Boeing Makes 737 Max Design Decisions

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 (Bernama)-- Boeing has made a series of design updates to the 737 MAX to further optimise the new-engine variant’s performance. In a statement Thursday, 737 programme vice president and general manager Beverly Wyse said the 737 MAX is on track, to deliver substantial fuel-savings to customers starting in 2017. "We have made several design decisions that support the performance targets for the MAX and evolve the Next-Generation 737’s design within the scope of the 737 MAX programme," he added. The design decisions include aft body aerodynamic improvements, engine installation as well as flight control and system updates, Boeing said. Other minor changes to the airplane include strengthening the main landing gear, wing and fuselage to accommodate the increase in loads due to the larger engines. Boeing also said it would continue to conduct aerodynamic, engine and airplane trade studies, as the team works to optimise the design of the airplane by mid-2013. "We will also continue to do work in the wind tunnel to affirm the low and high-speed performance of the 737 MAX design. "Based on design work and preliminary testing results, we have even more confidence in our ability to give customers the fuel savings they need, while minimising the development risk on this program," said 737 MAX programme chief project engineer and deputy programme manager Michael Teal. It said airlines operating the 737 MAX would see a 10-12 per cent fuel-burn improvement over today's most fuel efficient single-aisle airplanes and a seven per cent operating cost per-seat advantage over tomorrow's competition. To date, the 737 MAX has more than 1,000 orders and commitments from 16 customers worldwide. -- BERNAMA