The Future of Flight, Boeing and AirlineReporter.com are continuing to move forward with Aviation Geek Fest 2012 (#AGF12) and are ready to share a rough draft schedule of events for the day. Times can change — well really anything can change, so this is the basic idea that we are working with right now.

How does Boeing paint their largest aircraft — well very carefully of course. This video, posted by Lufthansa, shows how Boeing went about painting a 747-8 Intercontinental (D-ABYA). The Lufthansa livery is very simple, but elegant at the same time. It looks right at home on a Boeing 747-8I.

Boeing has announced 10 initiatives on the 777 program that will help to eliminate 5.5 million pounds of CO2 and 300,000 gallons of jet fuel per year just in the 777 [...]]]>

Boeing painter Bill Pearson applies chrome-free primer to the 777-300ER that was delivered to Air New Zealand in November 2011. Photo from Boeing.

Boeing has announced 10 initiatives on the 777 program that will help to eliminate 5.5 million pounds of CO2 and 300,000 gallons of jet fuel per year just in the 777 delivery process.

A lot of attention is given to how airlines can save money and the environment when flying them, but how about aircraft manufactures saving a little green (money and environment) before an aircraft is even delivered?

Before each 777 is delivered, there is a 20-day process of paint, tests and flights before Boeing hands over a brand plane to a customer. Boeing has been working on creating a more efficient process with Air New Zealand, which took delivery of a 777 using all ten initiatives.

“A team of employees identified redundancies in testing,” said Jeff Klemann, vice president Everett Delivery Center stated in a press release. “One idea was to eliminate engine-run tests already performed by GE, the 777′s engine manufacturer. This will result in a reduction of 1.4 million pounds of CO2 in 2012 as well as less community noise and emissions.”

In December 2010, Air New Zealand took delivery of their first Boeing 777-300ER. Photo by AirlineReporter.com.

A team of employees identified redundancies in testing and new more sustainable processes.Through out the 777 delivery process the team implemented the following 10 initiatives:

* Eliminated redundant fuel test in pre-delivery flight test
* Reduced the amount of times hydraulic filters are changed
* Eliminated engine-run tests already performed by GE
* Used waste fuel carts
* Reduced the number of times potable water is changed
* Reduced the amount of times engine fuel filters are changed
* Enhanced recycling throughout the delivery process
* Used electric carts instead of gas-powered vehicles
* Improved flight planning efficiency for pre-delivery flights to reduce fuel loads and flight times
* Used chrome-free primer

Nine of the initiatives will come standard with all future 777 deliveries. Usage of the special chrome-free paint will be an airline option.

MORE AIR NEW ZEALAND 777 STUFF:
* Behind the scenes of an ANZ 777-300ER delivery
* Checking out the interior of ANZ’s 777-300ER

JA802A sitting on the tarmac at Paine Field in Everett, WA. It has the same special 787 livery as the first 787 for ANA, JA801A.

Looking at high-resolution photographs of airlines is always a pleasant experience. Being able to capture people and an emotion is something else with an airliner. I think this photo really captures the essence of the enjoyment of flight. From Boeing’s Flickr page:

Boeing photographer [...]]]>

Taken during a 2011 Family Day. Photo by Boeing. Click for larger.

Looking at high-resolution photographs of airlines is always a pleasant experience. Being able to capture people and an emotion is something else with an airliner. I think this photo really captures the essence of the enjoyment of flight. From Boeing’s Flickr page:

Boeing photographer Eric Shindelbower took this photo during a family day at the Boeing Huntsville facility. This image reminds us that aviation remains full of wonder and magic, and it just might be the cutest image we’ve ever released. We hope you agree, and we invite you to tell us what you think and to share this image with others.

This Monday, many will celebrate the first Boeing 787 delivery to All Nippon Airways (ANA).  ANA will become the first airline in the world receive and operate a Boeing 787, and United Airlines will be the first US operator  the 787.

Currently, United’s first 787 [...]]]>
All photos from Boeing/United. Click any for larger view

This Monday, many will celebrate the first Boeing 787 delivery to All Nippon Airways (ANA).  ANA will become the first airline in the world receive and operate a Boeing 787, and United Airlines will be the first US operator  the 787.

Currently, United’s first 787 is making its way through the Boeing factory in Everett. I was able to catch a glimpse of the airframe while taking a factory tour during a recent TweetUp, but was unable to take photos (Boeing does not allow photos on their standard factory tour). Luck for us, Boeing sent photos to United and the airline shared them on their FaceBook.

United is expecting to take delivery of their first 787s sometime in early 2012. United and Continental Airlines both previously had 25 on order and post merger, United will have 50. United plans to fit their 787s with 36 flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst, 63 extra-legroom seats in Economy Plus and 120 seats in standard Economy.

“We are proud to be the first North American airline to receive the 787, which will be a game changer for the new United and the industry,” said United Airlines President and CEO Jeff Smisek via a press release. “The 787 will be a very comfortable, customer pleasing aircraft, and with its range, fuel efficiency and superb operating economics, the 787 will allow us to enter new long-haul markets and also replace older, less-efficient widebody aircraft.”

United has not yet announced any flight schedules for their 787s, but plan to do so later in the year. Continental has previously announced a planned flight from Houston to Auckland non-stop using the 787.

Today, Boeing announced that the new 747-8 Freighter has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This means the new jumbo-jet is in the final stages before being delivered to Cargolux. Boeing is expecting the first 747-8F [...]]]>

747-8F Flying Over 2011 Seafair Race. Photo by Boeing/Leo Dejillas. Click for larger.

Today, Boeing announced that the new 747-8 Freighter has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This means the new jumbo-jet is in the final stages before being delivered to Cargolux. Boeing is expecting the first 747-8F to be delivered to Cargolux in, “early September.”

“This is such a great day for everyone on the 747 team,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes stated in a Boeing press release. “Over the last several years, this team has overcome challenge after challenge. Through their hard work and dedication, they have ensured that the 747, the Queen of the Skies, will fly for decades to come.” Boeing is expecting the passenger version, the 747-8 Intercontinental, will be delivered to Lufthansa Airlines sometime during the fourth quarter. Check out this Boeing video on the 747-8F testing process.

So, the big question is, which airliner will be delivered first? The Boeing 787 Dreamliner or the 747-8F. Either way, it is looking like September will be one awesome month for airline geeks around the world (and for Cargolux and All Nippon Airways).

About the photo: During Seattle’s Seafair, Boeing flew one of their 747-8F over Lake Washington. Although there was no Tex Johnston-like roll, I hear it was still a great site to see. This photo was taken by Leo Dejillas (and found on Randy Tinseth’s blog). I am assuming the photo was taken from one of Boeing’s T-38 chase planes. I think it does a nice job representing how great Seattle is, for how many other cities get a low fly over of a brand new aircraft on a sunny Sunday? (thanks Liz for helping me get my facts on the Seafair flyover straight — she was there and I wasn’t)

Last Friday I showed off Boeing’s 360 view of a Boeing 737 (nicknamed the “gigaplane”) and asked how many photos it took to make this one of a kind view. When the first few “around 20,000″ answers started rolling in, I thought people were pretty good. Then I realized that other sites and even [...]]]>

Last Friday I showed off Boeing’s 360 view of a Boeing 737 (nicknamed the “gigaplane”) and asked how many photos it took to make this one of a kind view. When the first few “around 20,000″ answers started rolling in, I thought people were pretty good. Then I realized that other sites and even Boeing had covered the 360 view and stated it was “around 20,000.” I guess I cannot blame people for doing  research, but luckily the “real” answer is not an even 20k — I do not have that many prizes.

So what is the exact answer? According to Boeing it is 22,240.

There were a lot of guesses and I appreciate the involvement, but who got closest? Well, I am giving props to the two who were the closest: Ariff Shah from Moscow who was only off by 240 and Allen Cheng from Langley, BC who was off by 260. So what do they win besides uber props on the blog?

These are the fabulous prizes for the Boeing 737 360 giga-plane contest. Good stuff.

They will both be mailed the prizes above: three AirlineReporter.com stickers, one magnet of an ANA Boeing 737 and last, but surely not least a coffee cup holder I got during the first flight of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental. For the average person, the paper coffee holder means nothing, but for the true aviation geek, this is gold.

The video above shows behind-the-scenes on the making of the gigaplane image created by Boeing. It seems that fans are not the only ones excited about the giga-image.  Rahsaan Johnson, the Director of United’s Communications told AirlineReporter.com, “Boeing is a great partner and the 737 is a great airplane, so we’re happy to join them in showing it off.”

A huge thanks to Boeing for creating and sharing this image with the general public — I hope we see more like it in the future.

Some media outlets are reporting that the FAA partial shutdown could affect the certification of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the 747-8 Freighter and 747-8 Intercontinental. According to Boeing, as of now, the partial shut down will not affect the certification [...]]]>

The first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental after landing at Boeing Field after her first flight.

Some media outlets are reporting that the FAA partial shutdown could affect the certification of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the 747-8 Freighter and 747-8 Intercontinental. According to Boeing, as of now, the partial shut down will not affect the certification of the aircraft, but could affect airports looking to be certified to operate the new 747-8.

“The FAA says airplane certification activities will continue– so we don’t expect any impact there,” Boeing spokesperson Doug Alder Jr explained to AirlineReporter.com. “As for airport certification, if furloughed FAA personnel don’t return to work in time to finish the remaining airport approvals for the 747-8, customers wouldn’t be able to fly the airplane into certain airports until that work is complete (SFO, Newark, O’Hare and Houston are the major ones).”

This is just another reason to be angry at the partial FAA shutdown.

The Boeing 737 is the bestselling airliner in the world and for good reason. The first flew on April 9, 1967 and even though the aircraft has [...]]]>

Screen shot of Boeing's Explore 737 page highlighting the 360 view of a United Boeing 737-900ER (N36444). Click the image to be taken to the interactive view.

The Boeing 737 is the bestselling airliner in the world and for good reason. The first flew on April 9, 1967 and even though the aircraft has changed quite a bit over its 42 year history, it is still easily recognizable. Recently, a brand spanking new United 737-900ER had one heck of a 360 view created in its honor. I had the opportunity to speak with Anthony Ponton, 737 Brand Manager, via the phone to learn a bit more about the process it took to create such a unique image.

Ponton explained how it was actually quite difficult for Boeing to get their hands on a completed aircraft. Normally they are built and handed over to the airline quickly. If the plane is sitting on the ground, it isn’t making any money — for anyone. This 737 (N36444) ended up having a week free, so United allowed Boeing to take it down to Victorville, CA (KVCV) to do the photo-shoot. Well, the word “photo-shoot” really does not give this project justice. The crew spent almost an entire day (8:30am-3:30pm) taking photos (guessing the number of photos taken is the contest — see below) from about 150′ away to create the 360 view.

This is truly a one of a kind project that uses Microsoft’s Silverlight technology. The Boeing 737 360 view has even been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest giga-pixel image of a single object — impressive. Boeing created this not only for their airline customers, but also to share with airline fans. They wanted to use a high-technology method to highlight the technology used on the current 737 family.

The view really let’s you explore the 737 in great detail. You can zoom all the way in to see rivets or read the safety messages on the aircraft’s doors. When asked if Boeing might do this with other aircraft types, Ponton was not so sure. He explained how completing this 360 on Boeing’s smallest aircraft was already a challenge and a larger aircraft would only be more difficult. Of course, that is not to say that Boeing might not be up to the challenge.

CONTEST: How many photos did Boeing use to make this 360 view possible?
Boeing spent a long time taking all the photos needed to make this impressive view and I am holding a contest to see who can come closest to how many it took. I have been told the official number by Mr. Ponton and whomever gets closest will get a fun prize. I am not sure exactly what the prize will be, but if you keep your expectations low, you won’t be disappointed. You will have until 5pm PT on Tuesday August 2nd, 2011. You can either leave a comment or send an email to david@airlinereporter.com with your answer. Good luck!

Boeing has been busy this week releasing one important press release after another. I am a little behind still, so I decided to put them all in one easy to follow blog to keep everyone updated:

BOEING OPENS NEW SOUTH CAROLINA 787 FINAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING Boeing [...]]]>

The new Final Assembly Building in South Carolina

Boeing has been busy this week releasing one important press release after another. I am a little behind still, so I decided to put them all in one easy to follow blog to keep everyone updated:

BOEING OPENS NEW SOUTH CAROLINA 787 FINAL ASSEMBLY BUILDING
Boeing has officially opened the second location where the Boeing 787 Dreamliner will be built – North Charleston South Carolina. Although the 787 is a bit behind schedule, the new facility was completed six months ahead of its origional schedule. The final assembly of the first South Carolina-built 787 Dreamliner will begin later this summer. Once up and running, the facility is expected to produce three 787 Dreamliners per month.

The new Final Assembly building encompasses 642,720 square feet and used one million cubic feet of concrete. Compare that to the Boeing Factory in Everett, WA being 4,299,967 square feet.

BOEING STARTS SHARING ON FLICKR
If you read the blog, you know I have loved following Boeing through their social media exploration. Not too long ago, they started a YouTube account adn now they have started Flickr — be sure to follow.

AIRCRAFT DELIVERY MILESTONES
This week Boeing delivered their 50th aircraft to Egyptair and their 275th Boeing 737 Next Generation to GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS). Boeing also delivered Angola Airline’s first 777-300ER.

BOEING 747-8F FLYING TO PARIS ON BIOFUEL
This will be the first time that an airliner has flown across the Atlantic Ocean using BioFuel. Boeing pilots Capt. Keith Otsuka and Capt. Rick Braun and Cargolux Capt. Sten Rossby will fly the airplane with each of the 747-8 Freighter’s four GE GEnx-2B engines powered by a blend of 15 percent camelina-based biofuel mixed with 85 percent traditional kerosene fuel (Jet-A).

BOEING EXPECTS DEMAND FOR 33,500 NEW PLANES OVER NEXT 20 YEARS
That is a lot of moola — about $4trillion to be exact. Boeing forcasts that the world fleet will double by 2030 and obviously want to get in on the action. Boeing is concentrating on growth in China and India with most new aircraft deliveries taking place in Asian Pacific countries.

Image: Boeing

Social media has become a must-have for most large companies today. Some will approach it with a thought out approach and others do not really know why they are on social media, but just feel they are supposed to be on it. I have enjoyed following Boeing’s [...]]]>

Screen shot of Boeing's new YouTube channel

Social media has become a must-have for most large companies today. Some will approach it with a thought out approach and others do not really know why they are on social media, but just feel they are supposed to be on it. I have enjoyed following Boeing’s slow approach to social media and applaud them for recently adding a YouTube channel.

When I first started this blog about three years ago, the idea of Boeing being on social media was a very foreign concept. Slowly, but surely they have moved from being a company with a closed-door culture to being one that is much more open and shares what is going on with customers and fans of their product.

Boeing first started with operating three Twitter (what is Twitter?) accounts: @Boeing, @BoeingAirplanes and @BoeingDefense. The Twitter accounts cover much more than just repeating news that is already out in the public domain. They have had contests, shared unique photos and personally connected with some of Boeing’s biggest fans.

So why is Boeing on Twitter and YouTube, but not Facebook? Well, the Boeing Store has a Facebook account, but to date Boeing proper still does not. Is this a bad move? Possibly not. Boeing has been taking the “easy-does-it” approach to social media, making sure they master each one before moving onto the next.

When talking to Boeing, it is clear they are looking at how to expand their presence on social media globally, versus just American-based platforms.  “We are a global company, ” Todd Blecher, Director of Boeing Communications explained to Airline Reporter. “We need to find ways of becoming a global social media participant.” For example Twitter is not all that popular in China, so Boeing has decided to create a Weibo account to connect with local people and companies.

Adding a YouTube channel is smart, since Boeing is already producing the content. For a long time, Boeing has produced videos to share with employees and it has only been more recently that they have shared these videos via their website. Posting them on YouTube allows more people to view the videos and more importantly, it allows people to comment and interact with Boeing.

YouTube is not the only new thing for Boeing’s videos. On the recent American Airline’s Sky Interior delivery flight, there were only about 20 people on board and Boeing asked a few of the customer-fans who were invited by American Airlines to walk up and down the aircraft at 30,000 feet and give their impression of what they think. No script, no direction, just take a look at the aircraft and give your raw opinion (note: the video has not yet been posted). This is the first time that I have seen Boeing do something like this and it  really is a new level of connecting with fans.

Will Boeing continue to grow in other social media formats? I would assume so, but I have been impressed how they continue to better the social media channels they have now to best interact with people outside their company and I look forward to watch them grow.

The new Boeing 747-8F is one majestic aircraft. Along with all the majesticness (yes I just made that a word) comes a lot of weight. The 747-8F can take off weighing nearly one million pounds and for the flight tests, Boeing needs to make sure the aircraft can successfully complete an aborted take off, [...]]]>

The new Boeing 747-8F is one majestic aircraft. Along with all the majesticness (yes I just made that a word) comes a lot of weight. The 747-8F can take off weighing nearly one million pounds and for the flight tests, Boeing needs to make sure the aircraft can successfully complete an aborted take off, fully loaded.

The Ultimate Rejected Takeoff (yes that is official terminology) is not made easy. First they loaded up the aircraft to about 975,000 pounds. Then they made sure the brakes were as worn as possible — not something that would happen during normal maintenance.

Once the aircraft got above 200mph, the Boeing test pilot, Captain Kirk Vining, slammed on the brakes. During a normal aborted take off, the pilot would also use thrust reversers, but not for this test. All that energy (and it is a lot) went directly to the brakes.

The 747-8F was able to stop about 700 feet sooner than Boeing was expecting. However, stopping is just half the battle. As you can see in the video, once the aircraft is stopped, the brakes were glowing red. Even though a fire crew was on the scene, they let the brakes sit for five minutes to see how the 747-8F would react.

This video shows a worst case scenario. Even if you have experienced a rejected take off as a passenger, it most likely wasn’t this violent. This just goes to show that aircraft can handle a lot and are extremely safe.

For more information and a second video, check out Boeing’s website.

This is the second part to my interview with Boeing Historian Michael Lombardi. Here is the continuation of our exclusive interview:

AirlineReporter (AR): What do you think the best decision Boeing has made? Michael Lombardi (ML): [...]]]>

The Boeing 367-80 was the prototype for what became the KC-135 and the Boeing 707. Photo by Boeing.

This is the second part to my interview with Boeing Historian Michael Lombardi. Here is the continuation of our exclusive interview:

AirlineReporter (AR): What do you think the best decision Boeing has made?
Michael Lombardi (ML): I think the best decision was building the Dash 80 (the first Boeing 707), which was a huge risk. People like Bill Allen are such heroes of aviation because of this. They looked down the road and said “the future will be jets.” We built the B-47 and B-52 and the military has gone in this direction and commercial aviation cannot be too far behind, so let’s give them a little kick in the rear and get them going in that direction.

Boeing took company money and sunk it into building this prototype airplane (the dash 80), and if it had failed, the company would be done. That is why they think of it as a big gamble because financially they put everything into this and so now it was, now we got to make it work and everybody in the company really became focused on, “okay, this is the direction we are going, let’s make it happen”.

You have to remember that Boeing at this point is a military company, period. There is no commercial work at all. We are a military company. We are the sole supplier of bombers and missiles to the strategic air command. As a matter of fact, people used to think that SAC (Strategic Air Command) used to mean “Seattle Air Command”, because Boeing supplied B-52s, B-47s, Minuteman Missiles, KC97 Tankers, all of these things were invented and given to SAC.

Boeing-made B-52 Stratofortress. Photo by US Air Force

AR: How did Boeing transition from military to commercial?
ML: Boeing told one engineer “okay, you go to Europe and sell our airplanes.” Just one guy, and send him to Europe and tell him “go”, and he’s like “I’m designing airplanes, what I am doing?”

There was a lot of learning that had to be done on a completely different business. You have a marketing department that all of a sudden had “oh, we have to deal with the public and with the airline customers, how do we do that?”

AR: Marketing must have had quite the challenge.
ML: Boeing had this great advertising campaign where they went right to the public, because they can’t get the airlines interested. So this campaign showed all of these people flying, taking away the fear out of it. Showing children sitting with their folks on the flights and focusing on how smooth a flight on a Boeing aircraft was.

With the older props, people would just wrap themselves in a blanket, get a pillow and wrap it around their heads and just endured the flight because of the vibration and the noise. There was a lot of romance, but there was also a lot to endure. Boeing said, we are going to get rid of all of that, and it’s going to be quiet and it’s going to be smooth, and it’s going to be fast and this is what you wanted people to say, “Yeah, that’s what we want”.

Then you have Tex Johnson who did the barrel roll, doing his part to get people feeling that jets were safe… that was the whole idea.  Before that the British had come out with the Comet and it had a few problems. Because of the comets problems, coming apart at altitude, the public view of jets was that they were just not safe.

Boeing 307 Stratoliner gave Boeing much needed experience in cabin pressurization. Photo by Sam Wiltzius.

AR: The Comet had to make it hard to get people to trust jets were safe.
ML: The Comet’s problem is it had metal fatigue, the fuselage came apart altitude. This was because of the pressurization, the cycling of fuselage, Boeing had built the first world’s first pressure airplane back in the late 1930’s with the Stratoliner, so of course Boeing had been working on high altitude flight and pressurization for a couple of decades by the time the dash 80 came out.

Whereas de Havilland pretty much built trainer planes and the famous Mosquito during the war and they really didn’t have that much expertise in building big planes. They had gone too far too fast and they didn’t see this coming. The guys from Boeing had been doing their homework for years and developing all of this technology, so they understood all of these issues of cycling of fuselage.

As you remember, we had the Model 307 and the B-29 and the B-52. All of these pressurized planes had come out already.

AR: So how did the Boeing 707 come about?
ML: After the war, Bill Allen, who was running at the company at the time, said we need to diversify. We are too much into one direction with the military. We need to get into commercial, we need to get into space, missile and all of this, so he told his engineering department to start doing all these different things and part of the response was to take the model numbering system and say “okay, “you guys working on military aircraft, here’s three and four hundred model numbers keep running with those. You guys over here working on turbine engines take these five hundreds and you guys working on missiles take six hundreds. And all of the work on new transport takes seven hundreds”.

Of course the first transport to come out was the 707 and they went with the 707 because it was catchy and it stuck. The bottom line is that everyone at Boeing focused on this and made it worked. In a few years Boeing turned from being a military company to being a balanced company, to having this commercial airplane business that we are still enjoying the success of today.

Boeing Headquarters in Chicago,IL. Photo by Boeing.

AR: What do you think was the biggest mistake Boeing made (or the greatest opportunity to learn)?
ML: I think the biggest mistake was when we were building the Boeing 247 and Douglas came out with the DC2 and DC3. We had a customer, TWA headed up by Jack Frye that came to Boeing and said “I want 247’s.” Boeing had our corporate airline, United Air Lines, and they got first dibs. That meant the first 70 airplanes were promised to United Air Lines and when Jack Frye was desperate to have this new airplane for his new airline, he went to Douglas instead. Douglas then came out with the DC3, and the DC3 ended up putting Boeing out of the airliner business until the 707. Their big mistake, was not responding to that customer and they learned from that.

AR: Do you ever go on Wikipedia to make sure they have correct Boeing information?
ML: Every now and then I do. I usually very surprised how knowledgeable people are and there are some smart people out there and aviation enthusiast are passionate… they’re smart, they know how to look stuff up and figure out those little details and the stuff is good. Sometimes I’ll read something and think, “Wow, where did that come from?”

AR: Alright, my last question will be a doozie: What is the greatest misconception you think people have about Boeing?
ML: One of the things that always bugged me was the term “high tech company” we are lead to  think of high tech companies as being computer companies or software companies. But there are no other companies that are more high tech than aerospace companies like Boeing.

We are high tech. We are the people that invented computers, the software, and all of this stuff came out of the aerospace industry. All the high tech industries are all an off shoot of the aerospace industries, so I think that has always been a misconception.

When you think of who’s high tech and who’s pushing the boundaries it really is the aerospace industry and Boeing. The internet is cool, and having computers and your little 4G phone is great, but it’s not worth a dang thing without those satellites and the technology that we developed to make that happen, with the GPS all that business. All stuff that was created by this industry and that is one of the things that people need to know.

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