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EQUIPMENT.Messie-Dowty has begundeliveies of the fist landing
gea
sets fo the innovative Boeing 787Deamline. The contact, won in
2004,maed Messie-Dowtys fist selectionon a Boeing commecial
aiplane.
DEDICATED TOBOEING 787
LANDINGS
32-33
safraN mgzine _ June 2007
With the recent deliveriesof the first nose and mainproduction
gears, Messier-Dowtys involvement in the
787 program is entering into full swing,and marks a significant
milestone for thecompanys first commercial contract withBoeing.
Prior to the 787, Boeing had de-sign responsibility on all of the
landing
gear on its planes and outsourced themanufacturing activities.
Messier-Dowtysselection on the 787 is the first time thatBoeing has
delegated design responsibil-ity to a partner. In other words,
Messier-Dowty is the first company to design,develop, manufacture
and install thenose and main landing gear on a BoeingCommercial
aircraft.
Messier-Dowty was selected back inMarch 2004, based on a very
innovativeproposal. We offered major technologi-cal advances, such
as titanium inner cyl-inders on the main gear and compositestruts,
which will be introduced on thefinal version of the landing gear,
ex-plains Jean-Pierre Serey, Vice PresidentEngineering at
Messier-Dowty. Thestrut is the part that transmits the lat-eral
loads from the landing gear to theairframe. By using composite
materials,we save weight and increase corrosionresistance, adds
Serey.
reducing weightThis quest for weight savings reflects
one of Boeings main goals on the 787.Boeing is seeking to
maximize perfor-mance on the 787, which means we haveto help to
reduce the aircrafts overallweight as much as possible, notesGrant
Skinner, vice president and headof the Boeing & Military
business unitat Messier-Dowty. The airframe makesextensive use of
composites, which ac-count for fully half of the total weight ofthe
787. For Boeing, the goal is to buildthe most economical aircraft
possible,
Boeing
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June 2007 _ safraN mgzine
markets
Thi mk Meie-Dowty
it election by Boeing
lnding ge upplie on
commecil iplne. Wht
doe Meie-Dowty bing to
the tble in thi mket?
Messier-Dowt y is the world
leader in landing gear design, production and suppor t.
Oursystems are used on some 19,500 aircraft, which make
35,000landings per day. We supply 33 different
aircraftmanufacturers, and support some 2,000 operators,
bothmilitary and civil. We have worked for many years with
majorairframers , including Airbus, Bombardier and
DassaultAviation.
How bout you expeience with Boeing?
We go back a long way with Boeing as well. For instance,
weworked with McDonnell Douglas (which merged with Boeingin 1997)
on their military aircraft for some 30 years.
In particular, we provide the landing gear for the F/A-18
andAV-8B fighter-bombers, the T-45 trainer and the V-22tiltrotor.
We also worked with Boeing on their pro posal for
the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program.But the 787 is the first
time weve been involved in one of
Boeings commercial programs. Our work throughout the1990s on
military aircraft clearly helped us demonstrate ourbroad expertise
and made us a credible contender for the 787program. We submitted
our proposal to Boeing in November2003, and were selected in March
2004.
Thi contct o the Boeing 787 lo bolte the sn
Goup mket poition. Wht e the popec t o the
Goup om thi point o view?
You just dont get that many opportunities on a program asvast as
the 787, so it was critical for Messier-Dowty to w in thecontract,
which secures maybe 20 years of work for us. Werealready an
established par tner with most of the worlds major
aircraft constructors. It was ver y important to be chosen
byBoeing as well, in order to provide a balanced businessportfolio
and maintain our leadership.
The Boeing 787 is todays fastest selling commercialairplane.
Messier-Dowty will provide product support inconjunction with
Boeing also the first time that Boeing hasshared this
responsibility with a landing gear par tner. Our in-service suppor
t experience on many other programs isobviously an advantage here.
The Boeing 787 contract pl acesus in an excellent position going
forward, with the aim ofbeing Boeings preferred landing gear par
tner.
VIEWPOINT
and therefore the most competitive.The use of struts machined
out of a
composite material is brand new, asJean-Pierre Serey explains:
Its a worldfirst for such a highly-loaded structural
part. This technology breakthroughharbors even greater
potential, sincecomposite materials also reduce mainte-nance costs:
they are corrosion free, anddont have to be protected by
anti-cor-rosive coatings. At the same time, theyboast excellent
mechanical strength andare highly insensitive to shocks (birds,tire
debris, etc.). Furthermore, titaniumand composites are friendlier
to theenvironment, since, as Grant Skinnernotes: They allow us to
reduce the useof anti-corrosion materials such as chro-
mium and cadmium.However, the use of composite ma-terials
demands a high level of specificskills and expertise. The
introductionof this part is the result of several yearsof work,
says Jean-Pierre Serey. We
leveraged synergies throughout Safran,in particular calling on
the expertiseof Snecma and Aircelle. In the finalanalysis, adds
Skinner, it really dem-onstrates the Groups technological
skills base.The lessons learned and technologiesdeveloped
through this major Boeingprogram show promising potential forfuture
applications. Because these com-posites offer good fatigue
resistance andother qualities, they can be used on manydifferent
parts of the aircraft, includingengines, nacelles, and
airframes.
Throughout the development process,Boeing backed Messier-Dowty
all theway. We benefited from extensive sup-port from Boeing, and
it has been truly
a team effort , Serey notes. Now wehope that our achievements on
the 787will provide the Safran group with newopportunities to
support future pro-grams.
a. papeguay
GrANT SkINNErVICE PRESIDENT, BOEING &
MILITARY BUSINESS UNIT,
MESSIER-DOWTY
The first landing gear produced byMessier-Dowty for the 787.
Messier-Dowty
Messier-Dowty
