NEWS FOCUS
ightglobal.com 30 June-6 July 2015 | Flight International | 15
USAF restores
target for F-
helmet
DEFENCE Pthe company to accelerate
development of the aircraft’s
many internal systems, which
should “ensure an even more
reliable airplane at entry into
service”, he says.
Boeing has released two de-
tailed descriptions of the 777-9X
over the past nine months that
reveal only one exterior configu-
ration change. An airport plan-
ning document issued last Sep-
tember initially listed the width
of the wheelbase of the main
landing gear as 12.8m (41ft 10in),
but an update of that posted in
May shows the width has nar-
rowed to 10.9m.WEIGHT AND SEE
The latest version of the “777X
Airport Compatibility Brochure”
also intriguingly publicly reveals
the maximum take-off weights
(MTOW) for the 777-9X and
777-8X for the first time. Both
777X variants are listed with a
common MTOW of 351,534kg, or
1kg less than the listed MTOW
for the 777-300ER. The weight
also may have a symbolic mean-
ing, as it converts into an imperi-
al measurement of 777,000lb.
How Boeing achieves a com-
mon MTOW with both 777X
variants and the 777-300ER is
not yet clear. The most recent
copy of the airport compatibility
brochure does not list any oper-
ating empty weights for the
777X types. But the 777-9X fuse-
lage will be longer than the
777-300ER by 2.9m, with a hori-
zontal stabiliser wider by 3m
and an unfolded wingspan morethan 7m greater. The engine py-
lons, meanwhile, are moved 1m
outboard on the 777-9X com-
pared with the 777-300ER.
Although the requirements
have remained stable, Boeing has
made several tweaks to the
777-9X design since the pro-
gramme was launched in late- For example, the airframer
has removed the hybrid laminar
flow control system from the ver-
tical fin of the 777X. The system
was invented for the 787-9 and
787-10 to cut drag by up to 1%.
But the system was deleted from
the 777-9X configuration because
the aircraft did not need the per-
formance boost, Boeing says.
Although GE Aviation has
confirmed that the GE9X fan di-
ameter has widened slightly to
340cm (134in), Boeing’s Fancher
says the diameter and the
105,000lb-thrust (467kN) power
level have been unchanged in the
last two years.
“The baseline engine was set
two years ago, I think, and hasn’t
changed since,” Fancher says.
“Early in the design we saw some
iteration. But the basic engine fan
diameter hasn’t changed in a cou-
ple years. The thrust hasn’t
changed in quite a while.” ■
facilities must be able to support
a rate of up to 10.4 777X aircraft
per month.
If Boeing decides to execute the
rate increase, the 777X would take
the record for the most productive
single widebody assembly line in
the world, beating the previous
10-per-month peak rate for the
Airbus A330/A340 line in Tou-
louse, France. Although output on
the 787 will rise to a high-point of
14 per month by the end of the
decade, that is split between sepa-
rate lines in Everett and North
Charleston, South Carolina.
But a decision to increase pro-
duction rates comes as several
industry forecasts showing that
the 777 will struggle to maintain
a monthly output of 8.3 per
through the transition to the
777X in 2020.
Flightglobal’s Ascend consul-
tancy expects that Boeing will be
forced to reduce the 777 produc-
tion rate in 2017 or 2018. As
many as 250 open slots remain
unsold for the 777-300ER and
777-200LR, says head of consul-
tancy Rob Morris.
Although Boeing expects to
preserve the existing rate through
the transition, the Flightglobal
Fleet Forecast projects that the
number of 777 deliveries would
have declined 36% by 2018 and
total only 64, representing a
monthly output of 5.33 aircraft.
If that projection becomes real-
ity, then increasing the monthly
rate to 10.4 would require a dou-
bling of output rather than an in-
crease of 25%, Morris says.
“Perhaps they are simply sign-
aling their supply chain to invest
and plan for such higher rates
early in the 777X cycle rather
than later,” he says.
Boeing’s latest 20-year market
forecast anticipates demand for
3,520 new “medium widebod-
ies” through 2034, a segment the
company links to aircraft such as
the 777 and Airbus A350-1000.
That implies an average of 176
deliveries per year over that time
period, leaving ample room for
Airbus and Boeing to increase
production over the long-term.
In the near-term, Boeing is fo-
cused on keeping the 777X de-
velopment on track. The compa-
ny plans to enter the detailed
design phase later this summer,
Boeing vice-president and gen-
eral manager Scott Fancher told
journalists at the Paris air show
on 17 June.
So far, the design requirements
“have been very stable”, Fancher
says. That stability has allowed“No future rate
decisions beyond
the current 777 rate
have been made at
this point”
BOEINGBoeingBoeing
Latest brochures reveal the MTOW of both 777X variants at 352tA single assembly line in Everett
could manufacture as many as 125
of the widebody twinjets per year