Aircraft Manufacture

Developing a new airliner or military jet can take ten years or more, and its serv­ice life may be thirty or forty years. Often, engineers have to choose between existing technologies and new ones. They also must predict what demand will be like in twenty or fifty years.

Aviation industry experts foresee a huge market for new airplanes in Asia, especially in India and China. These nations may well become leading air­plane manufacturers. At present, the world’s airline business is dominated by the manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.

The European aerospace group Airbus is backing its A380 “super jumbo” airliner, which can seat 555 peo­ple. U. S. giant Boeing hopes that its hi – tech 7E7/787 Dreamliner will be more attractive to airlines, although this plane seats only half as many passengers. The A380 will be able to land only at large airports, whereas the smaller Dreamliner will fly to more destinations. Boeing also plans to keep building the reliable 747 (first flown in 1969).