Boeing wants jet to go the distance
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Boeing wants jet to go the distance
Wed "Seattle Post"
Boeing wants jet to go the distance
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Take the world'd longest-range jetliner.
Top it off with fuel.
Add a flight crew, but no passengers or cargo that add weight.
How far could you fly non-stop with the winds?
Expect Boeing to find out next year during flight testing of its 777-200LR.
Production of the first of these longer range 777s began this week at Boeing's Everett factory. The plane is scheduled to be finished next February and then begin nearly a year of flight tests.
People close to the program say Boeing is keen to show off the capabilities of its new jet by establishing a series of world-record flights during that test phase, before the first plane is delivered to Pakistan International Airlines in the first quarter of 2006.
The jet is capable of flying ultra-long non-stop routes that last upwards of 18 hours. Boeing lists the range of the 777-200LR at 9,420 nautical miles, or 17,446 kilometers. But that's with 301 passengers, according to Boeing.
Establishing records with the 777-200LR would provide Boeing with good public relations material before the jet enters airline service, especially in the wake of all the media attention the Airbus A340-500 has received in recent months.
The Airbus plane is now the world's longest-range commercial jetliner. It was in the spotlight earlier this year when Singapore began non-stop, 18-hour service with the A340-500 between Los Angles and Singapore and later between New York and Singapore. Emirates is also using the A340-500 on ultra-long-range flights
Boeing's 777-200LR jet will fly even farther with more passengers.
Airbus says it decided not to try to set any world records with the A340-500 during its flight testing.
The world distance record by commercial jet transport (also known as the "Great Circle Distance without Landing" record) was set by Boeing's 777-200ER on April 2, 1997. On a flight from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the airplane completed a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,045 kilometers; 12,455 statute miles).
The record was made during the flight-test program, and the 777-200ER carried no passengers or cargo. That flight lasted 21 hours 23 minutes.
The 777-200LR would likely better the record by at least 1,000 nautical miles or more, depending on wind conditions.
Boeing says the 777-200LR, once it enters service, could open up non-stop routes that are beyond the capabilities of today's jets, including the A340-500.
One of those routes is London to Sydney, Australia. Jets operating between those cities must now stop for refueling.
In 1989, a Qantas 747-400 nicknamed "Longreach" did fly non-stop from London to Sydney. The flight lasted 20 hours and 9 minutes. But this was a delivery flight -- the first 747-400 to be delivered to Qantas. The jumbo carried no passengers, which is why it had enough fuel to make such a long flight.
Boeing says the 777-200LR could make the non-stop London-Sydney flight with a full passenger load.
The company's commercial salespeople even have elaborate charts, to show potential customers, comparing the 777-200LR with the A340-500 on ultra-long-range routes such as London-Sydney. The Airbus plane could make the trip non-stop only if it carried no more than about 40 passengers, according to the Boeing charts.
The trip back to London from Sydney against head winds would require a refueling stop even for the 777-200LR, unless it flew nearly empty of passengers.
Qantas, the flagship carrier of Australia, is one of the airlines that Boeing is wooing to order the 777-200LR. Qantas has ordered the 555-passenger Airbus A380 superjumbo, and it will operate between London and Sydney, though the flights will require a pit stop.
So far, Boeing has won only five firm orders for the 777-200LR -- two from Pakistan and three from EVA Air of Taiwan. Airbus has more than four times that many orders for the A340-500.
An eventual order from Qantas for the world's longest-range jetliner would be fitting. Before the dawn of the jet age, it was Qantas that held the non-stop flight record for a commercial passenger plane. That record was established during World War II, when the airline operated Catalina flying boats between Australia and England.
The longest non-stop leg of the flights was from Perth to a British flying-boat base on Koggala Lake in southern Ceylon, which is now known as Sri Lanka. The Catalinas were stripped of all unnecessary weight, including guns and even electric hot plates for making coffee. They could carry up to three passengers -- usually military officers traveling in secret.
During the non-stop leg from Perth to Koggala Lake, passengers experienced two sunrises. After each flight they were presented with what became a much-sought-after certificate known as the Secret Order of the Double Sunrise.
Against the winds, the non-stop flights on that leg typically took about 28 hours. The longest was just over 32 hours and is considered the record for longest non-stop commercial flight with passengers.
The distance covered? Only about 3,500 miles.
Just a short hop for this new generation of longer-range jets.
Aerospace Notebook is a Wednesday feature by P-I aerospace reporter James Wallace. He can be reached at 206-448-8040 or [email protected]
============================================
Boeing wants jet to go the distance
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Take the world'd longest-range jetliner.
Top it off with fuel.
Add a flight crew, but no passengers or cargo that add weight.
How far could you fly non-stop with the winds?
Expect Boeing to find out next year during flight testing of its 777-200LR.
Production of the first of these longer range 777s began this week at Boeing's Everett factory. The plane is scheduled to be finished next February and then begin nearly a year of flight tests.
People close to the program say Boeing is keen to show off the capabilities of its new jet by establishing a series of world-record flights during that test phase, before the first plane is delivered to Pakistan International Airlines in the first quarter of 2006.
The jet is capable of flying ultra-long non-stop routes that last upwards of 18 hours. Boeing lists the range of the 777-200LR at 9,420 nautical miles, or 17,446 kilometers. But that's with 301 passengers, according to Boeing.
Establishing records with the 777-200LR would provide Boeing with good public relations material before the jet enters airline service, especially in the wake of all the media attention the Airbus A340-500 has received in recent months.
The Airbus plane is now the world's longest-range commercial jetliner. It was in the spotlight earlier this year when Singapore began non-stop, 18-hour service with the A340-500 between Los Angles and Singapore and later between New York and Singapore. Emirates is also using the A340-500 on ultra-long-range flights
Boeing's 777-200LR jet will fly even farther with more passengers.
Airbus says it decided not to try to set any world records with the A340-500 during its flight testing.
The world distance record by commercial jet transport (also known as the "Great Circle Distance without Landing" record) was set by Boeing's 777-200ER on April 2, 1997. On a flight from Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the airplane completed a distance of 10,823 nautical miles (20,045 kilometers; 12,455 statute miles).
The record was made during the flight-test program, and the 777-200ER carried no passengers or cargo. That flight lasted 21 hours 23 minutes.
The 777-200LR would likely better the record by at least 1,000 nautical miles or more, depending on wind conditions.
Boeing says the 777-200LR, once it enters service, could open up non-stop routes that are beyond the capabilities of today's jets, including the A340-500.
One of those routes is London to Sydney, Australia. Jets operating between those cities must now stop for refueling.
In 1989, a Qantas 747-400 nicknamed "Longreach" did fly non-stop from London to Sydney. The flight lasted 20 hours and 9 minutes. But this was a delivery flight -- the first 747-400 to be delivered to Qantas. The jumbo carried no passengers, which is why it had enough fuel to make such a long flight.
Boeing says the 777-200LR could make the non-stop London-Sydney flight with a full passenger load.
The company's commercial salespeople even have elaborate charts, to show potential customers, comparing the 777-200LR with the A340-500 on ultra-long-range routes such as London-Sydney. The Airbus plane could make the trip non-stop only if it carried no more than about 40 passengers, according to the Boeing charts.
The trip back to London from Sydney against head winds would require a refueling stop even for the 777-200LR, unless it flew nearly empty of passengers.
Qantas, the flagship carrier of Australia, is one of the airlines that Boeing is wooing to order the 777-200LR. Qantas has ordered the 555-passenger Airbus A380 superjumbo, and it will operate between London and Sydney, though the flights will require a pit stop.
So far, Boeing has won only five firm orders for the 777-200LR -- two from Pakistan and three from EVA Air of Taiwan. Airbus has more than four times that many orders for the A340-500.
An eventual order from Qantas for the world's longest-range jetliner would be fitting. Before the dawn of the jet age, it was Qantas that held the non-stop flight record for a commercial passenger plane. That record was established during World War II, when the airline operated Catalina flying boats between Australia and England.
The longest non-stop leg of the flights was from Perth to a British flying-boat base on Koggala Lake in southern Ceylon, which is now known as Sri Lanka. The Catalinas were stripped of all unnecessary weight, including guns and even electric hot plates for making coffee. They could carry up to three passengers -- usually military officers traveling in secret.
During the non-stop leg from Perth to Koggala Lake, passengers experienced two sunrises. After each flight they were presented with what became a much-sought-after certificate known as the Secret Order of the Double Sunrise.
Against the winds, the non-stop flights on that leg typically took about 28 hours. The longest was just over 32 hours and is considered the record for longest non-stop commercial flight with passengers.
The distance covered? Only about 3,500 miles.
Just a short hop for this new generation of longer-range jets.
Aerospace Notebook is a Wednesday feature by P-I aerospace reporter James Wallace. He can be reached at 206-448-8040 or [email protected]
============================================
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Sydney - London direct.
2 schools of thought on this one.
The first is that QF would have rocks in their head if someone like themselves didnt get on the B777 band-wagon.
Their would be alot of people that would love to be able to fly from Oz direct to Europe without having to stop in Asia, which would be quite damaging I suppose for the asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong where tourism is an important part of their economy.
Secondly there will be a large group of people that dont want to be couped up for such a long period of time and will want to break the trip somewhere, but I think they said that about LAX direct flights when they stopped going via HNL.
Either way its been touted for sometime and now lools like a reality.
2 schools of thought on this one.
The first is that QF would have rocks in their head if someone like themselves didnt get on the B777 band-wagon.
Their would be alot of people that would love to be able to fly from Oz direct to Europe without having to stop in Asia, which would be quite damaging I suppose for the asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong where tourism is an important part of their economy.
Secondly there will be a large group of people that dont want to be couped up for such a long period of time and will want to break the trip somewhere, but I think they said that about LAX direct flights when they stopped going via HNL.
Either way its been touted for sometime and now lools like a reality.
