EVERETT – The Boeing Co.’s newest cargo freighter will swing open in the back and have more cargo space than any other aircraft, allowing it to carry pieces of the 787 jetliner around the globe.
That makes the modified 747 a critical tool for production of the 787 in the coming years. But what most people will notice is the cargo plane’s unusual look, said Scott Strode, the 787 program’s vice president of manufacturing and quality.
“It will look quite different than an existing 747,” he said Tuesday. “It will look very unique when it’s flying in.”
It also will be hard to ignore because of its size: It will hold three times the volume handled by the existing 747-400 freighter, according to Boeing. The expanded cargo deck will bulge out behind the cockpit, which will be the only pressurized part of the plane.
“There’s quite a bit of new structure on these planes to create a larger fuselage,” Strode said.
In a conference call with reporters and aerospace analysts, Strode said development of the new 747-LCF, or Large Cargo Freighter, is progressing on schedule. Since establishing the program in 2004, Boeing has finished the plane’s major design work and submitted a certification application to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Last week, Boeing selected Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. of Taiwan to modify up to three 747-400 passenger jets into the large cargo freighters, two of which Boeing has already purchased from airlines.
It also has chosen Gamesa Aeronautica of Spain to help design the freighter’s “swing zone,” which will allow the entire tail portion of the plane to open for cargo loading.
Other detailed design work is being done by engineers in Everett, at the Boeing Design Center in Russia and at Boeing Rocketdyne in California. The goal, Strode said, is to have the airplane certified by the FAA by late 2006.
“It’s on a very critical schedule so we can have it ready for service to deliver the first pieces of the 787 fuselage and wings in 2007,” he said.
Boeing still hasn’t chosen an operator for the fleet of up to three large cargo freighters. Strode said the company is talking to a number of interested companies.
The new 747 freighters are key to Boeing’s plan to reduce the cost of building the 787. The company says flying the large airplane parts will save 20 percent to 40 percent on shipping and will cut delivery times from a month to one day.
While the 747-LCF will handle more volume than any other known cargo plane, it won’t handle the most weight. That’s not a problem, as the large airplane pieces for the 787 will be made out of lightweight composite materials.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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