Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 28. June 27, 2025
- Parent agency, FAA often at odds as politics outweighs safety June 26, 2025
- Electric Flight and the Ugly Duckling June 25, 2025
- Engine makers tout “Plan A” but have “Plan B” backups in R&D June 23, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 27. June 20, 2025
Irkut MC-21; we look at the MC-21-300, Part 2.
By Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
August 01, 2016, ©. Leeham Co: After having found the nearest competitor to the Irkut MC-21-300 as the Boeing 737 MAX 9 in our first article, we now go deeper in the comparison of the two aircraft.
Figure 1. MC-21-300 at the roll out in June 2016. Source: Irkut
In the first article, we found that the aircraft have almost identical cabin dimensions. Now we will look at other areas like airframe dimensions, weights and data which dictate overall performance.
Summary:
- The MC-21 has cabin dimensions which are very close to the 737 MAX 9.
- The nominal two class seating by Irkut is lower than the MAX 9. We have assumed that this will increase during the lifetime of the MC-21.
- We also compare other data between the MC-21-300 and the MAX 9, such as weights, wetted areas and effective wingspans to see if these are similar as well. In the end these dictate the aircraft’s efficiency together with the engines.
Bjorn’s Corner: Synthetic Vision
By Bjorn Fehrm
29July 2016, ©. Leeham Co: In last week’s Corner we discussed the power of the eye versus other senses of the human body. If one provides the eye with a convincing visual scenario, it can override many other senses that tell the brain another story.
When flying in bad weather, there is nothing in the human body that helps us to say which is up or down. Gravity should do it, you say, with the inner ears balance organ and the bums pressure situation telling us if we are up or down. Not so sure! It is very easy to slowly enter a yawing downward spiral which produces a perfect 1G force straight downwards in the aircraft, telling our brain we are doing just fine.
Birds can’t fly in clouds for the same reason we can’t, at least not without aids. The standard aid is the artificial horizon, Figure 1.
Figure 1. An aircraft’s artificial horizon. Source: Sensorworks Android phone app
I choose the picture because it shows the problem with an artificial horizon well. Tell me what is happening in the picture? The orange bits in the middle is the aircraft. Is the horizon leaning to the right or the aircraft to the left?
One can gradually intellectually understand that a horizon does not lean so the aircraft is rolling left. But it is not a very intuitive tool to understand what is happening. Let’s now see what happens when we make the horizon more real. Read more
IRKUT MC-21; we look at the MC21-300.
By Bjorn Fehrm
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Introduction
July 28, 2016, ©. Leeham Co: In February we did a first analysis of the new Irkut MC-21 single aisle aircraft that Russia is developing. We found that the aircraft has its own profile; it’s not a copy of a Western design. Irkut is the company within Russia’s United Aircraft group which is developing MC-21 (or rather, its design bureau, Yakovlev, is). Irkut has also gone its own way in sizing the aircraft.
Figure 1. MC-21-300 at the roll out in June 2016. Source: Irkut.
In our February analysis, we found that the first aircraft being developed, the MC-21-300, is larger than both the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 MAX 8, the present top sellers in the single aisle market. At the time, we decided to analyze the aircraft which was closest to those two in size, MC-21-200, which is the second variant in development. We will now look at the larger MC-21-300 (Figure 1), the aircraft which rolled out in June and which will fly early next year.
Summary:
- The MC-21 has its own profile; it is not a copy of a Western aircraft. It has a wider cabin than the A320 and a higher capacity in its base variant, the MC-21-300.
- The MC-21-300 is smaller than an A321. It most closely resembles a Boeing 737 MAX 9 in size. We will therefore conduct the analysis of the MC-21-300 by comparing it to the largest Boeing MAX variant.
747 production may end: Boeing
July 27, 2016: For the first time in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Boeing said production of the iconic 747 may end.
In a 10Q quarterly filing today, concurrent with the 2Q2017 earnings release, Boeing said:
Boeing: program charges right course to de-risk finances
Dennis Muilenburg, CEO The Boeing Co.
July 27, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Boeing officials termed charges against the 787, 747-8 and KC-46A as the right course while reaffirming the underlying strength of the company.
CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the charge against the 787 was the right decision to reduce the financial risk going forward.
He also said the write down of the remaining deferred production costs of the 747 significantly de-risk the program. Boeing reaffirmed its belief in the future of the program, despite challenges with the cargo market.
Despite continued charges against the tanker, Boeing saw the first flight of the first production aircraft during the year.
Boeing posts loss on charges
July 27, 2016: Boeing posted a loss for the second quarter on more than $2bn in after tax charges, announced last week, and amounting to $3bn in before-tax charges.
The press release is here.
With advance warning last week, Boeing stock was up $2.95 in pre-market trading today an hour before its earnings call.
Boeing’s press release synopsis:
- Revenue increased to $24.8 billion on strong commercial deliveries and services growth
- Loss of $0.37 per share (GAAP) and core (non-GAAP)* loss of $0.44 per share reflect $3.23 per share impact related to previously announced 787 R&D reclassification and 747 & Tanker charges
- Strong operating cash flow of $3.2 billion; repurchased 15 million shares for $2.0 billion
- Backlog remains robust at $472 billion with nearly 5,700 commercial airplane orders
- Cash and marketable securities of $9.3 billion provide strong liquidity
- Reaffirmed cash & revenue guidance; EPS reflects reclassification, charges, solid performance & tax
Some initial analyst takes:
Airbus Group 1H2016 results: Trouble in key programs
Updated with analyst reports.
By Bjorn Fehrm
27 July 2016, ©. Leeham Co: Airbus Group presented its first half year results today, posting strong results in the face of delivery troubles with the A320neo and A350; and more charges on the ailing A400M. It has been a troubled start to 2016 with deliveries in key programs (A320, A350, A400M, Super Puma H225) being far behind targets. In total only the space segment is going well in Airbus Group at the moment.
The key commercial aircraft segment is still enjoying a vast backlog (6,700 aircraft) and sales which point to a book to bill of one for the year. But deliveries are not going well. Twenty A320neo “gliders” are just now getting their first engines and the A350 delivery problems are dragging on.
On top of that, the A400M program has hit new problems in the engine area where the propeller gearbox needs a redesign. An interim fix is needed to keep customers flying.
Airbus helicopter side has also hit trouble. The large Super Puma H225 helicopter suffered a fatal off-shore area crash in April and is still grounded as the investigation to what broke in the helicopter is taking time.
The financial results for the Airbus Group for the first half of 2016 (1H 2015) were revenue €28.8b (€28.9b) with net profit €1.8b (€1.5b). These figures includes €1.9b in write offs (A400m €1b, A350 €0.4, Currency €0.5b) and €2.1b in capital gain one offs (Launchers JV valuation €1.1b, Dassault shares €0.9b, Divestitures €0.1b). This means that one time effects kept the result up for 1H 2016 but these will not be there the next quarters should the troubles continue. Airbus Group maintains 2016 guidance for Revenue, EBIT and Free Cash Flow.
Here the details of the Airbus Group divisions results for first half 2016:
Boeing accurate on pax forecast, missed cargo by 22%: Wells Fargo
Sam Pearlstein
July 26, 2016: Boeing’s 1996 20-year Current Market Outlook was an accurate forecast for passenger airplanes but overstated demand for freighters, a new analysis by Wells Fargo Securities indicates.
Aerospace analyst Sam Pearlstein took issue with “skeptics” (notably, Airbus, though Pearlstein didn’t name names) over Boeing’s forecast of greater demand in the small wide-body sector. Airbus believes the number spiked to convince the Boeing Board of Directors that there is demand for the Middle of the Market airplane. Pearlstein notes that Boeing’s forecast “has proven remarkably accurate.”
However, Pearlstein concludes that Boeing’s cargo demand forecast missed actual demand by a whopping 22%.
Pontifications: Boeing softens 747-8F recovery
By Scott Hamilton
July 25, 2016, © Leeham Co.: Boeing July 21 announced it is taking an after tax charge of more than $800m against the 747-8 program. It also canceled plans to increase production of the 747-8F from the current 0.5/mo to 1/mo in 2019 on the long-held belief demand for the 8F would recover as 747-400Fs age.
In an email to LNC, a Boeing Commercial Airplanes spokesman wrote, “We have consistently said that while there is a cargo market recovery – it is not as robust as we had expected. Our new long term forecast projects cargo traffic to grow at 4.2% per year over the next two decades. But in the short term, the cargo market continues to struggle.
“The 747-8 is closely tied to the cargo market. There is an opportunity starting around 2019 when many 747-400 Freighters will be retired. Some of that replacement could go to the 747-8F, some to 777F, but some of those airplanes won’t be replaced at all. The decision we announced reduces future risk for the program and the company– and allows us to see how that replacement cycle plays out.”
With that, years of forecasts of a solid recovery for the 747-8F that ran counter to many outside Boeing was softened considerably.
Dearth of wide-body order hang over Airbus, Boeing
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Introduction
July 25, 2016, © Leeham Co.: It wasn’t a good two weeks for wide-body airplanes.
Airbus, responding to a leak to the Paris newspaper La Tribune, confirmed it will reduce production for the A380 from 20/yr in 2017 to 12/yr in 2018—returning the program to a loss.
Boeing firmed up an MOU announced at the Paris Air Show with Volga Dnepr for 20 747-8Fs, but wouldn’t say how many are firm orders and how many are options.
Week 2: Boeing took nearly $1.7bn in after-tax write downs for the 787 and 747-8 programs.
And, while not directly tied to wide-bodies per se, Delta Air Lines announced it will reduce its trans-Atlantic services for a variety of reasons. Most of these services are performed with wide-body aircraft.
Summary
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Posted on July 25, 2016 by Scott Hamilton
Airbus, Airlines, American Airlines, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, Leeham News and Comment, Premium
747-8, 787-10, 787-9, A350-900, A380, Airbus, American Airlines, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, Emirates Airline, Volga-Dnepr