boeing – Leonardo Times

Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air

21Dec

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Boeing shows UAV which can Refuel Fighter Jets in Mid-Air

Past Tuesday, Boeing Phantom Works, Boeing's secretive design department, announced a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Its function is to refuel jets mid-air in order to enlarge the range of combat aircraft of the US Navy. One picture was presented of Boeings MQ-25, showing a slightly blended wing-fuselage design, probably to contain as much fuel as possible. Its V-tail stands out as well suggested to satisfy with the little space available on a carrier deck. While engines are being tested right now, flight testing will be done early 2018. Boeing’s MQ-25 design is their submission for a competition from the U.S. Navy to design a UAV which can refuel fighter jets in mid-air, in particular, to refuel the F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-35, which are already used in the U.S. ...

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

13Apr

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, Manufacturing, News

Printed titanium parts to reduce costs on the Dreamliner

Norsk Titanium AS, a Norwegian 3D printing company, has been hired by Boeing Co. to 3D print structural titanium parts for its Dreamliner. Titanium parts alone cost about $17 million out of the total $265 million cost of the plane. This is due to the 787’s carbon fiber fuselage and wings and result in a higher titanium requirement. This is obviously a sizeable portion of the costs and Boeing has been looking for ways to reduce these costs. Norsk Titanium Vice President, Chip Yates, claims that by 3D printing these, as opposed to manufacturing them the traditional way (with forging and machining), they will be able to cut down the costs of each 787 Dreamliner by around $2-3 million. Considering that Boeing produces around 144 Dreamliners each year on average, this will lead to a sizeable...

30Mar

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

News, Space engineering, Space flight

Boeing X-37 Mystery Mission

The U.S. Air Force's unmanned space plane X-37 is one of the most mysterious spacecraft ever. It is known as the Orbital Test Vehicle and its primary objective is to test advanced spacecraft technologies. The program is classified, therefore it remains a secret what the tested technologies are. The X-37B was launched on 20 May 2015, this is the fourth X-37 mission and it is still in progress. The X-37B space plane has been in orbit for almost two years now and broke an orbital record when it hit 675 days in orbit around Earth on March 25th 2017. Concept of U.S. Air Force's X-37B in orbit [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center] The X-37 program began as a NASA project in 1999 after which it was transferred to the U.S. Department of Defence in 2004. The X-37B spacecraft...

25Mar

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

Maiden flight 787-10 scheduled

Boeing has announced the date of the 787-10 Dreamliner maiden flight to be March 31st. Its public roll-out on February 17th took place at its exclusive building site in North Charleston, South Carolina. The event was celebrated by thousands of employees along with U.S. President Donald Trump and the Governor of South Carolina. https://twitter.com/BoeingAirplanes/status/844595295367385090 As of February 2017 over 1200 orders have been placed for the entire 787 family, of which 149 for the 787-10 variant. Its prime customers include Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways, both having ordered 30 aircraft. First delivery is planned for 2018. Boeing shall be broadcasting the first flight of the newest member of the 787 family, subject to weather and other factors, live online here.

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

23May

By LeonardoTimesNo Comments

Aviation, News, Operations

Boeing signs $11.3B contract with VietJet Air

Just as the speculations were getting heated about Boeing’s stocks falling in value, the American multinational corporation signed an $11.3B contract with VietJet. The Vietnamese budget airline VietJet Air is looking for a replacement for its aging fleet, mostly comprised of refurbished old Airbus A320 variants. They are also awaiting 85 more deliveries from Airbus, altogether leading to a diverse fleet. Boeing 737 Max 200 was the aircraft of choice for VietJet, with a single-class configuration that seats up to 200 passengers, these birds (100 of them, to be precise) will provide a solid fleet for the low-cost operations. The contract was signed during President Obama’s visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, and the deliveries are expected to roll in from 2019, up until 2023. The Max 20...