SHARED THOUGHTS........ 28.03.14.
===================================
A visit to a dream destination.
(My wife Sundari and I, dedicate this dispatch to our beloved son, Lalit,
whose dream we fulfilled today, on his behalf. His passion for airplanes and
aviation is well known to all who knew him).
It was in the bucket, the list of things to do, before we go up in the
air... literally, this visit was a dream come true to see the things that
take us up in the air.. the Jumbos, the dream-liners et al.
William E Boeing dropped out of Yale University in 1903, after 3 years of
study to join his friend in Washington State in timber business. He traveled
by boat from the East Coast to Seattle sailing all the way around via Panama
canal and up to the north of the west coast.
William E. Boeing ( aka Bill Boeing ) was a private person, a visionary, a
perfectionist, and a stickler for the facts. The wall of his outer office
bore a placard that read:
"2329 Hippocrates said: 1. There is no authority except facts. 2. Facts are
obtained by accurate observation. 3. Deductions are to be made only from
facts. 4. Experience has proved the truth of these rules."
Of his vision, he said in 1929.. ”Now I would say that people want to ride
in airplanes more and more each day - and I shall go so far as to say that
they will someday regard airplane travel to be as commonplace and incidental
as train travel”. Bill Boeing continued, “I look ahead to the time... when
passengers would become of primary importance.”.. how absolutely true!
Born to German immigrants Wilhelm Böing, who made it big in mining business
in Michigan, money was never a constraint to the challenges Bill imposed on
himself as a perfectionist. In 1903, Wright brothers made the historic
flight that set the foundation for rapidly changing modes of
transportation... even surface transport and car designs were in the nascent
stage of development then.
While being President of Greenwood Timber Company, Bill Boeing ( his
anglicized name), who had experimented with boat design, traveled to
Seattle, where, during the second world exhibition ( then known as Alaska
Yukon Pacific Exposition ) in 1909, he saw a manned flying machine for the
first time and became fascinated with aircraft. Later this exposition came
to be known as World Expo..( venue for 2022 is Dubai.. remember all the hype
!!?).
He soon purchased an airplane from Glen Martin company, and received flying
lessons from Martin himself.
Boeing soon cracked up the plane. When he was told by Martin that
replacement parts would not become available for months, Boeing blew up. He
angrily told his friend, "We could build a better plane ourselves and build
it faster". His friend Westervelt agreed. They soon built a seaplane and
flew it well that had outstanding performance. Boeing decided to go into the
aircraft business.
In 1916, Boeing went into business with his friend Westervelt, as B & W and
founded the Pacific Aero Products Co. When America entered the WW.I, in
April 1917, Boeing changed the name of Pacific Aero Products Co. to Boeing
Airplane Company and obtained orders from the US Navy for 50 planes. At the
end of the war, Boeing began to concentrate on commercial aircraft, secured
contracts to supply airmail service and built a successful airmail operation
and later passenger service that evolved into United Airlines.
In 1928, William Boeing wrote - It is a matter of great pride and
satisfaction to me to realize that within the short space of 12 years, an
infant company with a personnel of less than a dozen men, has grown to be
the largest plant in America, devoted solely to the manufacture of aircraft,
and at the present time employing approximately 1,000 men. ( today, the
plant is the biggest employer in Seattle with over 80,000 personnel).
In 1934, the US Govt, accused William Boeing of monopolistic practices. The
same year William Boeing divested himself of ownership and his company broke
into three separate entities, one of which is known today as the Boeing
Company, and another as United Airlines.
He began investing most of his time into his horses in 1937. Boeing Airplane
Company, though a major manufacturer in a fragmented industry, did not
really become successful until the beginning of WW.II. William Boeing died
on September 28, 1956, at the age of 74, just three days before his 75th
birthday.
What is a lesson for all Management gurus, is that Bill Boeing had a clear
vision that airplanes will be the order of the future transportation. His
emphasis on R&D was the basis for the success. Moreover the way he motivated
his staff into believing that they were all embarked upon something big, is
a testimony of his faith in his project. He said - I've tried to make the
men around me feel… that we are embarked as pioneers… “ How well said...”No
one is to dismiss any novel idea with the statement that ‘it can’t be done!’
: the belief was that anything could be done.
Today the brand Boeing is synonymous with flying with little thought to the
man behind the name.. Visiting the Boeing complex is an experience, one
wishes will never stop. The tour is compacted into a 90 minute overview of
the assembly lines within the largest building in the world by volume.. the
building is so large, that 4-5 in-assembly Jumbo 747-400, 747-800 and full
3 set of wings ( each wing can hold 72000 liters of high octane aviation
fuel) under assembly look small ; the building is supposedly so large that
it can contain 6 Empire State buildings side by side, 7 Taj Mahals, 75
football fields and so on, end to end is 1 km long.... and so on, the tour
guide says. (He also said, China now is building one bigger than this).
All the airplanes are with a green color coating, for protection from
abrasion, scratches etc while being assembled.. until the planes are in
final stages where they are sent out to another hangar to adorn the final
colors of respective customer airlines.. It is said, that the darker the
shades the heavier the plane will be, meaning darker colors are heavier than
lighter colors; the reason why most of the airlines have white or silver
paintings except the tail portion where the distinctive differences are
shown.
We saw the 1501st Jumbo 747 being assembled. It was a 747-800 freighter
which is 18’ longer than 747-400; sadly this jumbo flying machine is only 15
more 747’s away from a journey into history. 1516th jumbo will be the last
one in a series of jumbos that rolled out of this whopping plant. The
average time of assembly to put together the 6 million parts for one jumbo
is a year.
Sadly everything has to come to an end. 707 in late 50’s was as successful
as a pioneer piece into the jet era of travel as the 747 was in late 60’s
through the 80’s until the Airbus came into the skies ; efficiency is the
name of the game. Enter the next-gen aircrafts – the 2 engine powered long
range jet series that started with the 767, now almost over the hill, 777
that is going very strong and now .... and now the Dreamliner – dubbed as
the future of flight :.. which is 20% more fuel efficient than 747, 60% less
noisy, 13 hr non-stop range etc proved to be the death knell for the jumbos,
apart from being much more cost effective.
On the cost front – a 747 costs $350m, add 25m per engine x 4, plus the cost
for seats, interior etc, as compared to 787 that costs 250m, add 35m per
engine (GE) x 2, plus interior up to the fancy of each airline. A single
first class seat in a Middle East carrier, is supposed to be costing around
half million dollars in the all new 787-900 series...( the tour guide thinks
it is Qatar Airways !).
The 178th Dreamliner was getting ready to roll out tonight. With a
production line with twin assembly lines, 45 dreamliners roll out every
month. New technology ensures that a Dreamliner is assembled every 3 days.
The future of flight has arrived. In N.Carolina there is another Boeing
plant that assembles 787.
Today, we were told, 19 future designs are being actively considered for the
flight of future – 30 – 40 years from now on... that includes 797 and so on.
Each airplane is test flown under various conditions in two different test
flight formats. Then the customer pilots fly to finally formalize the hand
over. ( MH.370 of Malaysian Airways rolled out of here in 2002 ).
===================================
A visit to a dream destination.
(My wife Sundari and I, dedicate this dispatch to our beloved son, Lalit,
whose dream we fulfilled today, on his behalf. His passion for airplanes and
aviation is well known to all who knew him).
It was in the bucket, the list of things to do, before we go up in the
air... literally, this visit was a dream come true to see the things that
take us up in the air.. the Jumbos, the dream-liners et al.
William E Boeing dropped out of Yale University in 1903, after 3 years of
study to join his friend in Washington State in timber business. He traveled
by boat from the East Coast to Seattle sailing all the way around via Panama
canal and up to the north of the west coast.
William E. Boeing ( aka Bill Boeing ) was a private person, a visionary, a
perfectionist, and a stickler for the facts. The wall of his outer office
bore a placard that read:
"2329 Hippocrates said: 1. There is no authority except facts. 2. Facts are
obtained by accurate observation. 3. Deductions are to be made only from
facts. 4. Experience has proved the truth of these rules."
Of his vision, he said in 1929.. ”Now I would say that people want to ride
in airplanes more and more each day - and I shall go so far as to say that
they will someday regard airplane travel to be as commonplace and incidental
as train travel”. Bill Boeing continued, “I look ahead to the time... when
passengers would become of primary importance.”.. how absolutely true!
Born to German immigrants Wilhelm Böing, who made it big in mining business
in Michigan, money was never a constraint to the challenges Bill imposed on
himself as a perfectionist. In 1903, Wright brothers made the historic
flight that set the foundation for rapidly changing modes of
transportation... even surface transport and car designs were in the nascent
stage of development then.
While being President of Greenwood Timber Company, Bill Boeing ( his
anglicized name), who had experimented with boat design, traveled to
Seattle, where, during the second world exhibition ( then known as Alaska
Yukon Pacific Exposition ) in 1909, he saw a manned flying machine for the
first time and became fascinated with aircraft. Later this exposition came
to be known as World Expo..( venue for 2022 is Dubai.. remember all the hype
!!?).
He soon purchased an airplane from Glen Martin company, and received flying
lessons from Martin himself.
Boeing soon cracked up the plane. When he was told by Martin that
replacement parts would not become available for months, Boeing blew up. He
angrily told his friend, "We could build a better plane ourselves and build
it faster". His friend Westervelt agreed. They soon built a seaplane and
flew it well that had outstanding performance. Boeing decided to go into the
aircraft business.
In 1916, Boeing went into business with his friend Westervelt, as B & W and
founded the Pacific Aero Products Co. When America entered the WW.I, in
April 1917, Boeing changed the name of Pacific Aero Products Co. to Boeing
Airplane Company and obtained orders from the US Navy for 50 planes. At the
end of the war, Boeing began to concentrate on commercial aircraft, secured
contracts to supply airmail service and built a successful airmail operation
and later passenger service that evolved into United Airlines.
In 1928, William Boeing wrote - It is a matter of great pride and
satisfaction to me to realize that within the short space of 12 years, an
infant company with a personnel of less than a dozen men, has grown to be
the largest plant in America, devoted solely to the manufacture of aircraft,
and at the present time employing approximately 1,000 men. ( today, the
plant is the biggest employer in Seattle with over 80,000 personnel).
In 1934, the US Govt, accused William Boeing of monopolistic practices. The
same year William Boeing divested himself of ownership and his company broke
into three separate entities, one of which is known today as the Boeing
Company, and another as United Airlines.
He began investing most of his time into his horses in 1937. Boeing Airplane
Company, though a major manufacturer in a fragmented industry, did not
really become successful until the beginning of WW.II. William Boeing died
on September 28, 1956, at the age of 74, just three days before his 75th
birthday.
What is a lesson for all Management gurus, is that Bill Boeing had a clear
vision that airplanes will be the order of the future transportation. His
emphasis on R&D was the basis for the success. Moreover the way he motivated
his staff into believing that they were all embarked upon something big, is
a testimony of his faith in his project. He said - I've tried to make the
men around me feel… that we are embarked as pioneers… “ How well said...”No
one is to dismiss any novel idea with the statement that ‘it can’t be done!’
: the belief was that anything could be done.
Today the brand Boeing is synonymous with flying with little thought to the
man behind the name.. Visiting the Boeing complex is an experience, one
wishes will never stop. The tour is compacted into a 90 minute overview of
the assembly lines within the largest building in the world by volume.. the
building is so large, that 4-5 in-assembly Jumbo 747-400, 747-800 and full
3 set of wings ( each wing can hold 72000 liters of high octane aviation
fuel) under assembly look small ; the building is supposedly so large that
it can contain 6 Empire State buildings side by side, 7 Taj Mahals, 75
football fields and so on, end to end is 1 km long.... and so on, the tour
guide says. (He also said, China now is building one bigger than this).
All the airplanes are with a green color coating, for protection from
abrasion, scratches etc while being assembled.. until the planes are in
final stages where they are sent out to another hangar to adorn the final
colors of respective customer airlines.. It is said, that the darker the
shades the heavier the plane will be, meaning darker colors are heavier than
lighter colors; the reason why most of the airlines have white or silver
paintings except the tail portion where the distinctive differences are
shown.
We saw the 1501st Jumbo 747 being assembled. It was a 747-800 freighter
which is 18’ longer than 747-400; sadly this jumbo flying machine is only 15
more 747’s away from a journey into history. 1516th jumbo will be the last
one in a series of jumbos that rolled out of this whopping plant. The
average time of assembly to put together the 6 million parts for one jumbo
is a year.
Sadly everything has to come to an end. 707 in late 50’s was as successful
as a pioneer piece into the jet era of travel as the 747 was in late 60’s
through the 80’s until the Airbus came into the skies ; efficiency is the
name of the game. Enter the next-gen aircrafts – the 2 engine powered long
range jet series that started with the 767, now almost over the hill, 777
that is going very strong and now .... and now the Dreamliner – dubbed as
the future of flight :.. which is 20% more fuel efficient than 747, 60% less
noisy, 13 hr non-stop range etc proved to be the death knell for the jumbos,
apart from being much more cost effective.
On the cost front – a 747 costs $350m, add 25m per engine x 4, plus the cost
for seats, interior etc, as compared to 787 that costs 250m, add 35m per
engine (GE) x 2, plus interior up to the fancy of each airline. A single
first class seat in a Middle East carrier, is supposed to be costing around
half million dollars in the all new 787-900 series...( the tour guide thinks
it is Qatar Airways !).
The 178th Dreamliner was getting ready to roll out tonight. With a
production line with twin assembly lines, 45 dreamliners roll out every
month. New technology ensures that a Dreamliner is assembled every 3 days.
The future of flight has arrived. In N.Carolina there is another Boeing
plant that assembles 787.
Today, we were told, 19 future designs are being actively considered for the
flight of future – 30 – 40 years from now on... that includes 797 and so on.
Each airplane is test flown under various conditions in two different test
flight formats. Then the customer pilots fly to finally formalize the hand
over. ( MH.370 of Malaysian Airways rolled out of here in 2002 ).
Boeing also has a plant in Renton south of Seattle exclusively for the 737
series which is the work horse for most airlines, proving to be the most
successful airplane model ever designed, having crossed over 1500 next gen
models since 1998. This is the plant that produced the successful 707, 727
and earlier versions of 737, 757 series since the 60’s to 90’s. This plant
accounts for nearly 50% of all aircrafts flying today.
Yet with all this, the commercial aircraft segment is only 50% of the
manufacturing capacity; the other 50% being for US defense forces.
We left the complex with a satisfied feeling that the aircrafts we take for
granted in our travels, is the uncompromising result of a high-tech,
precision filled assembly process of high quality materials after years of
research and development to make our travel better, safer and faster from
the days of DC.3 to the Dreamliner.. and soon to 777X.
The tour guide also said, the Bill factor has once again returned to
Seattle... after Bill Boeing, here they are very proud of another son of
Seattle – Bill Gates. The guide asked who knew Paul Allen.. with just one
raising the hand, with a meek, “ he is my employer”. No one knew Paul Allen
was the co-founder of Microsoft along with Bill Gates. No need to dwell
deeper on Bill Gates or Microsoft, since it is presently ruling our lives in
whichever corner of the world we are. No one is independent in that sense of
the term, from the influences of Microsoft. Today, it is employing 30000
people at Seattle alone to control the whole of the world !!
Talking of Bill Gates, it was interesting to note that the Melinda & Bill
Gates Foundation will inherit the entire fortune of Bill Gates. None of
their three children will be the beneficiaries.
Seattle also is the home of Amazon, Starbucks, Expedia, Nordstrom
(clothing), EMC Isilon ( computer storage ). The first of Starbucks, a
modest small outlet in the Pike’s Market is the scene of many tourists.
The impression gained from this visit is that the big names of today are the
result of a framework – of intense passion to do what one believed is
possible, building up of a team, wherein each member is made to believe in
the vision of the founders and more importantly, fulfilling the aspirations
of the team members. Quality, Technology, Research, Hard work are but tools
within this framework.
In 1916 on the Mission of Boeing Company - To manufacture aeroplanes and
vehicles of aviation. To maintain, carry on and operate schools of aviation,
and for the teaching of all branches of knowledge and of the arts and
sciences in any way connected with or useful for the operation of aeroplanes
and other vehicles of aviation.
My firm conviction from the start has been that science and hard work can
lick what appear to be insurmountable difficulties. William Boeing.
( acknowledgement – Bryan the tour guide, Wikipedia, Boeing Museum ).
====================================================================
Have a good enjoyable and safe weekend.
MOHANDAS. KP.
<http://mohandas-sharedthoughts.blogspot.com/
series which is the work horse for most airlines, proving to be the most
successful airplane model ever designed, having crossed over 1500 next gen
models since 1998. This is the plant that produced the successful 707, 727
and earlier versions of 737, 757 series since the 60’s to 90’s. This plant
accounts for nearly 50% of all aircrafts flying today.
Yet with all this, the commercial aircraft segment is only 50% of the
manufacturing capacity; the other 50% being for US defense forces.
We left the complex with a satisfied feeling that the aircrafts we take for
granted in our travels, is the uncompromising result of a high-tech,
precision filled assembly process of high quality materials after years of
research and development to make our travel better, safer and faster from
the days of DC.3 to the Dreamliner.. and soon to 777X.
The tour guide also said, the Bill factor has once again returned to
Seattle... after Bill Boeing, here they are very proud of another son of
Seattle – Bill Gates. The guide asked who knew Paul Allen.. with just one
raising the hand, with a meek, “ he is my employer”. No one knew Paul Allen
was the co-founder of Microsoft along with Bill Gates. No need to dwell
deeper on Bill Gates or Microsoft, since it is presently ruling our lives in
whichever corner of the world we are. No one is independent in that sense of
the term, from the influences of Microsoft. Today, it is employing 30000
people at Seattle alone to control the whole of the world !!
Talking of Bill Gates, it was interesting to note that the Melinda & Bill
Gates Foundation will inherit the entire fortune of Bill Gates. None of
their three children will be the beneficiaries.
Seattle also is the home of Amazon, Starbucks, Expedia, Nordstrom
(clothing), EMC Isilon ( computer storage ). The first of Starbucks, a
modest small outlet in the Pike’s Market is the scene of many tourists.
The impression gained from this visit is that the big names of today are the
result of a framework – of intense passion to do what one believed is
possible, building up of a team, wherein each member is made to believe in
the vision of the founders and more importantly, fulfilling the aspirations
of the team members. Quality, Technology, Research, Hard work are but tools
within this framework.
In 1916 on the Mission of Boeing Company - To manufacture aeroplanes and
vehicles of aviation. To maintain, carry on and operate schools of aviation,
and for the teaching of all branches of knowledge and of the arts and
sciences in any way connected with or useful for the operation of aeroplanes
and other vehicles of aviation.
My firm conviction from the start has been that science and hard work can
lick what appear to be insurmountable difficulties. William Boeing.
( acknowledgement – Bryan the tour guide, Wikipedia, Boeing Museum ).
====================================================================
Have a good enjoyable and safe weekend.
MOHANDAS. KP.
<http://mohandas-sharedthoughts.blogspot.com/
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