6 ms·
Perhaps because it's in the process of becoming a triopoly as Chinese investment in airliner production ramps up?
by mikro2nd 5y ago
Perhaps because it's in the process of becoming a triopoly as Chinese investment in airliner production ramps up?
- selectodude 5y agoChina is still 25 years behind on jet engine development.
- estaseuropano 5y agoIsnt Boeing too behind on engine development and just buys them from RR?
- SonicScrub 5y agoNot just Boeing, every aircraft manufacture does this. Many aircraft clean-sheet designs are done as a technology partnership with a major engine manufacture such as Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, or General Electric. And that's pretty much how it's always been done. It's as ludicrous to say "Boeing is behind on engine technology" as it would be to say Ford is behind on their silicon chip manufacturing.
- coredog64 5y agoThe 777 was enabled by the new, super high powered GE-90s. The size of those engines needed to be taken into account at the initial design. Or, to kick HN's favorite Boeing whipping boy, the 737 MAX can't have new engines, only improved SNECMA ones, because the knock-on effects of changing the nacelle size/location would be such that you might as well design a new airplane.
- jaywalk 5y agoNobody builds their own engines. Boeing and Airbus will sometimes certify two different engines, giving customers the option. I don't believe any current Boeing jets use Rolls Royce engines though. Just CFM and Pratt & Whitney.
- globular-toast 5y agoBoeing doesn't make jet engines.
- jasode 5y ago>China is still 25 years behind on jet engine development. I don't understand how that comment fits Comac development. See their current aircraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comac#Aircraft_in_production_or_development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comac#Aircraft_in_production_o... Their 2 planes in production use GE/CFM engines and the 1 in design is expected to use Rolls-Royce or GE.
- latch 5y agoConfused. If they're relying on engines from America/Europe/Russia, doesn't that meant that they are, in fact, behind?
- gimmeThaBeet 5y agoPerhaps that's true, but it's sort of orthogonal. boeing and airbus don't make engines either; afaik no major aircraft manufacturer does (pending the inevitable exception). Granted, I don't understand how China's aerospace industry works, if it's basically just a large industry-wide state conglomerate. But not having locally sourced engines does not really give any information about comac's potential competitiveness.
- mikro2nd 5y agoI've always understood that airframe/airliner construction is quite orthogonal to engine choice. (I am very far from knowledgable on the subject!) A given airframe will, afaik, be available with choices of different engines from different manufacturers at the customer's choice.
- coredog64 5y agoKinda. US law requires the airframe to be sold separate from the engines. But each engine fitted to the airframe has to be done in a unique way as they have different operating characteristics. Even if you enforce consistent hard points, it's not as trivial as unbolting one and putting another one on there. For example, the 767 had RR, GE, and P&W engine choices. But almost nobody bought the RR option, which turned all the NRE that Boeing and Honeywell did into a sunk cost. On the flip side, the stable mate 757 was almost exclusively RR engines. If this is going to happen, then what I would expect to see is that COMAC will launch with engines from a western manufacturer and then maybe sell a refit kit (or just do the refit work themselves) later.
- FridayoLeary 5y agoBe real. They have no qualms about stealing other countries industrial secrets. They are very effective at it too. Their latest fighter jet (j-20) looks like a photocopy of the F-35.
- rapsey 5y agoHow many western passengers want to fly in a Chinese plane?
- typon 5y agoHow many people in the West are not jingoistic morons who tie their identity to their country?
- rcpt 5y agoI don't think I've ever decided on a ticket based on the airplane type. At some point Norwegian had 787s from Oslo to Boston and I recall liking those but I'm 90% sure that it didn't affect my purchase.