Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Mark Wagner [65]
P&W’s owners, United Technologies Corp. (UTC) and one of its major partners, MTU of Germany, had balked at the massive “buy-in” costs associated with the business case. Reflecting on the decision, P&W said, “We’re going to go after commercial programs that we think make long-term business sense, but we won’t damage the company financially to win. We may be third in the commercial business for a while; so be it.” In a message to employees, P&W President Louis Chenervert said, “While we are disappointed, we should thank the entire PW-EXX team for their outstanding efforts in this hard-fought competition.”
Bair said it had been “a very close decision, but we are happy this represents the best value for everyone who is going to be involved in this aircraft. Technically all three had very robust offerings that met or exceeded our technical requirements.”
While taking nothing for granted, for GE the GEnx decision was business as usual. For Rolls, it was all-new territory. “We did our best with Boeing, and we’ve never had a more close working relationship than this,” said Rolls Civil Aerospace President Mike Terrett. Trent 1000 Assistant Chief Engineer Gary Cutts added, “We feel we’ve been doing a program per year for the past ten years, and we feel we’re match fit for this.”
By late 2003 7E7 thrust requirements were diverging so dramatically that Boeing wrestled with the prospect of covering the range with two engine variants—one with a smaller fan diameter for the short-range version, and another for the baseline and stretched models. Further analysis showed that the gap could be closed because the short-range variant needed high power for climb, while the longer-range variant did not require as much thrust as originally believed. Mark Wagner
THE GAME BEGINS
More surprising news soon followed in October 2004, when Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 became the lead engine on the 7E7 following its selection by All Nippon Airways (ANA). Proving that the old world of brand loyalties was giving way to a new world of harsh business realities, the decision made the 7E7 the first all-new Boeing wide-body to be launched into service with a Rolls-Royce engine.
General Electric pushed for exclusivity on the 787, having reaped the rewards with Snecma on the Boeing 737 and its CFM56 engine. Here British Airways engineers gawk at the sheer size of the first GE90 engine and its 123-inch-diameter fan mounted on a 777, while a closely positioned CFM56-powered 737 provides some scale. Mark Wagner
Not including the stretched 777-300, which was led by the Trent 800, it also marked only the second time a new Boeing airliner had been launched with a powerplant from the U.K. manufacturer, the first being the 757. In a twist of irony, the last 757 was being assembled when news of the ANA decision filtered through.
General Electric’s case for exclusivity on the 787 appeared stronger than ever when it was selected as sole engine provider to Boeing for the longer-range 777-200LR/300ER models with the GE90-110/115B. The combination was a happy one for both airframe and engine maker, and set the scene for a record-breaking long-distance flight on November 10, 2005, when a test aircraft flew nonstop 11,664 nautical miles from Hong Kong to London in twenty-two hours and forty-two minutes. The distance was farther than any previous commercial jetliner had flown and exceeded a distance of more than halfway around the world. Here the weary passengers and crew disembark after landing at London Heathrow. Mark Wagner
The ANA breakthrough came hard on the heels of news that Kawasaki Heavy Industries had joined Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as a risk-and-revenue-sharing partner in the Trent 1000. Kawasaki was to provide the IP compressor module under an 8.5 percent share, while Mitsubishi acquired a 7 percent share involving the combustor and LP turbine.
The GEnx-1B undergoes a hail test at Site 4D on the Peebles test site in