27 November 2006, 16:24
TrapperPWhere Ya' Going to Park It????
WOW WHAT AN AIRPLANE!!!!! Boeing 797
Look at this new aircraft... guess we are not going to be outdone by the French A380.
Boeing to take on Airbus with (1000 seat) giant 797 Blended Wing plane Boeing is
preparing a 1000 passenger jet that could reshape the Air travel industry for the next
100 years.
The radical Blended Wing design has been developed by Boeing in cooperation with
the NASA Langley Research Centre. The mammoth plane will have a wing span of
265 feet compared to the 747's 211 feet, and is designed to fit within the newly created
terminals used for the 555 seat Airbus A380, which is 262 feet wide. The new 797 is in
direct response to the Airbus A380 which has racked up 159 orders, but has not yet
flown any passengers. Boeing decide to kill its 747X stretched super jumbo in 2003
af ter little interest was shown by airline companies, but has continued to develop the
ultimate Airbus crusher 797 for years at its Phantom Works research facility in
Long Beach, Calif.
The Airbus A380 has been in the works since 1999 and has accumulated $13 billion in
development costs, which gives Boeing a huge advantage now that Airbus has committed
to the older style tubular aircraft for decades to come.
There are several big advantages to the blended wing design, the most important being the
lift to drag ratio which is expected to increase by an amazing 50%, with overall weight
reduced by 25%, making it an estimated 33% more efficient than the A380, and making
Airbus's $13 billion dollar investment look pretty shaky.
High body rigidity is another key factor in blended wing aircraft, It reduces turbulence and
creates less stress on the air frame which adds to efficiency, giving the 797 a tremendous
8800 nautical mile range with its 1000 passengers flying comfortably at mach .88 or
654 mph (+-1046km/h) cruising speed another advantage over the Airbus tube-and-wing
designed A380's 570 mph (912 km/h) The exact date for introduction is unclear, yet the
battle lines are clearly drawn in the high-stakes war for civilian air supremacy.
Do you think it's a hoax as some say or do you think it is for real? Interesting concept, to say the least. I for one would love to see the sucker fly!
27 November 2006, 17:31
PalmerIts good to see some new thinking going into the passenger type of aircraft and it would be good to see Boeing have something competitive with Airbus.
From a passengers standpoint this one looks like it could have some interesting seating possibilities since it is not restricted to a tube layout.
For those who like windows, it doesnt look like it will have many but at the altitude these will fly there isn't much to see anyway.
29 November 2006, 12:12
MarkI wonder how that would handle with a bit of ice on it.