Boeing wins Tanker Contract

[Yeager]

Seattle area news and WA congressman's office reporting......

[Yossarian]

Heh...wonderful.  Yet another 30 year old design going into service

[Ripsnort]

Ya beat me Yeager you Boeing brat!

[Ripsnort]

Heh...wonderful.  Yet another 30 year old design going into service

Ehhh, yeah. Just about everything about the 767 from an engineering aspect is about 10 years old. The only original design on today's 767 aircraft are wing spars and the aluminum skin.
How old is the 707? 53 years old?

[Yeager]

See Rule #6

[Strip]

As is the case with most aircraft I would, especially military......the F-22 was initially designed in the 80's.

Reusing certain designs is not necessarily a bad thing either....

Strip

[Yossarian]

Ehhh, yeah. Just about everything about the 767 from an engineering aspect is about 10 years old. The only original design on today's 767 aircraft are wing spars and the aluminum skin.
How old is the 707? 53 years old?

Ok, fair enough

[Ripsnort]

Best statement I've heard so far is "Our grandfathers and grandmothers built B-17s and B-29s that helped win WW2, our fathers and mothers built commercial jets that allowed us to travel anywhere in the world comfortaby, it only makes sense... that Ameican Dads and Moms built the next generation Air Tanker Refueler"

[Reschke]

I don't like it because it takes away from what would have been a great deal of infrastructure and jobs for the state I live in. But the hand writing was on the wall when Boeing whined enough and tossed more money at the lost competition back in 2008 and I will not get into the political side of it with Chicago based Boeing and a certain Chicago based governmental leader.

[SlapShot]

Big news for Connecticut's Pratt and Whitney too ... P&W will be supplying 400 engines for those birds.

[Yeager]

See Rule #6

Fascinating...I dont even remember what I posted 

[camnite]

everyone is saying that it needs to be built by americans, what mobile, al. ain't part of america? what pisses me about this, like reschke, that certain officials in high government are in the same town as boeing's headquarters. also, which team had a plane up and flying to test thier design. sorry guys, it just pisses me off. i was hoping to be one of the 35,000 people hired on.

[chance-airwolf]

I've mixed feelings on the Boeing win - not questioning the Boeing quality aspect, but the AL facility and its "local" subtier suppliers, not to mention commuting employees, would have spilled over into MS... bringing more "hi tech" jobs to the AL-MS region is good.

[eagl]

I just hope we get a new tanker before the ones we have start falling out of the sky, literally.  I personally subscribe to the boeing philosophy especially regarding flight controls limits and full vs. partial authority fly-by-wire laws, but that's just me.  There have been mishaps directly related to problems with airbus flight controls, but there have also been just as many "airshow practice" crashes of large aircraft that were flown beyond their limits too.  I'd rather the pilot have the option to maneuver a military aircraft "as required" instead of forbidding maneuvering beyond the limiters, but that's because my job requires full 3D maneuvering capability and I've never had a flying job that didn't require that sort of capability.

Maybe when I'm older or want to try flying in my sleep, I'll appreciate flight control limiters.  In the meantime, I think a boeing tanker will make a fine KC-135 replacement, and it's overdue by about 10 years.  Our 135 fleet is EXPENSIVE because they're so worn out.

[Reschke]

Well another part of the problem that I have with it is what is already mentioned. The aircraft in question from EADS/Northrop is already in production and in my view production costs tend to be lower on an item that is already being produced. Unlike typical US based defense contractors which tend to go with a route of building something that is seriously cool and necessary but then taking the government to the cleaners on the cost over runs; simply because the government can print the money they need to back it up. I honestly look for this project to get canceled within the next few years just because it goes through the roof with cost and delays. THEN the longest flying aircraft in the USAF will not be the B-52 it will be the KC-135.