Search
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,65817,00.html (Hyperlinks in main story)
02:00 AM Nov. 25, 2004 PT
SEATTLE -- Picture the Boeing 737 -- the small, stocky jetliner that's the workhorse of hundreds of airlines around the world. Now picture the 737 with missiles slung under its wings and a bomb bay in its belly.
Boeing is gearing up to modify its ubiquitous twin-jet, single-aisle airliner into a Navy patrol bomber called the Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft, or MMA. The plane will have a variety of sensors to pinpoint a submarine’s location: anti-submarine radar, an electro-optical-infrared camera and Magnetic Anomaly Detection, or MAD. Rotary magazines will drop sonar sonobuoys.
Five tactical consoles inside will integrate information from all those sensors and inform the aircraft commander, headquarters and friendly units in real time.
What's more, the plane could launch Harpoon missiles from two racks under each wing, or from a weapons bay aft of the wing, which could also carry torpedoes, mines or nuclear or conventional depth bombs. The MMA will have a receptacle to take on more fuel in flight so it can extend a patrol for up to 21 hours.
The planes would replace the Navy's fleet of 223 Lockheed P-3 Orion undersea warfare and reconnaissance planes and EP-3E electronic intelligence planes, like the one forced to land on the Chinese island of Hainan on April 1, 2001, after it collided with a Chinese interceptor.
P-3s have four turboprop engines, and getting the Navy to consider a twin-engine turbojet wasn't easy. Boeing took a 737 to air stations around the country and Europe to show Navy aviators a twin-jet could do the job -- even on one engine if it had to -- and helped Boeing secure the contract over rival Lockheed Martin, which proposed an updated turboprop plane for the mission.
"I love the P-3," said Tim Norgart, who commanded a wing of P-3s at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station before retiring from the Navy and joining Boeing’s MMA program. "It always brought me home. But I can't see my granddaughter walking out to the flight line to a propeller plane in 2050."
The world has changed since the P-3 was developed in the 1950s, but the submarine threat hasn't gone away, Norgart said. Currently, 42 nations operate diesel-electric submarines, and that technology could negate America’s cutting-edge weaponry. "Can you imagine us deploying the (nuclear-powered aircraft carrier) Carl Vinson to the Gulf with one of those submarines unaccounted for?" he asked.
It shouldn't be that hard to imagine a civil airliner converted to a weapons-packing warplane -- the P-3 itself was based on the Lockheed Electra airliner. A British plane with a similar mission, the Nimrod, is based on the de Havilland Comet jetliner.
Under a $3.9 billion Navy contract awarded last June, Boeing will build seven 737 MMAs for testing. The plane's design has begun its 3,000 hours of testing in wind tunnels. First flight will be in 2008 and delivery in 2009. It would enter service in 2013. Ultimately, the Navy will need 108 of the planes, a deal that would be worth $20 billion.
A production contract will be good news for the city of Renton, Washington, where 737s are built. Boeing's factory there, with space for four production lines, went to two lines because of the worldwide airline downturn. The discontinuation of the larger 757 in October reduced production floor space even further. The 737 MMA will be built on a separate, security-controlled assembly line in Renton. The completed planes will be flown to Seattle's Boeing Field for modification into bombers.
I wonder if they will use the 737 to repace the AC-130? I think that mothballing the P3 is unwise. The P3 can fly slower than the '37--- an advantage of the strait wing. If the pilot of the P3 near China had just hung out the flaps and set up for slow flight --- 10 knots above stall or so, the Chinese pilot would not have been able to get so close. He would have fallen out of the sky like a rock at the P3s stalling speed. I have also observed the P3 flying on just the inboard engines to conserve fuel,--- don't think the '37 will do that very well.
Would you guys like to see a real life aviation topic opened for news such as this? Of course, we will need editors to source the news.
flyaway wrote:
Would you guys like to see a real life aviation topic opened for news such as this? Of course, we will need editors to source the news.
I'd like to see a real-life aviation topic! 😀
I get several all encompassing newsletters every day and have seen aircraft only articles occasionally.
This one struck me as the type that others here would have an interest in because many of us either fly the 737 jet or have the Orion in our folder.
It might be interesting to have a separate section for aircraft news but all would have to contribute articles as they find them.
This is such an international site that one person would never be able to find the articles posted by another countries news source.
It would have to be a Flyaway community effort.
The most important part of a post like this would be the link to the story not just a copy-paste of it.
My feelings for what their worth.
I think an aviation topic could be worth considering - It would also drive different kinds of users to the website, and more importantly, the forums - where the community thrives.
Regarding sourcing, it would be fair to mention the source of the story (if not written by one of our own editors), but linking is another issue. Links to storys are fair, but can decrease a websites importance in search engine terms, this is a very complicated topic that I won't go into much detail about, but the more outbound links we have, the more importance the site "gives away". So I would have to disagree with linking - but a URL without a "clickable" link is of course another option.
If we could source storys, decide on specific topics to cover (covering the whole aviation industry would be pointless and too large), compile a list of trusted sources, a team of trusted editors who are willing to volunteer - then I think we could have something going.
Let me know what you think. 😉
flyaway wrote:
.......decide on specific topics to cover.....
Air Force One!!! 😀
I think it's a great idea! 
I see your point about directing away from the site.
Occasionally as with the one posted above they have very interesting links to the stories that pertain to the main story.
This for example that I had found over a year ago would just have to be pasted as you say, no link.
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,60830,00.html
I'm sure that there are some members here in different countries that would be willing to serve as "roaming reporters".
You know of course that if I run into a story of interest I'll want to share it.
Lets see who offers their time and talent.
By the way, nice new avatar, it isn't as frightening as the last. 👍
Chris, you would have to keep it non-political, just reporting on the types of aircraft.
Did you know that it's only called Air Force one when a president is aboard. It has a different call sign any other time.
RadarMan wrote:
Chris, you would have to keep it non-political, just reporting on the types of aircraft.
Did you know that it's only called Air Force one when a president is aboard. It has a different call sign any other time.
I believe when the President isn't on it, it's called VC-25. 
VC-25 - AIR FORCE ONE
Mission
The mission of the VC-25 aircraft -- Air Force One -- is to provide air transport for the president of the United States.
Features
The presidential air transport fleet consists of two specially configured Boeing 747-200B's -- tail numbers 28000 and 29000 -- with the Air Force designation VC-25. When the president is aboard either aircraft, or any Air Force aircraft, the radio call sign is "Air Force One."
Principal differences between the VC-25 and the standard Boeing 747, other than the number of passengers carried, are the state of the art navigation, electronic and communications equipment, its interior configuration and furnishings, self-contained baggage loader, front and aft air-stairs, and the capability for in-flight refueling.
Accommodations for the president include an executive suite consisting of a stateroom (with dressing room, lavatory and shower) and the president's office. A conference/dining room is also available for the president, his family and staff. Other separate accommodations are provided for guests, senior staff, Secret Service and security personnel, and the news media.
Two galleys provide up to 100 meals at one sitting. Six passenger lavatories, including disabled access facilities, are provided as well as a rest area and mini-galley for the aircrew. The VC-25 also has a compartment outfitted with medical equipment and supplies for minor medical emergencies. The aircraft is one of a kind.
Background
These aircraft are flown by the Presidential Airlift Group, and are assigned to Air Mobility Command's 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, Md.
Presidential air transport began in 1944 when a C-54 -- the "Sacred Cow" -- was put into service for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Then came the "Independence," a DC-6 (Liftmaster), which transported President Harry S. Truman during the period 1947 to 1953. President Dwight D. Eisenhower traveled aboard the "Columbine II" and "Columbine III" from 1953 to 1961. While the call sign "Air Force One" was first used in the 50s, President Kennedy's VC-137 (Boeing 707) was the first aircraft to be popularly known as "Air Force One."
In 1962, a C-137C specifically purchased for use as Air Force One, entered into service with the tail number 26000. It is perhaps the most widely known and most historically significant presidential aircraft. Tail number 26000 is the aircraft that carried President Kennedy to Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963, and returned the body to Washington, D.C., following his assassination. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office as the 36th president on board the aircraft at Love Field in Dallas. This fateful aircraft also was used to return President Johnson's body to Texas following his state funeral Jan. 24, 1973. In 1972 President Richard M. Nixon made historic visits aboard 26000 to the People's Republic of China and to the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Tail number 26000 was retired May 1998, and is on display at the U.S. Air Force Museum, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.
Tail number 27000 replaced 26000 and carved its own history when it was used to fly Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter to Cairo, Egypt, Oct. 19, 1981, to represent the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
The first VC-25A -- tail number 28000 -- flew as "Air Force One" on Sept. 6, 1990, when it transported President George Bush to Kansas, Florida and back to Washington, D.C. A second VC-25A, tail number 29000 transported Presidents Clinton, Carter and Bush to Israel for the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The VC-25A will usher presidential travel into the 21st century, upholding the proud tradition and distinction of being known as "Air Force One."
General Characteristics
Primary Function: Presidential air transport
Contractor: Boeing Airplane Co.
Power Plant: Four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 jet engines
Thrust: 56,700 pounds, each engine
Length: 231 feet, 10 inches (70.7 meters)
Height: 63 feet, 5 inches (19.3 meters)
Wingspan: 195 feet, 8 inches (59.6 meters)
Speed: 630 miles per hour (Mach 0.92)
Ceiling: 45,100 feet (13,746 meters)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 833,000 pounds (374,850 kilograms)
Range: 7,800 statute miles (6,800 nautical miles) (12,550 kilometers)
Crew: 26 (passenger/crew capacity: 102)
Introduction Date: Dec. 8, 1990 (No. 28000); Dec. 23, 1990 (No. 29000)
Date Deployed: Sept. 6, 1990 (No. 28000); Mar. 26, 1991 (No. 29000)
Inventory: Active force, 2; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0
I think we need to find some editors first. We need to create a topic, put out a news article and include a mention in the next newsletter. We can then look at sources. Thanks for the link Chris, but after some browsing a better example from Boeing would be something like:
http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/
I'm available
Flight Sim Questions that are closely related to this...
