Tag: Boeing

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777X Update

Fly High English logo with the word 'activities' beside it

Activities

What do you know about the new plane Boeing is currently testing, the 777X? Take some notes.

Listening & Writing

Listen to the following short audio about the 777X programme and try to write what you hear, exactly as you heart it. You can listen as many times as you want. After writing, click on the link below the audio to read the text and correct what you wrote.

Continue reading 777X Update
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Video answers: Building the 737MAX

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It has paper checklists, a seven-step startup process, a warning light, physical cables to link fight controls to flight surfaces, all of which made it different to other modern aircraft.
  2. The original plan was to replace the 737 with an all-new aircraft.
  3. Fuel efficiency was less important for short-haul flight because these planes traditionally spent less time in the air per day than long-haul aircraft.
  4. Airlines are starting to use narrowbody aircraft for longer and longer flights.
  5. The American Airlines order for an ‘updated’ 737 convinced Boeing to modify the 737NG instead of building a totally new airplane.
  6. It would want a less modern, less efficient plane because they’re cheaper to buy and don’t require expensive training sessions to get their pilots type rated.
  7. Boeing had to move the engine higher and further forward on the wing to be able to fit it with the new, more efficient engine.
  8. MCAS was necessary because the new engine position and increased height of the landing gear created a tendency for the plane to pitch up more than the previous generation.
  9. It was likely caused by a malfunctioning MCAS sensor which kept pushing the plane’s nose down.

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Video: Building the 737MAX

This week’s video discusses the circumstances that made Boeing decide to build the 737.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

Continue reading Video: Building the 737MAX
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Video answers: The little plane war

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. They were both commercial failures with relatively few planes sold.
  2. Nearly 70% of the planes coming into London City Airport are Embraer planes.
  3. Due to noise restrictions, the steep approach angle and short runway, there are few planes that can operate there as efficiently as the Embraer.
  4. It’s a big market because there are many smaller airports which would be best served with regional jets.
  5. One of the test aircraft had an uncontained engine failure during routine testing.
  6. The financial support of the governments of Canada and Quebec helped to save the programme.
  7. They lacked an order from an American airline, which would make or break the programme.
  8. They allegedly sold 75 of their planes to Delta for below cost price.
  9. Boeing filed a dumping petition in US courts and the courts put a 300% import tariff on the planes.
  10. Airbus acquired a 50.01% stake in the programme.
  11. Airbus is a marketing powerhouse and can help sell many more planes than Bombardier alone. However, with final assembly taking place at Airbus’ assembly line in US, it means that the CSeries planes might be classified as US planes, avoiding import tariffs.

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Video: The little plane war

This week’s video describes the war between Boeing and Bombardier over the CSeries jet. Watch to find out exactly what it was about.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. How successful were Airbus’ A318 and Boeing’s 717?
  2. What proportion of London City Airport’s arrivals are Embraer planes?
  3. Why are the reasons for this?
  4. Why is the US a big market for small planes?
  5. What major setback did the CSeries programme have?
  6. What saved the programme after this setback?
  7. What kind of order did Bombardier lack?
  8. What did they do to fix this?
  9. How did Boeing react to this?
  10. What did Airbus do?
  11. How did this help?

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Have a great weekend!

The Little Plane War

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Video answers: Why the 737 doesn’t have landing-gear doors

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Boeing wanted the 737 to be low to the ground, as a result they realized that they didn’t have enough space for landing-gear doors.
  2. They’re heavy and complex, making the plane heavier and more likely to have a problem and cause delays.
  3. No, the landing-gear doors cover the wings and landing gear struts, but not the wheels.
  4. Boeing engineers decided to place hubcaps on the wheels to reduce the drag.
  5. If the hubcaps are lost there is a significant fuel penalty that the pilots have to apply to the flight plan.
  6. Boeing uses rubber blade seals to remove the gap between the wheel and the wheel-well bay.
  7. As the main landing gear is retracted, the brakes are applied to stop the wheels spinning.
  8. Icing doesn’t affect the wheels as the aircraft flies because that’s not an area of the plane that typically suffers from icing. Icing usually forms on wing leading edges, horizontal stabilizers, tail fin and the nose.

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