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Commercial Airplanes |
Meet the airplane of tomorrowtoday Boeing Technology Demonstrator showcases emerging technologies BY PHYLLIS MILLER A new breed of airplane has been soaring through the skies over Washington's Puget Sound, demonstrating to customers and the public Boeing's commitment to offering technology that enhances aviation safety and efficiency. The plane is the Boeing Technology Demonstrator, a Next-Generation 737-900 fitted with new, cutting-edge navigational and flight deck safety features. It's designed to showcase advanced technologies unmatched in commercial aviation today and that tomorrow could become the industry standard. The Boeing Technology Demonstrator airplane shows Boeing's leadership in bringing aircraft to market with leading-edge technologies that enhance safety and efficiency, said Hank Queen, vice president of Engineering and Product Integrity for Commercial Airplanes. The airplane "is a forum to evaluate these benefits for our customers and the flying public," he said. The technologiesnine in allare provided by Boeing internal suppliers, including the Electronics Responsibility Center/Commercial Avionics Systems and Jeppesen, and by external suppliers and partners. Together they demonstrate Boeing's determination to create airplanes that reduce noise, enhance safety, decrease flight delays, and improve the ease of operation and efficiency of pilots in the flight deck. Many of the new technologies will be offered as options on the 737 within the next 18 months. The company eventually intends to offer them to 717, 747, 757, 767 and 777 customers as well, based on market interest and model development plans. In addition, Commercial Airplanes intends to provide these features as aftermarket retrofits through its Commercial Aviation Services organization. Offerings will be based on the airplane model, customer interest and cost-effectiveness of a feature-specific retrofit, Queen said. The availability of Boeing Technology Demonstrator products varies depending upon the technology. For example, the Quiet Climb System and Head-Up Display are currently available on the Next-Generation 737. The Vertical Situation Display, GPS Landing System, Integrated Approach Navigation, and Navigation Performance Scales are now being certified for the 737 family of airplanes. Boeing expects them to be available on the 737 between third quarter 2002 and late 2003. The remaining features, Surface Guidance System, Enhanced Vision System, and Synthetic Vision System, are in early stages, and Boeing is not yet committed to having them certified and implemented, Queen said. The Technology Demonstrator Aircraft also is on the cutting edge in relationship building. A shared investment on this flight test project has enabled Boeing to work closely, from an early stage, with key technology developers such as Jeppesen, Rockwell Collins, Smiths, Honeywell, CMC Electronics and Max-Viz. Working together, the team is demonstrating and evaluating new flight deck technologies for airlines and regulatory agencies in a real-world, commercial aviation environment. As these technologies become operational, they will help achieve industry and government goals of making aviation even safer, while simultaneously increasing airport and airspace capacity and improving airline and airport efficiency. |
DEMONSTRATOR DOCKET QUIET CLIMB SYSTEM: VERTICAL SITUATION DISPLAY: NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE SCALES: INTEGRATED APPROACH NAVIGATION: GPS LANDING SYSTEM: HEAD-UP DISPLAY: SURFACE GUIDANCE SYSTEM: ENHANCED VISION SYSTEM: SYNTHETIC VISION SYSTEM: |
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