The Biggest Jet Engines in History Are Finally Ready to Power Boeing's Biggest Plane
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Boeing looked at making the Large Cargo Freighter - aka the 'Dreamlifter' - available 'for hire' for transporting outsized cargo. Two things killed that - first off it would have complicated the certification and operation of the LCF relative to having it dedicated to moving 787 bits (read more time and money).
Point of note, I personally detest that nickname "Dreamlifter". If the 747 is "Queen of the Sky", then the LCF is "Drag Queen of the Sky."
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It will be mainly by truck using the interstate highway system or other roads where clearances have been thoroughly checked out, day or night. If need be, engines can be shipped by heavy lift aircraft, e.g., AN-124s. This was done in the early days of the GE90 production to support Boeing's 777 aircraft schedules at the time.
See https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/data/tools/...mainline=false for the final push through Washington State.
A post above says that their carrier is 14 feet wide and 13 feet tall. While the 14 feet wide can be handled as special wide-load transport, 13 feet tall plus about 2 feet of truck bed height gives you a need for at least 15 feet of clearance. I don't know what interstates they travel on, but the ones that I travel on have a lot of bridges that don't exceed 14-some feet of clearance. It must end up being a pretty convoluted route.
See https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/data/tools/...mainline=false for the final push through Washington State.
See https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/data/tools/...mainline=false for the final push through Washington State.
Often the convoy creeps through the countryside at very low speeds in the wee small hours, over some weeks. So leasing an An 124 is massively more efficient.
I think the airship delusion gets reinvigorated every time one of these big lumps must get moved from A to B.
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Same problem as Interstate but even more restrictive as to gauge. eg tunnels, bridges, catenary systems. While 737 fuses might move this way (by the way, didn't they have a few come off the rails recently and go down an embankment nearly into a river?) the 737 fuse is a lot smaller in diameter than the G90. Just take a look at the picture that starts this thread.
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It might not make it through the tunnels through the Cascades, which are already woefully inadequate for modern shipping needs. (US infrastructure lags the rest of the world, but I digress.) I suppose it is possible that they plan to ship it through the Panama Canal, that might end up being cost effective
Educated guess is that they might ship the production GE9x as two modules (the fan module separate). The plan was to use a similar modular design to the GEnx, so it wouldn't add that much work to attach the fan to the rest after it arrived at final assembly. Certainly cheaper than charting an A124 for every single engine delivery.
Winemaker,
The two principle railroad tunnels are unsuitable (Stampede) and marginal at best (Cascade/Stevens Pass). The latter has been slightly enlarged but clearances are still quite close. I don't recall if the snow sheds on Snoqualmie would be limiting at all for this type of load.
The two principle railroad tunnels are unsuitable (Stampede) and marginal at best (Cascade/Stevens Pass). The latter has been slightly enlarged but clearances are still quite close. I don't recall if the snow sheds on Snoqualmie would be limiting at all for this type of load.
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Winemaker, there is no rail through Snoq Pass any longer... the main rail line goes to Easton, then turns South through Lester...
the fuselage train goes through Stevens Pass..
Remember this?
Here is the route:
the fuselage train goes through Stevens Pass..
Remember this?
Here is the route:
Last edited by Smythe; 25th Aug 2019 at 14:31.
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