Today’s topic: scuttlebutt. And I don’t mean the Everett brewpub. There’s been lots of interesting gossip about aviation lately. Here are some of the highlights.
Item 1: The Boeing Co. has received a patent on a proposed new jet that one industry analyst thinks will eventually replace the 737.
The jet is one of the concept planes that Boeing designers crank out from time to time. According to the patent office, it would be a twin-aisle jet seating 90 to 200 passengers, which would be just about the passenger load of today’s 737.
Officially, Boeing is downplaying the significance. It’s one of many concepts Boeing is looking at, and the company filed for the patent because “you’ve got to protect your intellectual property,” spokesman Todd Blecher said.
But aerospace analyst Scott Hamilton believes the new plane could be Boeing’s third-generation 737.
There’s been a bit of kibitzing about this topic as Boeing executives have talked of their long-range plans to use the new 787 technology to revitalize the company’s entire line of planes.
The thinking is that Boeing will first infuse its 747-400 with 787 engines and electronics, creating the 747 Advanced. Then it will develop an all-composite replacement for its top-selling 737 that would come to market sometime around 2012.
That’s a good move, Hamilton wrote. “While the 737 is still selling well … and the technology has been updated several times … the fuselage is still a throwback to the 1950’s 707. It’s narrower, less roomy and less comfortable than the Airbus A320.”
The newly patented jet is “an odd, fat-looking airplane,” Hamilton said.
That could be a problem. Chubby wide-body jets are not as aerodynamically efficient as the slim single-aisles.
But the wider plane would be roomier, which is something passengers would like, Hamilton added.
Whatever Boeing does to replace the 737, it will have to “come up with some quantum leap” to convince airlines to abandon the most popular jet the company has ever built.
Infusing 787 engines and technology into the 737 would be “a significant advance and leap” over the 737 and Airbus A320, Hamilton said – but one that Airbus could counter fairly easily.
“On the other hand, if you really want to blow the socks off Airbus,” Boeing could come up with something completely outside the box – such as a short, twin-aisle plane built from composites. If Boeing does that, “Airbus will have its hands full to compete,” Hamilton wrote.
Whatever Boeing decides to do with the 737, a decision is years away, Blecher said.
Item 2: Boeing is conducting wind-tunnel testing on models of the proposed 747 Advanced.
Boeing is downplaying that.
The company has not yet decided whether there’s enough customer demand to launch the updated jumbo jet, a spokeswoman said. But it’s got to move ahead with basic preliminary design work anyway so it could get the plane to market in a timely manner should airlines decide to order the 747 Advanced. That means wind-tunnel tests.
Again, smart move, according to Hamilton. If Boeing is to get airlines excited about the Advanced, it needs to demonstrate some significant aerodynamic improvements, he said. “This has to be more than another warmed-over 747.”
Item 3: Goodrich Corp. is considering expanding its Paine Field operation. The company has approached officials at Snohomish County Airport-Paine Field about moving into a fourth building.
Without naming names, a Goodrich spokeswoman said the company has been approached by a potential customer that could bring a big chunk of new business to the Everett jet maintenance facility. To handle the extra business, Goodrich would need extra space, so the company is checking to see whether that’s feasible, the spokeswoman said.
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
On the Web
For more aerospace news and analysis, go to Bryan Corliss’ Web log at www.heraldnet.com/ aeroblog.
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