaulC83]

Since Boeing has subesequently developed the B747-800, was the B777 actually designed as a 747 replacement?

I believe the 777 was just a general widebody replacement (so more so for the 767 and aging DC10 market) but in consultation with airlines was made a little big larger than a 767 in capacity to capture the midhaul market that was needing to use partially loaded 747s or overfull 767s.

 

[oz_mark]

I believe the 777 was just a general widebody replacement (so more so for the 767 and aging DC10 market) but in consultation with airlines was made a little big larger than a 767 in capacity to capture the midhaul market that was needing to use partially loaded 747s or overfull 767s.

Some of it was that the DC10's and L1011's were reaching end of life as a design, so the airlines wanted something to replace them.

 

[Sprucegoose]

There will be a commercial dynamic at play with these Boeing delays, similar to the cheap airbus deals QF got when the 380 was delayed for two years.

Massive inconvenience but a fact of life and money changes hands ultimately.

 

[codash1099]

And still more delays.

Boeing Could Delay 787 Delivery Until Summer

Makes the A380 debacle look like a stroll in the park.

 

[anat0l]

And still more delays.

Boeing Could Delay 787 Delivery Until Summer

Makes the A380 debacle look like a stroll in the park.

I wonder what all the 787 customers will be pushing from Boeing for all these delays, if anything.

Perhaps Boeing pulled a smart one and set up the contracts to give them plenty of breathing room without need to resort to compensation.

 

[gumpy]

seeing how the A380 has gone for QF i'm not sure I want to get on a 787 until after 2 years of service... esp considering all the composite material that has gone into it...

 

[samh004]

seeing how the A380 has gone for QF i'm not sure I want to get on a 787 until after 2 years of service... esp considering all the composite material that has gone into it...

It’s been 2 years since the A380 launched… if you were that worried I’d give it 5 years at least.

 

[simongr]

How has the A380 gone? One incident (significant) and ongoing standard maintenance issues. Its not like they have been dropping out of the sky...

 

[NM]

Perhaps the Boeing 747-8 salesman is making a lot of calls to Qantas management right now?

 

[oz_mark]

Perhaps the Boeing 747-8 salesman is making a lot of calls to Qantas management right now?

Perhaps the Airbus A350-XWB salesman is as well :shock:

 

[Must...Fly!]

Perhaps the Airbus A350-XWB salesman is as well :shock:

Maybe, but they have a decent amount of orders for the A350 (in excess of 500 firm)...you would expect Boeing to be trying a little harder

 

[NM]

Maybe, but they have a decent amount of orders for the A350 (in excess of 500 firm)...you would expect Boeing to be trying a little harder

And Boeing can probably deliver 747-8s earlier than Airbus will be able to deliver A350 aircraft for new orders.