Boeing Confirms Lion Air Order for 22 737s

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today confirmed a previously unidentified Lion Air order for 22 Next-Generation 737-900ER (Extended Range) airplanes. Jakarta-based Lion Air's order was placed during the second quarter of 2007 and was listed in the unidentified category on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries Web site. This order, valued at more than $1.7 billion at current list prices, brings Lion Air's combined orders for the 737-900ER to 122.

"The Next-Generation 737's reliability, passenger comfort, and low cost of operation and maintenance play a crucial role in supporting our growing route structure," said Lion Air founder and President Director Rusdi Kirana. "The 737 is the right airplane for our airline and our customers."

Boeing launched the 737-900ER program in July 2005 when Lion Air announced the initial order for 30 of the newest 737 model. In July 2006, the airline announced an order for 30 more 737-900ERs, and in June 2007 it announced an order for an additional 40 at the Paris Air Show. All of Lion Air's airplanes will be equipped with performance-enhancing Blended Winglets, which improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions by up to 4 percent.

"Lion Air, the world's largest operator of the 737-900ER, is providing unmatched service for its customers throughout Southeast Asia, and is utilizing the 737-900ER's economic advantages to provide value for the airline and for its passengers," said Dinesh Keskar, vice president, Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We look forward to growing our relationship with this most valued customer for many years to come."

The 737-900ER incorporates a new pair of exit doors and a flat rear-pressure bulkhead that allow a maximum capacity of 220 passengers in a single-class layout. Aerodynamic and structural design changes - including strengthened wings, a two-position tailskid, enhancements to the leading- and trailing-edge flap systems, optional Blended Winglets, and auxiliary fuel tanks - will allow the 737-900ER to accommodate higher takeoff weights and increase its range to 3,200 nautical miles (5,900 km).

The 737-900ER has substantial economic advantages over competing models, including 6 percent lower operating costs per trip and 4 percent lower operating costs per seat than the A321 -- which is more than 9,550 pounds (4,340 kg) heavier. The 737-900ER joins the 737-600, -700, -700ER and -800 airplanes and will share the same industry-leading reliability of the other Next-Generation 737 series models.

As of Nov. 30, eight customers have placed orders for 169 Next-Generation 737-900ERs. The 737 is the best-selling commercial jetliner in history, with more than 7,000 orders from more than 240 customers around the world. Boeing has more than 1,800 unfilled orders for the airplane with a value exceeding $130 billion at current list prices.

Lion Air received the first 737-900ER in April when the airplane was delivered in a special dual paint scheme that combined the Lion Air lion on the vertical stabilizer and the Boeing livery colors on the fuselage. The airline will receive a total of seven 737-900ERs in 2007. Lion Air operates an all-Boeing fleet and is the largest low-cost airline in Asia, with traffic approaching 1 million passengers per month since the airline began operations in June 2000.

Big Deal! Airbus Sells $15 Billion In Jets To China

Deal Salvaged Following "A Dinner, A Meeting And A Lunch"

China continues to prove highly lucrative for Airbus. On Monday, the European planemaker announced it signed contracts with the Chinese government for 160 airliners, valued at roughly $15 billion at list prices.

The deal includes 110 orders for A320 Family narrowbody airliners, and 50 A330 widebodies, according to media reports. The deal was signed in Beijing, during the first state visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The deal was far from done just hours ago, however. Reuters reports China had decided to purchase just 30 aircraft... and the 160-plane deal was salvaged only after a series of high-level political talks.

French officials say Sarkozy was concerned that low order tally would be seen as a flop -- since his predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was able to secure a 150-plane order. Hence, the last minute wrangling.

"A dinner, a meeting and a lunch," was how one official close to Sarkozy described the process. As a result, Sarkozy may return to France with the largest-ever order for Airbus planes from China.

As ANN reported, Airbus began work earlier this year on a Chinese A320 plant, ahead of expected significant orders from the region for the popular single-aisle plane. The new plant, located in Tianjian, is expected to build its first A320 in 2009, reports The Associated Press, with expected output of 300 planes per year by 2016.

Both Airbus and rival Boeing predict China will become the second largest market for aircraft in the world, with anywhere from 1,900 to 2,600 planes ordered over the next 20 years.

Louis Gallois, CEO of Airbus parent-company EADS, told reporters he was unsure of the exact value of the new orders -- saying "he had not calculated it."

In any case, the deal is a shot in the arm for Airbus... which is currently stymied financially by the weak performance of the US dollar against the euro, and recently-announced delays to the A400M military transport turboprop program.

CHC Helicopter Corporation Orders Eurocopter Training Device

ELITE Evolution S623 Sports Garmin GNS430, Will Be Used In Nigeria

ELITE Simulation Solutions announced Monday CHC Global Operations has placed an order for an ELITE Evolution S623 Eurocopter Training Device to be installed at their Lagos, Nigeria location.

The ELITE Evolution will feature a 3-channel visual system, Garmin GNS430 and the Bendix/King EFIS navigation system and will be used to train pilots flying on the African continent VFR and IFR training as well as offshore oil platform training.

The trainer will be equipped with dual controls, full-size cockpit enclosure and professional instructor station, avionics stack with flight director system and fully-coupled autopilot system.

The ELITE Evolution S623 Eurocopter is designed for navigation and procedures training and meets JAR-STD 3(H) FNPT II certification criteria as well as Australian CASA regulations as a Level B FSD2 and New Zealand CAA Requirements.

CHC Helicopter Corporation is the world's largest provider of helicopter services to the global offshore oil and gas industry, with aircraft operating in more than 30 countries around the world.

Boeing 737-400

The first generation 737s (737-100s and 737-200s) were first ordered in 1965 and were delivered in December of 1967. Since that time, Boeing has continually modified its smallest line of jets, resulting in the current generation of 737s, which includes the enlarged 737-300 (first delivered in 1984 to USAir), the further enlarged 737-400 (first delivered in 1988 to Piedmont Airlines), and the smaller 737-500 (first delivered in 1990).

Today Boeing is in the process of producing the next-generation of 737s, comprised of the 600, 700, and 800 series, the first of which are squeduled for delivery in October 1997. Changes include a larger wing, higher cruise speed, increased range, and new engines with improvements in noise, fuel burn and thrust. With over 3,300 orders the Boeing 737 has become the world's all time best-selling commercial jetliner. Over 2,700 have already been delivered to more than 250 customers in 95 countries. By 1996, 737s had carried more than 4.3 billion passengers and flown more than 26.6 billion miles. Through March 31, 1996, the current generation 737 was the most reliable jet airplane in commercial aviation, with a dispatch reliability of 99.4%. Over 700 737s are in the sky at all times.

737-400 History
Boeing announced it was developing a new higher capacity version of the fast selling 737-300 in June 1986. The new aeroplane, the 737-400, was developed as a 150 seat class 727 replacement. Although Boeing had initially developed the 180 to 200 seat 757 to replace the successful 727, there still existed a considerable market for a near direct size replacement for the popular trijet. By developing the 737-400 as a minimum change stretch of the 737-300, Boeing was also able to offer considerable commonality, and thus cost, benefits to operators already with the 737-300, and to a lesser extent, the 737-200 in their fleets. The major change of the 737-400 over the smaller 300 is a 3.05m (10ft 0in) fuselage stretch, consisting of a 1.83m (6ft 0in) stretch forward and a 1.22m (4ft 0in) plug rear of the wing. The stretch increases maximum passenger seating to 188. To cope with the increased weights, more powerful CFM56s are fitted. Other changes are minor, such as a tail bumper fitted to protect against over rotation at takeoff, something that could have become a problem due to the increased fuselage length. A higher gross weight longer range version is offered. It features increased fuel capacity, and strengthened undercarriage and structures, but is otherwise identical to the standard 737-400.

The first flight of the 737-400 occurred on February 19 1988 and it entered airline service in October that year with Piedmont. Of the 737-300/-400/-500 family the 400 has proven the most successful member behind the 300, its larger capacity and transcontinental US range meaning it has found a very useful market for Boeing as a 727 replacement. However the 737-400 does face stiff competition from the similar size Airbus A320, which has higher levels of technology, longer range and is faster (but is also heavier).

737-400 Weights
Standard version operating empty 34,564kg (76,200lb), max takeoff 62,820kg (138,500lb). High gross weight operating empty 34,827kg (76,780lb), max takeoff 68,040kg (150,000lb).

737-400 Performance
Max cruising speed 912km/h (492kt), long range cruising speed 813km/h (439kt). Standard version range with max payload 4005km (2160nm), typical range with 146 passengers 3630km (1960nm). High gross weight option range with 146 passengers 3850km (2080nm).

737-400 Dimensions
Wing span 28.88m (94ft 9in), length 36.45m (119ft 7in), height 11.13m (36ft 6in). Wing area 105.4m2 (1135sq ft).

Aircraft

Aeroplanes

A size comparison of some of the largest aircraft in the world. The Airbus A380-800 (largest airliner), the Boeing 747-8, the Antonov An-225 (aircraft with the greatest payload) and the Hughes H-4 "Spruce Goose" (aircraft with greatest wingspan).Aeroplanes or Airplanes are technically called fixed-wing aircraft.

The forerunner of the aeroplane is the kite. A kite depends upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the wind currents. Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly, and were invented in China around 500 BC. Much aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels and most recently computer modelling programs became available.


A collection of NASA test aircraftAeroplanes are generally characterized by their wing configuration.

In a conventional configuration, the main wings are placed in front of a smaller stabilizer surface or tailplane. The canard reverses this, placing a small foreplane forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. Canards are becoming more common as supersonic aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight. The tandem wing type has two wings of similar size, one at the front and one at the back. In a tailless design the lift and horizontal control surfaces are combined. The ultimate expression of this is the flying wing, where there is no central fuselage, and perhaps even no separate vertical control surface (e.g., the B-2 Spirit).

Sometimes two or more wings are stacked one above the other. A biplane has two wings, and a triplane has three, quadruplanes (four) and above have never been successful. Up until the 1930's, biplanes were the most common. Triplanes were only occasionally made, especially for a brief period during the First World War due to their high manoeuvrability as fighters. Since the Second World War, most aeroplanes have been monoplanes. A sesquiplane is similar to a biplane, but with the lower wing much reduced in size. Most multi-plane designs are braced, with struts and/or wires holding the wings in place. A monoplane has only one wing. Some, especially early designs, are also braced, because this allows a much lighter weight than a clean, unbraced cantilever design. But bracing causes a large amount of drag at higher speeds, so it is no longer used for faster designs. Monoplanes are also classified as high-wing, mid-wing or low-wing, according to where on the fuselage the wing is attached.

Most low-speed aeroplanes have a straight wing, which may be constant-chord, or tapered so that it decreases in chord towards the tip. For flight near or above the speed of sound, a swept wing is usually used, where the wing angles backwards towards the tips (though forward sweep is occasionally experimented with, and M-wing designs which reverse direction half way along have been suggested). A notable variation is the delta wing, which is shaped like a triangle: the leading edge is sharply swept, but the trailing edge is straight; one common form is the cropped delta, which merges into the tapered swept category, and an especially graceful form is the double-curved ogival delta found for example on Concorde. Another variation is the crescent wing, seen for example on the Handley Page Victor, which is sharply swept inboard, with reduced sweep for the outboard section. A variable-geometry wing, or swing-wing, can change the angle of sweep in flight. It has been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft, the first production type being the General Dynamics F-111.

Seaplanes and Floatplanes differ in that a seaplane has the bottom of its fuselage shaped hydrodynamically and it sits directly on the water when at rest, while a floatplane has two or more floats attached below the rest of the aircraft so that the fuselage remains clear of the water at all times.

Some people consider wing-in-ground-effect vehicles to be aeroplanes, others do not. These craft "fly" close to the surface of the ground or water. An example is the Russian ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster". Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne, but this is only because they are so underpowered - the airframe is theoretically capable of flying much higher. (Hovercraft are not considered to be aircraft, since they rely wholly on the pressure of air on the ground beneath, and have no aerodynamic lifting surface).