Boeing air tanker delivery likely delayed again: U.S. Air Force
Source: Reuters
Boeing air tanker delivery likely delayed again: U.S. Air Force
Reuters Staff
2 MIN READ
(Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force said the first delivery of KC-46 aerial refueling tankers from Boeing Co, scheduled for the second quarter of 2018, is more likely to occur late in the year.
“This assessment is based on known risks and predicted impacts associated with airworthiness certifications and slower than expected flight test execution,” the Air Force said in a statement on Tuesday.
These potential delays will not result in additional program cost to the taxpayer, the statement said.
Boeing could not immediately be reached for comment.
The world’s biggest maker of jetliners is expected to deliver 18 tankers.
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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-boeing/boeing-air-tanker-delivery-likely-delayed-again-u-s-air-force-idUSKCN1GJ3AL
= new reply since forum marked as read
BTW, it is also known as the Boeing 707, the most successful commercial jetliner ever.
I was a sonic test engineer at BMAC (Boeing Military Airplane Company) in the early 80's. The re-engined (and re-skinned) KC-135R is a wonderful airplane. There is not one square inch of that airplane that I don't know intimately. Through months of sonic testing I crawled into and over the entire airframe, from nose to vertical stabilizer.
It is an astoundingly great airplane.
Those GE CFM-56 engines, some 23,000 lbs thrust each, over twice the original engines, made the re-engined KC-135 a real hot dog.
How many have ever flown in a 707?
If they had re-engined the commercial fleet similarly, we might well be still taking 707s across the Atlantic.
on edit: The tell for a 707/KC-135 is the antenna at the top of the vertical stabilizer.