BigDUSA

The head of Boeing's commercial airplanes division says the company hopes to announce a delivery schedule for its 787 aircraft within two weeks, but getting federal approval for fixes to the problem-plagued plane will be key. Jim Albaugh, Boeing's president and CEO for airplanes, said Wednesday that Boeing needs the Federal Aviation Administration "to agree to the fixes we're going to put in place" and to restart certification test flights before the company can release a delivery schedule. FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency is working with Boeing Co. on planning for a resumption of flight tests. The 787 has suffered a string of production problems and is three years behind schedule. Boeing resumed test flights of the plane in December after an in-flight fire haled them in November. QUOTE AP

Your a silly little man.

It will be interesting if they can arrange financing. I read where the other Indian Airlines are running into money troubles.

The Boeing Co. quietly brought its newest plane, the 787 Dreamliner, into Denver International Airport today on a series of landings and takeoffs as part of the test program for one of the world's most advanced aircraft. The company is in the midst of a rigorous testing program with its first six 787s. The plane made three landings and three takeoffs on DIA's runway 16Right/34Left to test the interaction between the aircraft and runway instrumentation, according to airport officials. The runway, at 16,000 feet, is DIA's longest and one of the longest runways among major airports throughout the world. In November, Boeing halted its 787 flight-test program when one of the planes, on a flight near Laredo, Texas, suffered a fire in a power distribution panel. The fire "self-extinguished" and the plane landed safely, according to the company. Boeing resumed flight testing of the 787 on Dec. 23. The plane, which will seat between 200 and 300 passengers depending on cabin configuration, is fabricated using 50 percent composite materials and only 20 percent aluminum, according to the company. The structure is 15 percent titanium and 10 percent steel. In comparison, the Boeing 777 — the company's newest plane before the 787 — is 50 percent aluminum and relies on composites for about 12 percent of its makeup. Boeing claims the 787 will be 20 percent more fuel efficient than similarly sized planes and produce 20 percent fewer emissions. Major assembly of the 787 began in June 2006. DIA has been courting Japan's All Nippon Airways, or ANA, to operate nonstop service between Denver and Tokyo using the 787, once the carrier takes delivery of the long-haul jet and certifies its use for trans-oceanic flights. "ANA is still saying Denver is one of the top markets," said DIA communications and marketing chief Sally Covington, about the Japanese airline's assessment of which U.S. cities it might serve with the 787. Officials from DIA, the state of Colorado, the city and county of Denver, and the metro Denver business community have made a number of trips to meet with ANA executives in Japan in an effort to win the Tokyo nonstop service. "It's about having face time and building relationships," Covington said. "Tokyo brings us all of Asia," she added, referring to the ability of passengers arriving at Narita International Airport from Denver to connect with major destinations in China, South Korea and elsewhere in the region. Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com QUOTE

Boeing hits 767 milestone and preps for second Everett 787 line Boeing marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet at a ceremony Monday, as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance. By Dominic Gates Seattle Times aerospace reporter PREV 1 of 2 NEXT MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES This is the 1,000th Boeing 767, and it will be the last one assembled in this bay at Everett. The next will come off a new assembly line at the building's rear. This bay will be converted for use in a new 787 Dreamliner "surge" line. MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES Boeing engineer Duncan T. Moore, who worked on the first 767 in 1981, today works on the 787 Dreamliner. Related Daley resigns from Boeing, Abbott boards Boeing 767 Launch and development: Launched in 1978. First flew in September 1981. Size and market: A twin-engine jet with variants carrying 180 to 375 passengers, as well as freighter models. Now the most common jet flying transatlantic routes. Competition: In the late 1990s, the new Airbus A330 began to supplant the 767 in the midsize airliner market. In 2003, Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner as a 767 replacement. Future: Boeing is now assembling the 1,000th 767 and has taken orders for a total 1,044 of the jets. Its life span will be extended only if Boeing wins the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, a decision expected next month. At a ceremony Monday inside Boeing's jet plant in Everett, about 100 employees marked the imminent completion of the 1,000th 767 wide-body jet. The landmark arrives as the fate of the airplane program hangs in the balance, dependent on the outcome of the U.S. Air Force tanker competition. As soon as this 767 is rolled out, engineers will begin converting the bay to accommodate a new 787 assembly line. This "surge" line is supposed to be temporary, aiding the production ramp-up until the assembly line being built in Charleston, S.C., is fully operational. However, many Boeing observers, including Machinists union district President Tom Wroblewski, hope the second line in Everett will become permanent. Thirty years after the first 767 rolled out, the 1,000th jet will go to All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, which ordered nine 767s to cover its needs as the airline waits for its delayed 787 Dreamliners to arrive. Boeing has 50 orders for the 767 still to deliver, and several hundred people in Everett currently work to assemble the plane. After those jets roll out, the program will close in less than two years unless the Air Force picks the 767 as its air-to-air refueling tanker. The decision on that $40 billion contract is likely next month, and some defense-industry analysts predict the competing Airbus A330 tanker will win. Kim Pastega, vice president and general manager of the 767 program, said at Monday's ceremony that Boeing will offer the Air Force its final price on the tanker work contract "over the next month or so." Darrel Larson, director of 767 manufacturing, added that his team had "earned our right to build 1,000 units, and we're working to earn our right to build a couple more generations of this aircraft." Pastega focused her remarks upon the day's remarkable milestone of commercial success and on Boeing's intricate preparations to keep the jet's production going. "Very few (wide-body) airplanes ever get to 1,000" deliveries, Pastega said. No Airbus wide-body jet has, nor did any McDonnell Douglas wide-body before that company merged with Boeing. Boeing's 747 jumbo jet, which launched a dozen years before the 767, is still being built after more than 1,400 deliveries. The other large wide-body program, the 777, has delivered more than 900 just 16 years after that jet first flew. Even as it awaits word on whether the 767 has a future, Boeing has invested in major changes to the plane's production. Pastega said the production rate increased from one per month to one-and-a-half per month in the last months of 2010 and is in the process of increasing to two per month. At the same time, Pastega's team has finalized a complex move of production to a new area at the rear of the assembly plant to make room for an extra 787 Dreamliner line. A new door has been constructed at the back of the giant building through which the 1001st 767 will exit from the new assembly area onto the Paine Field flight line. Even before the 767 work moves out of the current assembly bay, the area is already being used for rework on a couple 787 Dreamliners. In front of the ANA 767 Monday, an Air India 787 was missing its horizontal tail, which had been removed for rework necessitated by poor workmanship in the initial build in Italy. As Boeing scrambles to make up for all the Dreamliner delays and deliver the 850 planes on order, it could use three production lines if it can get them operational. And once the second Everett line is running well, it would make little sense to close it down. But first, Boeing has to get its initial 787 line running well. Among those on hand for the ceremony Monday was Boeing manufacturing engineer Duncan T. Moore, who worked on the first 767 in 1981 and today works on the 787 Dreamliner. Moore recalled a couple of late glitches on that first 767. When a fuselage panel failed after a frozen fowl was test-fired at the jet to assess vulnerability to a live bird strike, engineers ordered a retrofit to stiffen the panel in the crown of the fuselage of the jets already built. Moore helped manage the cascade of out-of-sequence work from that last-minute change and from another decision to standardize the flight crew at two rather than three people. It worked out fine in the end. The 767 became a favored trans-Atlantic wide-body. But now those workers building the 787 are overwhelmed with out-of-sequence work. Does Moore think Boeing is on top of it this time around on the Dreamliner? "There's work to be done," said Moore. "But it'll be a good airplane, too." Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com QUOTE

I use MSE. Works well and it's free.

Your so right! Only a "moronic fool" would admit admit he missed it and apologize.

I don't read every thread or post on his forum. Sorry I missed it.

I didn't see your anger when I was asked this question repeatedly. Double standard?

I hope the owners of the Drunken Duck are successful with their new guest house. If they run a quality operation with the emphasis on excellent customer service. No doubt they will do very well. Good luck.

I voted for the Eagles. IF Vick can scramble. He's very dangerous.

I just asked the guy a simple and direct question on his financial interest in the guest house. Same question you've asked me or was the question when you accused me of getting a free room?

I asked you a simple question. Do you have a financial interest in this business?

You have a financial stake in the business?

You have a financial stake in this business? Interesting? I'll have to stop by and take a look for myself.

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Boeing Co (BA.N) delivered 116 commercial airplanes in the fourth quarter, down from 122 a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. The world's second-largest commercial planemaker after Airbus (EAD.PA) said 95 of those deliveries were of its 737 Next Generation, compared with 92 a year earlier. The company delivered 18 widebody 777s in the fourth quarter, down from 25 a year earlier. The deliveries bring the 2010 total to 462 planes for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, compared with 481 in 2009. Boeing gets paid for its planes at delivery. The company said it had booked 530 net orders in 2010 as the global economy recovered from a downturn in recent years. Boeing reported only 142 net orders in 2009 as airline customers struggled. The company said its order backlog for its 737, 777, 747, 767 and 787 models amounted to 3,443 planes at the end of 2010. Boeing said it would provide a forecast of 2011 commercial airplane deliveries when it releases year-end earnings January 26. Shares of Boeing, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI), were up 0.6 percent at $67.88 on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Kyle Peterson; Editing by Derek Caney and Lisa Von Ahn) QUOTE

Video is from an American TV show. Man versus Food. Interesting show that showcases a city's excellent restaurants. He did a piece on Philly cheese steaks. Makes my mouth water.

A couple of years ago my wife and I spent some time looking at rental properties in Pattaya. It's a renters market. Many quality rentals at a very reasonable cost. My wife was amazed at what we could rent for 15-25K per month.

The Herald Send a letter to the editorThe Boeing Co.'s fourth flight test 787 is back in the air today. This is only the second time since Boeing's Dec. 23 announcement that the 787 would resume flight test activities that the Dreamliner has been in the air. According to FlightAware, the fourth 787 test plane took off from Boeing Field at a little before noon today, heading for Moses Lake, Wash. An electrical fire in November grounded Boeing's 787 flight test fleet and put up in the air the Dreamliner's delivery schedule. Boeing is expected to give an update on the 787's delivery schedule this month. QUOTE

The map on the website shows it's location in Jomtiem. I enjoy good Mexican food and will give them a try next time I'm in Pattaya.

You may have missed where I said in Pattaya and yes, I've eaten in all the Tex-Mex restaurants in Pattaya and it's my opinion that they don't serve good Tex-Mex food. FYI, I've been to Pattaya within the last 12 months. My info may not be as up to date as yours but it is reasonably current.

I've never been to Mike's but I will give them a try when I'm Pattaya next March.

I gotta laugh, I've been to most of the countries where our fellow BM live and the number of American fast food chains in their country would make your head spin. I like the Great American Rib Company in Jomtien for St Louis style ribs. Since your from Texas give the Pattaya Tex-Mex joints a miss.

Let's go over the Rolls Royce Trent engine fiasco. There are so few of this series engine in service and so many have had problems. GE, P&W and Rolls Royce have thousands of engines in service. So few engine failures. Seems there are problems with the Trent series.

When the highly experienced Qantas pilot experiences the same type of catastrophic engine failure on a Boeing airplane. Get back to me. Until then his opinion has little relevance.