The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. – Benjamin Franklin
– Boeing’s Hypersonic Strike-Aircraft Can “Buzz Around The World In 1-3 Hours”:
“It’s two-and-a-half times the speed of a speeding bullet…It’s more than twice as fast as the Concorde…”
* * *
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H/t reader squodgy:
“Certification planned for 2018.
Both Boeing & Airbus will suffer.”
…greatly.
*****
– Chinese C919 Passenger Jet Prototype Makes Successful Test Flight (VIDEO):
China has moved a step closer to its ambitious multi-trillion dollar plan to penetrate the global passenger jet market.
The second prototype of the C919 plane took off from Shanghai’s Pudong International airport marking a successful maiden test flight, state media reported.
“The test flight lasted for around two hours during which performance of the plane’s major systems and equipments like taking-off and landing, navigation and communication, speed acceleration and deceleration were tested,” Xinhua News Agency reported.
Read moreChinese C919 Passenger Jet Prototype Makes Successful Test Flight (VIDEO)
– 1st large Chinese-made passenger jet C919 takes flight, seeks to rival Boeing & Airbus:
The Chinese COMAC C919 airplane, which seeks to challenge the market dominance of the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, has made its maiden flight.The new narrow-body twin-engine passenger jet took to the skies of Shanghai on Friday. The maiden flight had been delayed at least twice since 2014 due to production issues, according to Reuters.
The state-owned producer of the plane, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), says there is a $2 trillion market for the new plane, which was first revealed last November.Read more1st large Chinese-made passenger jet C919 takes flight, seeks to rival Boeing & Airbus
Related info:
– Russia & China reveal their alternative to Airbus & Boeing
– Global Trade War Baked in the Cake: Boeing Faces China’s Wrath:
I have been warning about the increasing likelihood of a serious global trade war for quite some time.
That warning is now my baseline scenario. Unless there is an immediate deescalation of rhetoric and a return to rational thinking, a very destructive global trade war is baked in the cake.
I seek ways that a global trade war does not start, but I come up short.
Read moreGlobal Trade War Baked in the Cake: Boeing Faces China’s Wrath
– Following Twitter Spat, Boeing Gives $1 Million To Trump Inauguration:
Just days after president-elect Donald Trump called out Boeing for “out of control” costs on its Air Force One bid, the aircraft manufacturer has decided to match its donation to President Obama, giving $1 million to the president-elect’s inauguration, USA Today reports.
Read moreFollowing Twitter Spat, Boeing Gives $1 Million To Trump Inauguration
– Boeing Shutters Two Plants After United Continental Delays $5BN Worth Of 737 Orders:
Earlier this morning, Boeing’s shares dropped after United Continental Airlines said it would delay orders for 61 Boeing 737 jetliners, worth roughly $5 billion, and instead order the newer 737 MAX models for delivery in later years. Boeing, of course, downplayed the impact of the decision saying it would not affect its plan to increase production rates of 737s, and stressed that it continues to have orders for more 737s than it can produce.
Given that, it does seem to be curious timing that Boeing has just announced an operational restructuring that will result two site closures in El Paso, Texas and Newington, Virginia. While we’re sure there are “efficiency gains” to be generated from the consolidation of sites, cutting 4.5 million square feet of facility space in just 4 years seems like there may be a bit more behind the cuts.
Read moreBoeing Shutters Two Plants After United Continental Delays $5 BILLION Worth Of 737 Orders
– Russia & China reveal their alternative to Airbus & Boeing:
A mock-up of a wide-body passenger aircraft jointly being developed by Moscow and Beijing has been presented at Airshow China. The new plane is expected to challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly.Manufacturers Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) have announced the start of the search for suppliers. They didn’t provide any details on financing or technical specification.
Read moreRussia & China reveal their alternative to Airbus & Boeing
– Boeing Gets “Mind-Boggling” $2 Billion Bonus Despite Failed Missile Defense System Tests:
From 2002 through early last year, the Pentagon conducted 11 flight tests of the nation’s homeland missile defense system. The interceptors failed to destroy their targets in six of the 11 tests — a record that has prompted independent experts to conclude the system cannot be relied on to foil a nuclear strike by North Korea or Iran. Yet, as The LA Times reports, over that same time span, Boeing, the Pentagon’s prime contractor, collected nearly $2 billion in performance bonuses for a job well done…
Furthermore, The Pentagon paid Boeing more than $21 billion total for managing the system during that period.
An LA Times investigation by David Willman also found that the criteria for the yearly bonuses were changed at some point to de-emphasize the importance of test results that demonstrate the system’s ability to intercept and destroy incoming warheads.
Read moreBoeing Gets “Mind-Boggling” $2 Billion Bonus Despite Failed Missile Defense System Tests
– For The First Time Since The Recession, Boeing Won’t Raise Airplane Prices Due To Plunge In Demand:
As part of the US economic slowdown, many have observed the sharp drop in demand for heavy trucking, coupled with the steep dropoff in train and intermodal traffic. Now, a third major red flag has emerged in the sky, where the slowdown in sales and new orders for airplanes is now so acute that US plane giatn, Boeing, announced on Monday it would refrain from increasing jetliner prices for the coming year, the first time it has held prices steady since 2009.