for October 30, 2006
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Hot Topic: Boeing Increases Investment in B787 – Why?
Attempting to learn from recent history at
Airbus, Boeing has stepped up the financial ante, we believe, in an effort
to stave off problems relating to a future “delivery malfunction” on the
B787 Dreamliner. Rumors coming out of the Chicago-based company lead us to
believe that a number of the high and low tech initiatives need more
development “juice” (people & money), and that is probably the incentive for
the company to announce the increased expenditures directed to reduce
“weight and schedule” pressures. Let’s take a closer look from the outside.
Weight: Of the issues caused by increased airplane weight, there are normal issues that dog any new program and are usually identified and solved quickly and reasonably by engineers during the audit process. The others may have larger challenges. For example, the new fuel tank FAA specification compliance- SFAR-88) and lightning strikes are real unknowns for the airplanes’ new carbon fiber composite structures. Boeing will be pushing the envelope on these problem sets and we expect improvements in these areas alone to garner much of the improvements.
In-Flight Entertainment: Yes, the new wireless IFE solutions are at issue and we believe both suppliers (Thales and Panasonic) are facing a specification showdown because the existing IEEE 802-11b&g hardware (in today's laptops and routers) either does not have the bandwidth to deliver 333 seats with full VOD or VOIP capability, or in using these technologies, weight and complexity is prohibitive. (One pundit even predicted that this will be the last airplane with wireless IFE!) OK, but what about the new 802.11n specifications? The simple answer is - not available yet. The 802n specifications aren’t due till July ’07 and while pre-n hardware is available in limited quantities, there is no assurance that hardware destined for lab, red label, and black label testing will be compliant. Further, to meet schedules, Boeing lab test parts are most assuredly due in a few months. In a similar situation is ARINC 820, which is designed to describe these 3rd Generation Networks on commercial aircraft. It talks about IEEE 802.11b & g and requires Wireless Access Points to serve 50 passengers when they may realistically (because of overhead, interference, and application needs) only serve 20 without 802.11n. (Remember, the 802.11n hardware serves the WAP and seatback hardware design while laptop usage will have to be compliant with the 802.11b & g installed base for a while as new personal computing and connectivity devices build up the latest IEEE specs). If one had a cynical eye, there would be a certain irony in a Boeing request for a technology without a specification!
Management: This B787 area challenges and embodies the outsourced and designed parts and assemblies from suppliers all over the world. This is not new territory for Boeing but the breadth and scale of the supply chain has even changed the name of the procurement team to Global Partners. Without a doubt, they will be shortening the supply chain even further and reducing the compliance workload by reducing the number of suppliers. But beyond that he issues go on; language barriers, ITAR requirements, new top management, new digital data bus hardware, and problems not even detected yet. They all move in a direction to cause the Dreamliner to potentially live up to its’ name!
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Agreement for 787 Dreamliners
10/30/2006 10:18:10 PM
Telenor Satellite Services to
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10/30/2006 10:16:47 PM
Air India Selects the Thales
Entertainment System For Its New Boeing 777 Aircraft
10/30/2006 10:13:50 PM
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