AIRBUS engineers have attacked the high proportion of composites used in Boeing's new 7E7 Dreamliner, branding the aircraft's development "rushed" and "ridiculous".
The 7E7 will contain double the amount of composites - a non metallic material made from two more chemicals - used in the Airbus A380, including most of the fuselage and wings. But Airbus claims Boeing has rushed through the technology before it is matured.
Colin Stuart, Airbus vice-president of marketing, said composites should be introduced with caution.
He told an engineering conference: "If you start to look at the various loads on composites (in an all-composite fuselage), it is absolutely the wrong thing to do." Current composite material is unsuitable for many areas of the fuselage claimed Alain Garcia, executive vice-president of engineering. "It's perfect for tension and fatigue, but poor for compression," he said.
Airbus stepped up the war of words with Boeing after the US company criticised weight increases in the A380. Airbus claims the 7E7 will be heavier than Boeing has admitted.
Dr Jürgen Klenner, Airbus senior vice-president of structure engineering, said today's carbon fibre is often no more than "black aluminium" - with the same attributes as traditional materials - offering few benefits for the extra cost. Carbon fibre does have weight advantages, but according to Klenner the cost of the raw material is up to 500%.
"We do not apply a material because it is trendy, we do it when we are convinced it is mature enough. There are crucial questions that have not yet been answered," he said.
There are concerns that composites present a higher fire risk.
Prof Phil Irving, civil aviation authority expert in damage tolerance at Cranfield University, said engineers should drip-feed composites into aircraft to avoid "unexpected failures". Airbus accused Boeing of tinkering with the 7E7's supposedly advanced technology during its development, saying the final product will be more conventional and heavier than originally claimed.
But Boeing denies this, pointing out that the aircraft was developed in parallel to, rather than after, the company's now-cancelled project, the Sonic Cruiser.
A Boeing spokesman said: "We've put a great amount of work into composites, drawing on the work we've already done on the 777 and a whole variety of military aircraft.
"The 7E7 is a bold move, but if you look at the efficiency and environmental advantages it's a move in the right direction." The 7E7 will contain 50% of its weight in composites, making it lighter and more fuel-efficient, Boeing claims. The A380 structure contains under 25% composites, while Airbus chose not to use the carbon fibre wing planned for its future military aircraft.
Boeing expects to announce up to 200 orders for the 7E7 this year. So far only Japan's All Nippon Airways and Air New Zealand have placed orders, compared with 129 orders to date for the A380.
Italian charter airline Eurofly has ordered one Airbus A319 Long Range aircraft and plans to acquire a second.
The aircraft will be equipped with 48 seats and will operate all-premium class services from Milan and Rome to New York.
The Milan-based airline is already an Airbus operator with five A320s and two A330s flying to European and Caribbean holiday destinations.
Meanwhile, Egyptair has taken delivery of the first of seven Airbus A330-200s on order.
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Sounds like airbus views the 7E7 as a threat to their core business.
Hmmm.....
