Quieter, faster Boeing 747 is in the works

The Boeing Co. announced yesterday that it will offer airlines yet another member of its 747 family of jumbo jets, this one a "quieter" version that will be more environmentally friendly for the world's airports.

Aircraft noise on takeoff and landing has become a big issue, especially in Europe.

Engine and aerodynamic improvements on the new 747 will result in a noise reduction of 40 percent on approach to an airport and 20 percent on takeoff compared with current versions, Boeing said. That's about as quiet as the new Airbus A380 superjumbo that is set to enter service in 2006, according to Boeing.

The quieter 747 will also have more range than current 747s.

And what for the past 30 years has been the world's fastest subsonic commercial jetliner will be able to cruise slightly faster because of those aerodynamic and engine improvements.

The announcement was good news in an industry that has taken a significant downturn since terrorists used jetliners in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. Because of falling demand, Boeing is slashing its jetliner production rates by about half and eliminating about 30,000 mostly commercial jobs.

The production rate for the 747 is about two planes a month, down from 2.5 last year.

Merely launching the new airplane will not mean more jobs. But anything that Boeing does to make the 747 more attractive to potential customers will extend the plane's life and help production down the road. And when production rates go up, more workers likely will be needed to build those planes.

Boeing has been talking with key 747 customers for the better part of a year about the need for a quieter plane, and yesterday's announcement, which was made at the annual Asian air show in Singapore, was not unexpected.

"Boeing is firmly committed to the continuing evolution of this airplane," Jeff Peace, vice president and general manager of the 747 programs, said in a news release.

In a conference call with reporters, Bill Droppelman, director of brand management for the 747 program, said Boeing hopes to win enough orders and commitments from airlines by June to formally launch development of the quieter plane. That would allow the airplane to enter service by March 2004, he said.

Droppelman did not say how many orders or commitments Boeing will need before deciding to go ahead. In late 2000 Boeing launched development of a longer-range 747, known as the 747-400ER (for extended range), with only six orders from Qantas. It later picked up more orders for a freighter version from Air France and International Lease Finance Corp.

The first of those Qantas and Air France planes are now being assembled in Everett, with delivery set for later this year after flight testing of the new models.

Boeing said it will develop passenger and freighter versions of the quieter 747.

The market for new airplanes has changed considerably since Boeing launched development of the 747-400ER. As result of Sept. 11, airlines are trying to recover from an unprecedented financial crisis and will order far fewer new airplanes this year.

Despite the bleak market outlook, some airlines have been telling Boeing that they want a quieter 747, especially for some of their European routes.

London's Heathrow is but one of a growing number of airports that have adopted tough noise standards. Aircraft that don't meet the new standard can't take off between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Reducing engine noise would be especially beneficial for cargo operators who often fly at night, when airport restrictions may be in effect.

Engine improvements for the quieter 747 include changes to the nacelles and nozzles. Only a General Electric Co. engine is being offered for now on the quieter plane. It will have slightly more thrust than current GE 747 engines.

Droppelman said Boeing is also talking with Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney, both of whom supply engines for the 747.

"GE has an engine package we understand pretty well," he said, adding that talks with the other two engine makers about the quieter 747 "are not as far along."

Several aerodynamic changes in the jet will also help make the 747 quieter.

Lighter-weight wing flaps will lower the 747's stall speed. This will result in less noise during landing, since the jet can fly at slower speeds without losing lift.

Wing improvements include raked wing tips and what's known as a "trailing edge wedge," which was developed by McDonnell Douglas to improve the efficiency of the MD-11. Tests found it would significantly help the 747.

Raked wing tips were first designed for the 767-400 and will also be used on the longer-range 777 now in development. They will increase the total wing span of the quieter 747 to 225 feet 3 inches, or about 14 feet more than the current model.

A bigger fuel tank in the tail will give the quieter plane about 310 nautical miles more range than the 747-400ER.

And the aerodynamic improvements will enable the quieter 747 to cruise at Mach .86, up slightly from the Mach .855 cruise speed of 747 models now in service.

The announcement that Boeing plans to build a quieter 747 came less than a year after Boeing said last March that it would shelve plans for stretched version of the 747 (the 747X) and focus instead on a faster plane known as the sonic cruiser.

But it said then it would press ahead with continued improvements to the 747, including the 747-400ER.

When Boeing delivers the first of those longer-range 747s to Qantas this October, it will be the 13th version of the 747 since the world's biggest commercial jetliner entered service with Pan American World Airways on Jan. 21, 1970.

The quieter model will be version No. 14.

It will likely not be the last.

Under study are models with even more range and payload capability.

And Boeing has said it could still develop the stretched 747X at some point if the market wants such a big plane.

The current 747-400 seats up to 416 passengers in three classes. The quieter version will seat the same number of passengers.

P-I reporter James Wallace can be reached at 206-448-8040 or jameswallace@seattlepi.com

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