Development, Funding, Design, Fielding of the Boeing -77 - Term Paper Example

Boeing 777 History The Boeing 777 aircraft was built by the Boeing Company, the largest global aircraft manufacturer and the second-largest defense contractor in the world. The company was founded in 1916 registered head office in Chicago, Illinois. The CEO of the company is W. James McNerney, Jr. The company is operating its businesses in the two main industries, namely (1) aerospace and (2) defense. The product-line includes (1) commercial airliners, (2) military aircraft, (3) munitions, (4) space systems, and (5) computer services. According to financial statement published in financial year 2006, the company retook the top position with 55% of orders and 54% of deliveries. The company had generated revenue of $61.5 billion USD with a net income of $3.0 billion. Its major divisions are (1) Boeing Commercial Airplanes, (2) Integrated Defense Systems, and (3) others. Currently the company has more than 150,000 employees and the two main divisions employ more than 72,000 and 56,000 in Integrated Defense Systems and Boeing Commercial Airplanes respectively1. A division of Boeing Company, namely Boeing Commercial Airplanes begun the introduction of new models including Boeing 777 aircrafts in 1970s. The company had introduced Boeing 7 series models of (1) 707, (2) 717, (3) 727, (4) 737, (5)747, (6) 757, (7) 767, (8) 777, and (9) 787. In the 1970s, Boeing introduced three new Boeing models, (1) 757, (2) 767, and (3) 777. First, the Boeing 757 was intended to replace the previous Boeing 727. Second, the Boeing 767 was designed to compete with the Airbus A300. Third, the Boeing 777 was a Trijet especially designed to compete with the DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. The DC-10 with a three-engine medium- to long-range widebody airliner, was manufactured by the McDonnell Douglas Company. Its production begun in 1967 and ended in 1989 after delivering 386 to airlines and 60 to the U.S. Air Force. L-1011 was manufactured by the Lockheed Company. It was the third widebody passenger jet airliner. During 1968 and 1984, 250 TriStars were produced. Among them, as of 2006, 34 aircrafts were still in airline service. The Boeing 777 was an American airliner, with a long-range, wide-body, and twin-engined aircraft. It can carry up to 368 passengers in a three-class configuration. It can fly from 5,210 to 9,420 nautical miles or 9,649 to 17,466 km. Outstanding features of the Boeing 777 are (1) six wheels on each main landing gear, (2) circular fuselage cross section, (3) neck aft of the cockpit, and (4) the blade-like rear tailcone. Concept The three dimensional computer graphics application was used when designing the Boeing 777. This allowed the Boeing Company to eliminate the huge expenses of building full-scale mock-up. In the beginning, the Boeing 777 was simply to enlarge the pervious model of 767. The resulting concept was called 767-X concept. The design was similar to 767. The differences between the 767 and 767-X were found as (1) a longer fuselage, (2) larger wings, (3) 340 passenger seats, and (4) 13,500 km or 7,300 nautical miles. There were things the airlines do not like the design of 767-X. These were (1) short intercontinental range capability, (2) cabin cross section which was similar to the Boeing 747, (3) fully flexible cabin configuration, and (4) an operation cost lower than the stretches of 767. Therefore, the company had to conduct a new design which resulted in the Boeing 777 twinjet. The designing phases of Boeing 777 were different from other pervious Boeing jetliners. The Boeing Company invited its major airlines, namely United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, ANA, British Airways, JAL, Qantas, and Cathay Pacific to participate in the designing and developing the concept. The Boeing initiated “working together concept” by consulting the airlines invited. Thus the concept of Boeing 777 was said to be the most customer oriented. Among the invited airlines, Qantas had not made any order yet. The designer of the Boeing 777 was Allan Mulally, who is an American engineer and business man. Interestingly, being born on August 4, 1945 in Oakland, California, Allan Mulally, is now CEO of Ford Motor Company with a salary of US$2 million plus US$16.6 million other compensation. He was married with Jane Nikki and has got five children. Boeing 777 series have two unique characteristics, (1) airframe size, and (2) range. Airframe size determines the number of passengers and amount of cargo to be carried whereas the range to fly. Boeing classifies three segments of range—(1) A market: 3,900 to 5,200 nautical miles (7,220 to 9,630 km), (2) B market: 5,800 to 7,700 nautical miles (10,740 to 14,260 km), and (3) C market: 8,000 nautical miles (14,815 km) and greater. Boeing 777 series The Boeing 777 has its series, namely (1) 777-200, (2) 777-200ER, (3) 777-200LR, (4) 777 Freighter, (5) 777-300, and (6) 777-300ER. The Boeing 777-200 or 772A was designed to target the market A. The first customer who received the first time built aircraft was the United Airlines in May 1995. It has the capacity of a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) from 505,000 to 545,000 pounds (229 to 247 tonnes) and range capability between 3,780 and 5,150 nautical miles (7,000 to 9,500 km). The Boeing 777-200ER, formerly known as 777-200IGW (increased gross weight), was aimed for the market B. It has a special feature of additional fuel capacity with MTOW ranging from 580,000 to 631,000 pounds (263 to 286 tonnes) with a range between 6,000 and 7,700 nautical miles (11,000 to 14,300 km). The British Airways received the first 777-200ER in February 1997. The Boeing 777-200ER is the best selling airliner among 777 series. It has been ordered 425 aircrafts. This can be compared with Airbus A340-300 and the proposed A350-900. Major airlines which use Boeing 777-200ER are (1) Air China, (2) Alitalia, (3) All Nippon Airways, (4) British Airways, (5) Japan Airlines, (6) Korean Air, (7) Malaysia Airlines, (8) Saudi Arabian Airlines, (9) Singapore Airlines, (10) Vietnam Airlines, (11) Air France, (11) Alitalia, (12) British Airways, (13) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, (14) American Airlines, (15) Continental Airlines and (16) United Airlines. Among them, the United Airlines utilizes more than 54 aircrafts. The Boeing 777-200LR or 772C are designed for the long range market C. The Boeing Company named this airliner as Worldliner because it is believed that this airliner can connect two airports in the world no matter how far they are. It can fly up to 9,420 nautical miles (17,446 km) in 18 hours. It has increased MTOW and three fuel tanks in the rear cargo hold. Other new features include (1) raked wingtips, (2) a new main landing gear, and (3) additional structural strengthening. The Extended Range (ER) version of 777-300 is named as 777-300ER. There are many modifications done on the previous version of 777-300. It has engines of GE90-115B which is said to be the most powerful engine with 115,300 lbf. The first flight was delivered to the Air France on April 29, 2004. The main reason for the 777-300ER's extra 3,500 km (1,900 nm) range over the 777-300 is not merely the extra 2,600 gallons of fuel (45,220 to 47,890), but the increase in the maximum take-off weight (MTOW). The Boeing 777 Freighter is designed for all-cargo purposes. It was based on the cargo version of 777-200. It was a combination of 777-200LR and 777-200ER. It was intended to replace 747F and MD-11F freighters. This model was officially offered starting on May 23, 2005. The freighter is expected to be in service in late 2008. Costs to build The cost to build Boeing 777 series vary according to the models. The lowest cost to build will be the Boeing777-200 with between US$ 178 and US$ 195 million. The cost to build the model of 777-200ER is higher than the 777-200 with a range between US$190 and US$ 212 million. The other models 777-200LR, 777-300, and 777F costs between US$ 219 and US$ 243 million, between US$ 210 and US$ 243 million, and between US$ 232 and US$ 240 million respectively. The highest cost to build is for the model of 777F with a range of US$ 232 and US$ 240 million. Table 1. Costs to build Boeing 777 planes Manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airplanes Designed by Alan Mulally Maiden flight 1994-06-12 Primary users Singapore Airlines (65) Air France-KLM (58) United Airlines (52) American Airlines (47) Number built 604 as of close of 2006 Unit cost 777-200: US$178-195 million 777-200ER: US$190-212.5 million 777-200LR: US$219-243 million 777-300: US$210-234 million 777-300ER: US$237-264 million 777F: US$232.5-240 million Source: Wikipedia Who flies Among airlines, Singapore Airlines has brought the largest numbers of Boeing 777. The airline has 66 Boeing 777 in service. Among them, 46 are Boeing 777-200ER variant, 12 are 777-300s and 8 are 777-300Ers. Another 11 are 777-300Ers and they are on order, and another 13 more on option. End of December 2006, 47 airlines had placed 903 orders for 777s. Table 2. List of airlines flying Boeing 777 models Model First Order Rollout First Flight Certification First Delivery In Service First Airline in service Last Delivery 777-200 10/15/90 (go ahead 10/29/90) 04/09/94 06/12/94 04/19/95 5/15/95 06/07/95 United Airlines   777-200ER 06/14/91 (go ahead 10/29/90) 9/3/96 10/07/96 01/17/97 02/06/97 02/09/97 British Airways   777-200LR 02/27/00 (go ahead 02/29/00) 02/15/05 03/08/05 2/2/06 2/27/06 3/3/06 Pakistan International Airlines   777-300 06/14/95 (go ahead 06/26/95) 09/08/97 10/16/97 05/04/98 5/21/98 05/27/98 Cathay Pacific Airways   777-300ER 03/31/00 (go ahead 02/29/00) 11/14/02 02/24/03 03/16/04 04/29/04 05/10/04 Air France   777 Freighter 05/24/05 (go ahead, first order) N/A N/A N/A 4th Qtr. 2008 4th Qtr. 2008 Air France   Source: Boeing (2007) Military Use Boeing Integrated Defense Systems (Boeing IDS), with its base in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is a unit of The Boeing Company which is responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. In 2002, the Integrated System was formed by combining the "Military Aircraft and Missile Systems" and "Space and Communications" divisions. Integrated Defense Systems makes Boeing the second-largest defense contractor in the world and is responsible for 56% of the company's income. References: Performance Review (PDF). Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2006 Performance Review. The Boeing Company (2007). Retrieved on 2007-02-15. Mecham, M. and Velocci, A. L.: "Alan R. Mulally is AW&ST's Person of the Year.", Aviation Week & Space Technology. December 31, 2006. Computing & Design/Build Processes Help Develop the 777. Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Boeing 777 Comprehensive Background. Retrieved on 2006-05-24. http://www.faa.gov/ATS/asc/publications/TACTICAL/LGATac.pdf https://www.caa.govt.nz/aircraft/Type_Acceptance_Reps/Boeing_777.pdf Boeing Launches New 777 Freighter Read More