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FedEx and Boeing are in active talks regarding a passenger-to-freighter 777 conversion, according to financial filings.

FedEx’s 10-Q quarterly report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on the 20th of March disclose active communications between FedEx and Boeing regarding the development of the 777 Boeing Converted Freighter, which would be built on the 777-200 and -200ER passenger aircraft.

Correspondence dated December 2, 2008 with the subject “Notification for a Boeing 777 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) Proposal” was exchanged between Richard Ochs Boeing Regional Director of Aircraft Contracts and Kevin Burkhart, Managing Director of Aircraft Acquisitions & Sales for FedEx.

The filing redacted the contents of the correspondence, providing no additional details beyond the reference in the letter’s subject line, though refers to a “Letter Agreement” on the 777 Boeing Converted Freighter.

A FedEx spokesperson declined to elaborate on the reference to the aircraft in the company’s financial filing but added that there are no plans to purchase a converted 777 freighter, and reaffirmed the company’s intention to purchase 30 original-build 777 freighters.

FedEx holds 15 additional options for 777F aircraft.

Boeing first revealed it was undertaking cargo conversion development studies in September of last year.

Boeing said a 777 conversion program is still in the preliminary phase as a development study.

A Boeing spokesman added that there’s no timeline for a program launch but suggested that a 777 BCF probably would not be available to customers until the middle of the next decade, around the time earliest 777 aircraft would be entering their third decade of service.

When first disclosed, Boeing showed the 777-200ER BCF offering cargo carriers a revenue payload of roughly 180,000lbs (81.6t), give or take about 15,000lbs, and the shorter-range 777-200 BCF a payload of roughly 145,000lbs (65.8t), again give or take about 15,000lbs.

In comparison, the 777 Freighter, which entered service with Air France in February has a revenue payload of 226,800lbs (103t).

At the time, Boeing spokesman stressed that these figures are very preliminary. “We haven’t tied down the specific capabilities yet,” he says. “We’re working with a spread and we’re not ready to discuss specific numbers yet.”

Photo Credit FedEx

Norwegian Air Shuttle LN-NOL, originally uploaded by Rick Schlamp.

Forty-one years ago, Boeing’s first 737-100 entered service with Lufthansa. Now, 41-years later, Boeing has built its 6000th example of the 737 family. The 737-800 aircraft will be delivered to Norwegian Air Shuttle as the 2868th Next Generation 737.

This particular aircraft, registered LN-NOL, wears a special tail sticker commemorating the milestone for the twin-engine narrowbody family. According to Boeing, the 737 family has amassed 8184 orders since Lufthansa placed the first order in February 1965 for 21 of the -100s.

Aviation Week reports in its latest issue that Rolls-Royce has developed an upgraded Trent 1000 engine, bringing the 787 powerplant within 1% of fuel consumption targets at entry into service.

Rolls-Royce also confirms to Aviation Week that the early models of the engine suffered from a “4-5% shortfall in early development tests.” According to the Airbus’ assessment of the Trent 1000, the specific fuel consumption target (SFC) was previously believed to be exceeded by 2-3%.

The upgraded turbofan, designated Build 4A [Package B], will first fly on ZA004 by year end after completing flight test trials aboard the company’s 747 test bed in July. Aviation Week also reports that the focus will be on ZA002 and ZA004 to complete bulk of the propulsion tests. ZA004 will first flight with the standard Trent 1000 engine.

Build 4A [Package B] 787-8 improvements include:

• Revised six-stage low pressure turbine (LPT) design
• High-aspect-ratio blades
• Relocation of the intermediate-pressure (IP) compressor bleed offtake ports
• Fan outlet guide vanes with improved aerodynamics

According to the report, Rolls-Royce has already tested the revised LPT on production Engine 10025 in August of last year putting the engine within 2% of spec. The improvements were later validated on a demonstrator engine in February and beat cruise SFC by 0.5%.

The engine maker is currently working to transition the demonstrator test elements of Build 4A [Package B] from prototypes to production standard parts.

According to program sources, ZA001 will make its first flight with standard build Engines 10015 and 10016.

In addition, the Aviation Week article also inadvertently confirms the change in Boeing’s 787 delivery planning.

The report quotes Andy Geer, Trent 1000 chief engineer, as saying the upgraded engine will be service ready in time for the sixth production 787 and “literally within weeks” of the first delivery in February 2010 to ANA.

The sixth production 787, airplane number 12 overall, was originally destined for Hainan/Grand China Air and was set to be powered by General Electric GEnx engines. ANA, which has inherited the majority of the early delivery slots for Chinese airlines, will power its 787 fleet with Rolls-Royce engines.

Airplane Geeks Podcast
I sat down with the guys over at the Airplane Geeks last week to record a podcast and we covered a ton of ground including 787, A350, CSeries, the future of Southwest’s fleet, NextGen ATC and much more. I had a great time chatting with Max and Court and can’t wait to do it again soon. There’s just something so wonderful about sitting down and talking about aviation. When you boil it all down, I’m just an airplane geek. Also, they asked for a prediction for 787 first flight: June 26, 2009 12:04 PM. That’s a made up guess, but you heard it here first. :-p

Defense Budget
The Obama Administration and Department of Defense will release the annual budget today. The D.E.W. Line will be covering the announcement live at 1:30 PM ET. The announcement will provide some answers to long standing questions regarding ABL, F-22, F-35, VH-71 and possibly even the tanker battle.

A380 White Tails?
Bloomberg News raised the spectre of Airbus only delivering 15 of 18 planned A380s for 2009. A survey conducted of the 15 airlines and 1 lessor yielded surprising results. Only 15 of the aircraft were locked in for deliveries this year. Bloomberg points to the results as a shortfall in production, but Aviation Week reporter Robert Wall suggests that it’s more a function of too much supply coupled with limited demand.

Speaking of A380s, MSN027 (QF no. 5) was flown to XFW on April 2nd followed by MSN029 (QF no. 6) the following day. Next to fly will be MSN023 (EK) then MSN040 (AFR no. 2). MSN051 (SQ no. 11) showed up in TLS last week by convoy as well for final assembly.

Scoreboard
Looks like between the two manufacturers, the score is Airbus 22, Boeing 23 in gross orders for 2009. Though the net totals tell a different story. Airbus is currently a 8 and Boeing at -4 when cancellations are counted into the net total. Worth nothing, the CSeries has had a total of 50 order this year so far, more than both Airbus and Boeing combined. Yes, the orders were expected in 2008, but it’s still an important figure.

Future Proof
Flight journalist Aimee Turner has begun blogging about the future of
aviation. We’re not talking 2020 here, we’re talk 2120. She’s got some
really neat stuff brewing over at Future Proof. Take a look.

Today’s Movie Monday is a documentary on Coast Guard aircraft and the incredible missions they undertake, putting themselves in harms way to rescue those in need. The footage is really amazing, though the narration is somewhat dry (also, sorry for the time code).

You’ll see the impressive performance and capabilities of Coast Guard helicopters like the HH-60 Jayhawk and HH-65 Dauphin. The Dauphin in particular can frequently be seen in the skies over Washington as several are stationed at the south end of Washington National Airport. I often spot the bright red Dauphin zipping along just above the surface of the Potomac river. Quite a sight indeed. Enjoy.

INSIDE:

• ANA set to take delivery of 11 787s in first three months
• Chinese Airlines abandon early delivery slots
• First six flight test aircraft go unallocated to airline customers

As its first flight nears, Boeing has significantly reshuffled the early recipients of the 787, with launch customer All Nippon Airways now set to take delivery of an overwhelming portion of aircraft once slated for Chinese carriers.

According to documents obtained by FlightBlogger detailing information on the first 30 787s, ANA was set to take delivery of three Dreamliners in the first three months of production based on an anticipated August 2009 entry into service. The new schedule has 11 aircraft being handed over to the Japanese carrier during the same three-month production period beginning in February 2010.

The change in the delivery schedule, which will see the first 10 production 787s go to the Japanese carrier, provides a significant boost in capacity for ANA’s fleet and will enable Boeing to fully make up ground lost over the delays of the previous two years. ANA initially expected to receive about six 787s per year. Royal Air Maroc is taking the 11th production aircraft, with ANA taking number 12.

Both Boeing and ANA declined specific comment, citing a policy of not disclosing or discussing individual aircraft delivery schedules.

Though, Drew Magill, director of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes speaking generally about the Boeing delivery schedule in March noted that the poor economic environment had created a “dynamic” market whereby some customers are seeking to move up delivery of aircraft on order, while others are looking to move deliveries back.

Boeing did add that, “where possible, we are making adjustments that meet our customers’ fleet needs while allowing us to successfully manage our production plan.”

Full disclaimer up front: This post originates from the official website of the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace in France. I have already noted tomorrow’s date (April 1st) and am crossing my fingers that this is real and actually going to happen.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of its first flight in 1969, the French Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace has restored Concorde F-BTSD (cn. 213) to flying condition and will take to the sky again on June 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM from Le Bourget Field at the Paris Air Show.

The restoration, which took place in secrcet, was funded by benefactors and aviation enthusiasts with the help of former Concorde maintenance technicians.

The two-hour flight will have F-BTSD departing Le Bourget with 50 passengers heading west out over Ireland for a trip above mach one. The last time this aircraft flew was June 2003.

UPDATE 10:03 PM: I am disappointed to announce that this March 31st post was actually intended by the museum’s curator for April 1st, as it is a clever (again disappointing) hoax for April Fools Day tomorrow. Hey Jon, did you know gullible isn’t in the dictionary?

For Dreamliner One to take to the sky by the end of June, three test aircraft must complete an orchestrated set of milestones in order to earn clearance for the 787’s maiden voyage. Right now, the 787 schedule is being guided by the completion of the following milestones.

“It all has to get done,” said Boeing, emphasizing that there is no particular order to the tests.

What follows is as complete of a guide as I’ve been able to assemble over the two years using material provided by Boeing, the Flight Archive and interviews. This post, in its preliminary form, went by the title The Dreamliner Learns to Fly, which was first authored in August of 2007. Here to there is a significantly more complete guide to understand what it takes to get the 787 into the air for the first time.

If anything is missing, inaccurate or misrepresented, please do not hesitate to contact me privately via email at flightblogger (at) gmail (dot) com. I consider this an evolving document.

Photo Credit Liz Matzelle

The war of words between aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus has taken a subtle, yet biting, turn. On March 30, Reuters quoted the President of Airbus China as saying that no Chinese carriers have canceled their aircraft orders. The following day, the Wall Street Journal quotes the President of Boeing India as saying that it doesn’t expect Indian carriers to defer or cancel orders. It’s nice to hear such an upbeat assessment of the Asian aircraft market by both manufacturers, though the pronouncement of such good news is a subtle jab at its fierce competitor.

Both Boeing and Airbus have faced challenges in the rapidly growing Chinese and Indian markets, respectively. India-based Kingfisher Airlines was forced to defer taking
delivery of 32 of 48 Airbus A320 planes due for delivery in
late 2008 and 2009 and is seeking a delay in delivery of its A380s to 2014. For Boeing, Chinese state owned carrier Shanghai Airlines raised questions about the performance of the early 787s and openly entertained the idea of cancellations.

It’s no coincidence that these two stories were published a day apart:

No China airlines have cancelled orders -Airbus
SHANGHAI, March 30 (Reuters) – European aircraft maker
Airbus (EAD.PA) has had no order cancellations from Chinese
airlines so far amid the global industry downturn, its China
president said on Monday.

China’s three biggest carriers have all predicted losses for
2008 as a slowing economy curbs air travel, spurring the
government to encourage cancellation or postponement in
deliveries of plane orders.

A few Chinese airlines have asked for delays in taking
delivery of previous orders but none has cancelled, Laurence
Barron told Reuters on the sidelines of an event to mark the
delivery of an A320 single-aisle plane to China’s privately
owned Spring Airlines.

“We have some discussions to help certain airlines get
through the difficult period, but we are talking about a
relatively small number of aircraft. We don’t have any
significant problem at the moment in delivering our aircraft,”
Barron said.

Boeing: Don’t Expect Indian Carriers to Defer, Cancel Orders
BANGALORE, March 31 — Boeing Co. reiterated Tuesday that it doesn’t expect any Indian carriers to
defer or cancel orders already placed with the U.S. plane maker despite
a slowdown in the air travel sector.

Boeing has to deliver 100 planes worth $17 billion to Indian
carriers over the next five years, Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing
India said.

“We have had zero cancellations in India” despite the economic
downturn, Mr. Keskar told reporters on the sidelines of a news
conference held to open Boeing’s research and technology center in the
southern Indian city of Bangalore.

“We managed our order book and that’s why today we are reaping the benefits (of no cancellations),” Mr. Keskar said.