Odds and Ends: Fixing the 787; PW GTF; ANA to retire 747s

Fixing the 787: Avionics magazine has a long article on fixing the Boeing 787 battery issues. PW GTF: The Hartford Courant has a piece profiling the quiet nature of the Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbo Fan engine. While… Read More

Odds and Ends: Who’s John Wayne? Air Show musings; Restoring the Dornier 17

As we go into this Memorial Day Weekend, we’re feeling a bit irreverent. So we’re going to meander a bit. Who’s John Wayne? We were in a hardware store checking out. We often say, Thank you, Ma’am to… Read More

Odds and Ends: Dominating Wide-Bodies; Trying to save the 747-8; Delta waits; China OKs 787

Dominating Wide-Bodies: Boeing claimed at its investors’ day yesterday it will dominate the wide-body sector. This, predictably, caused some mirth among our Reader Comments. We agree with Boeing–for the next several years. The 777-9X will have a monopoly… Read More

Boeing’s McNerney: Interest in 787-10, 777X high; “our airplanes are better than theirs”

Boeing held an investors’ conference today that began at zero dark thirty PDT, so we weren’t up to listen to the webcast. The PDF presentations are here. According to news reports, McNerney said interest in the forthcoming 787-10… Read More

EADS earnings and Airbus A350, A380 updates

EADS reported its first quarter earnings and in the process reiterated plans to fly the Airbus A350 in June. Speculation remains rampant that Airbus will fly the airplane in time for the Paris Air Show. Meantime, sales for the… Read More

PNAA conference, Pt 1: Traffic data; AA-US merger thoughts, 787

Each airline region of the world is different and many going through transitions US went through previously, says Bob McAdoo, the airline analyst for Imperial Capital (a boutique investment banking company in California). McAdoo is speaking at the… Read More

NTSB briefing on 787 today

The National Transportation Board will have a briefing today at 2:30 ET. In advance of the briefing, NTSB issued this terse statement: The following factual information has been developed about the battery: It consists of eight cells of… Read More

It’s official: Boeing regains lead as No. 1 aircraft producer, sales king, but victory overshadowed by 787 crisis

On a day when Boeing would normally be celebrating its return as the world’s number one aircraft producer and retaking the order crown, the 787 crisis over shadow’s the Airbus 2012 Results review in which the European OEM… Read More

Odds and Ends: Split winglets for 737NG Retro; A380 wing fix

Split winglets for 737 Retro: Boeing bypassed Aviation Partners Boeing for its split winglet on the 737 MAX, but APB just launched its own order with United Airlines to retrofit the 737NG. A380 Wing Fix: While Boeing is… Read More

A380 has, A350 will have lithium-ion batteries

Focus on the Boeing 787’s mishap last Monday comes, naturally, on the fire involving the lithium-ion battery. The battery, or Li-ion for short, is considered hazardous in many applications and in air cargo shipping. Two Boeing 747-400 cargo… Read More