Aircraft Innovation/Technology

Leave a reply

Thinking further on the problems enumerated in the Boeing article by Eamonn Fingleton the recurring theme is government subsidization of Boeing’s competition. A few questions with no palatable answers:

  1. How can they afford NOT to outsource production to Japan when the government is underwriting the costs?
  2. How do they handle a competitor (Airbus) who is so heavily supported by local governments?
  3. What policies can the US government promote that will strengthen Boeing against these problems?

Mr. Fingleton makes a key point… free trade isn’t really free trade when it is one sided. We’ve opened our doors to the world and other governments are essentially “buying” our high-value manufacturing through subsides on their end.

I don’t think direct government subsidies to Boeing is the answer, those never work as intended. How about tax incentives for US manufactured components? Or perhaps trade tariffs on Airbus aircraft to equalize the subsidies that Airbus receives from the various EU and European governments? Any other ideas?

More on 787 Batteries

Leave a reply

Eamonn Fingleton with Forbes thinks the Japanese-sourced batteries are just the symptom of an overall larger problem with Boeing… the systematic outsourcing of key, proprietary manufacturing.

Mr. Fingleton links to a 2005 article he wrong, “Boeing, Boeing… Gone” that gives an in depth look at this outsourcing. A frequent and unfortunate pattern amongst American manufacturing industries.

Sir Stirling Moss

I’d never heard of Sir Stirling Moss… I’m not a follower of racing, let alone British racing. But this documentary, guided by Patrick Steward (yes, Captain Picard), is amazing. The sheer joy on Patrick Stewart’s face in the last 5 minutes is so tangible.

Dreamliner Grounded

Well this is disappointing but looks to be necessary at this juncture.

From the FAA’s statement:

The FAA will work with the manufacturer and carriers to develop a corrective action plan to allow the U.S. 787 fleet to resume operations as quickly and safely as possible.The in-flight Japanese battery incident followed an earlier 787 battery incident that occurred on the ground in Boston on January 7, 2013. The AD is prompted by this second incident involving a lithium ion battery.

Their full Emergency Airworthiness Directive can be found here.

787 Growing Pains

First it was a battery fire in the APU, then it was a fuel leak, now its a brake problem. Boeing’s Dreamliner is going through the normal process of cutting it’s teeth in regular service. No amount of controlled, FAA regulated, routine testing will work out the bugs that day-in-day-out service will expose. And that’s good. It’s also good to see the airlines not reacting to hype:

JAL spokesman Kazunori Kidosaki said the carrier, which operates seven Dreamliners, had no plans to change orders it has placed for another 38 aircraft. ANA, which has 17 Dreamliners flying its colors, will also stick with its orders for another 49, spokesman Etsuya Uchiyama said.

Of course this spate of growing pains doesn’t come without it’s cost to Boeing’s image. High-profile incidents like these don’t help the stock price and they’ve gotten the attention of the FAA. Glad to see the FAA going about this professionally without causing further hype:

“There are concerns about recent events involving the Boeing 787. That is why today we are conducting a comprehensive review,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told a news conference followed by more than 100 reporters around the world.
Those concerns notwithstanding, though, LaHood also maintained the plane was still airworthy.
“I believe this plane is safe and I would have absolutely no reservations about boarding one of these planes and taking a flight,” he said.

It seems like between Boeing and the FAA the right investigation and oversight is being taken place. Huge technological advances, which the 787 Dreamliner represents, don’t come without taking some risks. It’s heartening to see that we are still willing to take those risks.