Excerpt in the window of print: 20%[:] Estimated fuel savings of the new 777-9X, vs. the current model
Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: The new 777X could make the largest megaplanes obsolete
(b) quotation underneath the title in print: "My assumption is the 747 is dead, or will be dead in a year or two"
(c) "Boeing forever changed aviation in 1970 when it introduced its 747 jumbo jet, whose size and range revolutionized flying and became a cultural icon in the process. It’s since gone on to log orders for more than 1,500 of the humpbacked behemoth’s various models. * * * Most airlines’ interest in jumbos cooled years ago. Boeing has won only 40 orders for the passenger version of the 747-8, which entered service in 2012, and has received none so far in 2013. Instead, Boeing has drawn far more excitement from customers over its much smaller (210 seats to 330 seats), super-efficient 787 Dreamliner. * * * Airbus, a latecomer to the jumbo market with the A380’s 2007 arrival, * * * has amassed 259 orders, although none in 2013."
(i) Boeing 747 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_747
(often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet; the first wide-body ever produced; First flown commercially in 1970; The 747-8's fuselage is lengthened from 232 to 251 feet (70.8 to 76.4 m), marking the first stretch variant of the aircraft; section 7 Specfications: length and range--for 747-100, "Maximum range
at MTOW [maximum takeoff weight] (with max payload)" was "5,300 nmi [nautical miles] / 6,100 mi / 9,800 km")
Quote:
"The four-engine 747 uses a double deck configuration for part of its length. It is available in passenger, freighter and other versions. Boeing designed the 747's hump-like upper deck to serve as a first class lounge or (as is the general rule today) extra seating, and to allow the aircraft to be easily converted to a cargo carrier by removing seats and installing a front cargo door.
"The newest version of the aircraft, the 747-8, is in production and received certification in 2011. * * * the 747-8 uses the same engine and cockpit technology as the 787, hence the use of the '8'"--the previous variants ["models" in BusinessWeek] had been 747-100, 747-200, 747 SP ("Special Performance"), 747-300, 747-400--in that order.
(ii) Compare
Boeing 787 Dreamliner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_787_Dreamliner
(section 3.1 787-8: [Introduction 2011] a length of 186 feet (57 m) and a wingspan of 197 feet (60 m) and a range of 7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles (14,170 to 15,200 km), depending on seating configuration)
(d) "Boeing is undertaking a radical makeover of its smaller 777 jet that will be ready to take flight by decade’s end. The new 777X model will boast the biggest engines ever put on a plane, a record wingspan that can be shortened by having the tips fold up after landing, and lower operating costs. * * * The 777X will be the first twin-engine jet able to ply long-haul routes with payloads comparable to the larger jumbos. That’s likely to accelerate airlines’ shift away from mammoth, four-engine fuel-guzzlers such as Boeing’s latest 747-8 and Airbus’s double-decker A380. * * * The first model, the 777-9X, will be able to fly as far as 8,000 nautical miles with more than 400 passengers while burning 20 percent less fuel than the current 777, now the world’s biggest twin-engine jet. A second variant, carrying about 350 people, will follow and push the range past 9,400 nautical miles—far enough for a New York-Singapore nonstop flight. Experts expect airlines to approve. * * * Boeing’s newest 777 will borrow the swept carbon-fiber wing developed for the 787 Dreamliner, expanding to a [wing] span of 233 feet, the largest ever on a Boeing commercial jet * * * With the broader wing, the 777X will need 15 percent less thrust from its new General Electric (GE) engines than required on the current 777-300ER, even though the new plane will have 50 more seats. Each engine will produce 102,000 pounds of thrust, giving a 777X about as much propulsive power as five of Boeing’s pioneering four-engine 707s from the 1950s. The biggest design breakthrough features relatively simple technology: a hydraulic actuator to fold the hinged wingtips after the jet lands. That will let the 777X dodge rules limiting jumbos to airports with specially widened taxiways and gates. Operating costs will be lower, since the wider wings would otherwise cause the planes 'to take up two whole gates, and you’d have to pay for that proportionally,' says Hubert Horan, a former airline executive who’s now a Phoenix-based consultant."
(i) Boeing 777 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777
(Introduction 1995; world's largest twinjet; the largest-diameter turbofan engines of any aircraft; a circular fuselage cross-section; "on July 6, 2013, when Asiana Airlines Flight 214, 777-200ER ["Extended Range] registered HL7742, crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport;" section 6 Specifications: length for 777-8X and -9x to be 228 ft 2 in / 69.5 m and 250 ft 11 in / 76.5 m, respectively--compaqred with 777-200's length of 209 ft 1 in / 63.7 m), the same wingspan for both -8 and -9X: "Unfolded: 233 ft 3 in (71.1 m) Folded: 212 ft 8 in (64.8 m)")
The airliners' lengths are summarized at the bottom of this posting.
(ii) Airbus 380 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_380
(Introduction 2007; "world's largest passenger airliner; many airports have upgraded their facilities to accommodate it because of its size;" The A380's upper deck extends along the entire length of the fuselage)
(iii) "A second variant, carrying about 350 people, will follow and push the range past 9,400 nautical miles—far enough for a New York-Singapore nonstop flight."
Which is 777-8X, smaller than 777-9X (that is why 777-8X will carry fewer passengers. Boeing develops boh -9X and -8X concurrently.
(iv) "Boeing’s newest 777 will borrow the swept carbon-fiber wing developed for the 787 Dreamliner, expanding to a [wing] span of 233 feet, the largest ever on a Boeing commercial jet * * * With the broader wing, the 777X will need 15 percent less thrust"
(A) wing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing
("A wing's aerodynamic quality is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. * * * A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift")
Click the "thrust" tag will lead you to a Wiki page of that title, showing a sketch to explain thrust, drag and lift.
(B) wingspan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingspan
(The wingspan (or just span) of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip; "The lift from wings is proportional to their area, so the heavier the animal or aircraft the bigger that area must be. The area is the product of the span times the width (mean chord) of the wing, so either a long, narrow wing or a shorter, broader wing will support the same mass")
Click "chord" which will lead to a Wiki page titled "chord (aircraft)" which defines chord and in particular, "mean aerodynamic chord."
(v) "a hydraulic actuator to fold the hinged wingtips after the jet lands. That will let the 777X dodge rules limiting jumbos to airports with specially widened taxiways and gates. Operating costs will be lower, since the wider wings would otherwise cause the planes 'to take up two whole gates"
(A) actuator http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuator
(B) gate (airport) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gate_(airport)
Because I am uncertain of precisely what a gate means (jetway? lounge? I can not find it in the Web), I do not know how a folded wing can avoid "tak[ing] up two whole gates."
(e) "Boeing already has grabbed an $11 billion order from Lufthansa for 34 of the jets [777-9X, whose] expected unveiling [will be] at the Dubai Airshow in mid-November."
(i) That is what the photo is about.
(ii) In other words, Lufthansa on Sept 20, 2013 became 777-9X's first customers. But around the same time, the airliner also placed the order for A350-900.
(f) "By rolling out an aircraft [777-9X] that will eliminate the need for a megajumbo at many airlines, Boeing may cannibalize sales ofits own 467-passenger 747-8, whose $356.9 million list price makes it the aircraft manufacturer’s most expensive model. George Ferguson, a senior analyst with Bloomberg Industries, says Boeing has little choice but to take that risk, since Airbus in 2014 is set to begin deliveries of its new midsize A350 widebody, which will compete head to head with the current 777. "
(i) A350 XWB. Airbus, undated. http://www.airbus.com/aircraftfa ... raft/a350xwbfamily/
(composite structures [Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) ] with titanium and advanced aluminum alloys[, resulting in 25% lower fuel use]; A350 XWB family consists of three versions (the A350-800, -900 and -1000))
(ii) A350 XWB http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A350_XWB
(XWB (extra wide body); Airbus stated that it will be more fuel-efficient and have operating costs up to 8% lower than the competing Boeing 787 Dreamliner; Introduction[:] Expected mid-2014 (-900), mid-2016 (-800) to mid-2017 (-1000))
Length of each airliner is summarized next in a table, which comes from Wikipedia for each (under the section heading "Specifications").
A380: 72.73m / 238.6ft
A350-800: 60.54m / 198.6ft (This is why BusinessWeek calls it "mid-size")
A350-900: 66.89m / 219.5ft
A350-1000: 73.88m / 242.4ft作者: choi 时间: 10-19-2013 08:42
(3) Mark Glassman, The World's Favorite Bill Gets a Makeover. http://www.businessweek.com/arti ... to-be-huge-overseas
My comment:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: A new, harder-to-fake $100 bill will soon fill foreign vaults
(b) quotation underneath the title in print: "The hundred is extremely popular in other countries"
(c) Only view the pie chart (whose PRINT heading is "Billions of Dollars"); there is no need to read the text.