On the Record with MIKE BAIR, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, BOEING 7E7 PROGRAM
Boeing's new 7E7 will be a tightly optimized "point design,"
tailored to act as a fleet companion to the successful 777, according
to Mike Bair, senior VP for the critical new program. Boeing does
not have to provide for range or capacity growth that would take
the 7E7 into the market sector already covered by the 300-seat
777-200LR, so the new airplane can be made lighter and more efficient,
Bair says.
Major technical and industrial choices on the 7E7 should all be
taken this summer. Boeing has already announced that the airplane
will be largely made from composite materials.
Another important decision: the number of engine types to be offered
on the airplane. "I can guarantee it won't be three-a three-way
competition is a bloodbath," says Bair. "It's two versus
one, and there are a bunch of pros and cons. One engine costs
less, but you lose the advantages of continued competition. With
two engines you don't have all your eggs in one basket."
Bair's prediction for the 7E7's systems layout is that "it
will have mixed hydraulic and electric systems." In this
respect the airplane will be similar to the A380, which has dual
hydraulic systems with electrically powered back-ups. It will
also have "very limited or no pneumatic systems," with
no engine bleed air (thus improving engine efficiency) and an
electrically powered air-conditioning and pressurization system.
It will make the greatest possible use of distributed computer
control, using shared databuses rather than dedicated wiring.
One controversial decision is Boeing's choice of a final assembly
site for the 7E7. Since May 16, when the manufacturer issued its
criteria for that decision, Bair says "there are very few
states that haven't asked-even some that have a hard time understanding
what a port is." Proximity to a round-the-clock port capable
of handling major airplane subassemblies is essential, and a deep-water
port is clearly preferred. Another important requirement is reasonably
predictable flying weather and an absence of potentially catastrophic
conditions such as earthquakes or tornadoes.
In any event, the final assembly line won't employ anything like
the numbers who work on Boeing airplanes today. "The numbers
will be dramatically less, between 800 and 1,200 Boeing jobs,"
says Bair. The 7E7 will be assembled from large components 'stuffed'
with subsystems, and much of that fitting-out work may be carried
out by suppliers. Both in design and manufacture, Boeing expects
suppliers to carry out more detailed integration work than they
have done in the past. Bair suggests that suppliers might decide
to co-locate their 7E7 production with the final assembly line.
Bair responds circumspectly to questions concerning financial
incentives offered to Boeing by state governments. Kansas has
offered a $500 million bond issue if Boeing places 7E7 work in
Wichita-and the state would be repaid out of payroll taxes that
Boeing would normally pay, bond or no bond. It's a sensitive issue
for Boeing, which has long protested about alleged subsidies to
its competitor.
"It's important to realize that Kansas was not so much about
the 7E7 as about our operation in Kansas, trying to position themselves
to be a preferred supplier," says Bair. In-house Boeing operations
are being assessed in competition with outside suppliers. The
bond discussions "were an independent initiative by [VP and
general manager of the BCA Wichita Division] Jeff Turner, to make
sure he was as well positioned as other partners," notes
Bair, adding, "We don't have any specific criteria"
for state aid. "We're not out looking for who can write us
the biggest check. This is a 20-, 30-, 40-year program, and what's
important is the ongoing business climate."
Boeing's performance target for the 7E7 is 20% better fuel burn
than the 767-300-which it will replace in Boeing's line-up-translating
to a 10% improvement in operating costs. "Out of that 20%,
about 8% is from the new-generation engine," says Bair, "and
6% is in the rest of the airframe," resulting from using
new design technology to tailor the aircraft precisely to its
mission with minimum weight. Boeing is designing the 7E7 to compete
effectively with a re-engined A330-200.
Boeing intends to make the 7E7 "identical to the 777, from
the pilot's viewpoint," Bair says. It will have back-driven
control yokes "with the same part numbers as the 777."
The company intends to develop a common rating for the 7E7 and
777, so those operators can freely interchange flight crews between
the two airplanes.
Bair says that the initial 7E7 will be "within a seat row
or two" of the 767-300, which seats 218 passengers in a three-class
layout, but will have range and speed similar to the 777-300ER.
A stretched version will have around 250 seats, competing directly
with the A330-200. Boeing expects to launch the airplane in the
first half of next year, with service entry in 2008.
