Odds and Ends: Boeing worker mentors famed bandit; 787 test flights; restoring the brand

The Barefoot Bandit: In a nice break from all-787-all-the-time, we ran across this heart-warming story of a Boeing worker mentoring the infamous Barefoot Bandit. Colton Harris-Moore, a troubled teenager, spent two years on the run from the law and became famous for a series of burglaries, often barefoot, and thefts, including stealing boats and planes.

We know someone who has a second home on Camano Island and who befriended a young Harris-Moore before the crime sprees began. Our friend described the youth as extremely bright and, as the media has described, in a very troubled home situation. This friend often provided food to Harris-Moore and after crime sprees began, in which homes on Camano were burglarized, our friend’s home was skipped by Harris-Moore.

787 Test Fights: Two are planned this week, according to Reuters. See this story. Separately, The Wall Street Journal has two stories of note. The first is about Boeing’s effort to restore the brand. The second refers to the 787 situation but is a broader piece about fighting fires on airplanes. Both are via Google News so readers should be able to access each without the subscription.

7 Comments on “Odds and Ends: Boeing worker mentors famed bandit; 787 test flights; restoring the brand

  1. From the Reuters article, ” The FAA-approved plan includes a rigorous battery testing standard Boeing helped develop but did not previously use.”

    Kinda says it all, doesn’t it.

    Before anybody comes out and states that Boeing did not need to test to this standard, you are perfectly correct. But it does display, at best, a certain amount of cynicism for the whole process to help develop a standard but refrain from testing to it because it hasn’t been made mandatory yet.

    • More interesting imho is the large span between what Boeing determined for the FAA as the constraints that should be applied to the 787 certification
      and this more recent set of requirements with their input for late comers.
      ( would the initial,lax battery cert have been grandfathered through the whole 787 family?)
      So Boeing really never expected the Spanish Inquisition this late in the game?

  2. Speaking of confidence and competition, has anybody noticed that a330 orders seem to have slowed down in the last couple of months? I bit like in the months before the a320 NEO launch. I am wondering if an a330 NEO might get launched at PAS? Maybe reduced MTOW, to allow a modern engine to fit under the wings, a diet to get rid of the a340 “fat” and anything else they can lighten her by (10 ton maybe?), and winglets. I suspect it would be enough keep the title “king of the medium range.”

    • What EIS target ?
      Would it make sense to produce an improved A330 for an environment where the 787 should finally start to show maturity? ( or do I underestimate the improvement potential for the A330?)

      • I seem to remember readingn that the a330 carries a 7 ton weight penalty due to its commonality to the a340. That is a lot of weight, if Airbus can remove it. a350-800 isn`t up to competing with the 787, too heavy, and Airbus aren´t about to abandon the segment, so Airbus will to do something. An optomised wing for the 350-800 might be another possibility but in light of recent comments about the desirability of developing tried and true designs an a330NEO wouldn´t be surprising..

      • If true 7 ton is quite a bit!
        Any specifics? ( does the A330 fuselage have the gearwell for the A340 center gear?)

        At the moment I would expect Airbus to “port” weightsaving measures ( like variable thickness CFRP wound frames ) developed for the -900 to -1000 step to the -800 model.

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