Originally posted by Krusher
If your bored and want to see what a blogger thinks of the 787. It has some pics and a few links to other write ups.
Just out of curiosity, do you know how the new materials affect its radar and heat signature ? just wondering because of the manpad threat.
no biggie.
Link
a couple of blurbs
A composite fuselage, on the other hand, won't corrode and can withstand much greater pressure. That means it can be blown up to the equivalent of 6,000 feet of altitude rather than 8,000 feet, which can help decrease fatigue on long flights without increasing an airline's maintenance budget. Stronger, more resilient carbon also means the 7E7 can have a more humid cabin and bigger windows--a big plus for passengers.
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Dreamliner engineers are discovering that their composites are even tougher than they initially imagined. So Boeing is able to guarantee customers that maintenance costs will be 30% lower than for aluminum planes.
Thanks for the link! Composites is one of our more popular workbenches in the engineering design CADCAM software I support and the info above explains why
I've heard nothing on what Boeing intends to do on MANPAD potential, but I found this on Jane's Weekly Defense (old article)
NEW US HIGH-ENERGY CONCEPT AIMS TO COUNTER MAN-PORTABLE MISSILE THREAT, Jane's Defence Weekly, July 30, 2003. Northrop Grumman has disclosed a new directed-energy laser weapon system that it has conceived to defeat small, supersonic missiles targeted at aircraft landing at and taking off from military airfields and civilian airports.
The Hazardous Ordnance Engagement Toolkit (HORNET) is an outgrowth of the company's continued work on the Mobile Tactical High Energy Laser (MTHEL) system for Israel and the US. Like MTHEL, the HORNET would be based on a megawatt-class deuterium-fluoride chemical laser that can shoot a lethal energy beam at the speed of light at a target, said Pat Caruana, vice president of Missile Defense in Northrop Grumman's Space Technology sector. This quick-reaction capacity, along with the precision and safety attributes already shown by the MTHEL tested, would make the HORNET a formidable capability to defeat man-portable air defence (MANPAD) surface-to-air missiles, he said. US defence officials, as well as their civilian air-safety counterparts, say these missiles pose an increasing threat to military and civilian aircraft. Their high speeds and short timelines make them difficult to counter and attractive weapons for potential terrorists. Caruana told Jane's Defence Weekly the company has done "considerable analysis" of the concept, which it has already briefed to US Air Force officials and homeland security representatives. This is "very promising technology", he said…The company believes one HORNET unit could successfully engage two or three rockets in a salvo, with the ability to priorities the threats, said Caruana. The MTHEL prototype has proven this capability in live-fire tests against Katyusha rockets and artillery shells since 2000, he noted. In some ways these projectiles are more challenging to defeat than MANPAD missiles, he added. HORNET would be best applied as part of a layered defence that includes perimeter security, modified landing and take-off corridors and aircraft-resident self-protection capabilities such as the US Air Force's Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system, according to a company release on the concept. The air force is installing LAIRCM on platforms like the C-17 transport aircraft. The system is designed to blind the infrared seekers of incoming missiles…
