Boeing's factory in India was officially completed, and Modi waved to the cheers of the Indian people at the inauguration ceremony.
India was happy, but the world was puzzled: you know, Boeing is not the first time to deal with India, but not long ago, Boeing suffered a lot because of the parts provided by India suppliers, and many planes were forced to ground.
Unexpectedly, now Boeing not only did not stay away from India, but chose to build a factory there. Is the human life behind this really worthless?
Boeing chose India to build a factory?
At the beginning of 2023, Boeing found some "problems" during routine internal inspections. The incident stemmed from the fact that the parts produced by a supplier in India failed to meet the expected quality standards.
These parts are installed on a number of aircraft, including the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner. After Boeing found out, many airlines have grounded relevant aircraft and urgently carried out maintenance.
For airlines, the plane cannot simply be tinkered with and continue flying, because the lives of hundreds of passengers are at stake.
Aircraft parts must meet strict safety standards, and any minor hidden dangers must be thoroughly investigated, after all, a problem with an aircraft can mean the risk of an air crash.
Speaking of Boeing's "air crash", it is difficult not to mention the Boeing 737 Max crisis that shocked the world. In October 2018, Indonesia's Lion Air Flight 610 crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 189 people.
Less than half a year later, in March 2019, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 also crashed shortly after takeoff, killing 157 people.
The two crashes, which killed a total of 346 people, point to a key design flaw in the Boeing 737 Max – the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).
MCAS was originally designed to address the changes in flight characteristics brought about by the new engine. However, the system was not as perfect as the engineers had anticipated.
On the contrary, in some cases, it mistakenly lowers the nose of the aircraft, even if the pilot tries to correct it. This design flaw led directly to two tragic air crashes.
In the aftermath of the crash, several countries and airlines urgently ordered the grounding of all 737 Max aircraft, and Boeing was in an unprecedented crisis. Worldwide Grounding, Order Cancellation, Compensation, Fines...... It is estimated that Boeing's direct economic losses in this crisis are as high as $20 billion.
It was not until the end of 2020, after lengthy investigations and improvements, that the model was allowed to return to service.
I'm sorry! It's really not worth the money
Now knowing that its credibility is about to fall to a low point, Boeing actually chooses to continue to cooperate with India, and even directly build factories in India. This operation makes people say "it's really you"! Why? Did Boeing run out of parts on its hands? Or is it that other suppliers are afraid of getting angry and don't sell him?
In fact, all this seems to be contradictory, but in fact it is the result of Boeing's careful calculation. Boeing, as a big man in the aviation industry, is not blind, and it also knows that there have been problems with parts in India.
But the problem is that Boeing has to find ways to reduce costs in the face of global competition, especially in the tug-of-war with rival Airbus.
We all know that airplanes are expensive, and a small screw may be able to sell for gold. In 2022, Airbus delivered 661 aircraft, while Boeing only had 480, which is a clear disadvantage. In order to retain market share, Boeing had to "cut costs".
Because in the past, Boeing could rely on the Chinese market to eat and drink spicy food and make a lot of money. But since the trade friction between China and the United States, Boeing's sales in China have fallen sharply, by more than 50% between 2019 and 2022.
And with China's home-built C919 successfully completing its first international flight and starting deliveries in 2022, Boeing is clearly feeling the pressure like never before. Large-scale deliveries of the C919 have also begun, and the number of orders has risen steadily, and has exceeded 1,000 so far.
Boeing not only lost a big customer, but also watched the other party develop its own aircraft industry, which is estimated to be more uncomfortable than eating flies.
In the face of the rise of the C919, what can Boeing do? I can only hold my heart that is about to crack, trying to find a new market and a way out. India, a promising emerging market, seems to be Boeing's new lifesaver.
Boeing's calculation is also shrewd, since China's road does not work, then I will go to India! India is now pushing for "Made in India" as it hopes to establish itself as the next global manufacturing hub.
Isn't this a godsend for Boeing? Not only can it expand the market, but it can also use India's cheap labor to reduce production costs, which is simply killing two birds with one stone.
In fact, Boeing may have been thinking for a long time: "As long as I can keep my plane flying, I can say anything else." The quality of the parts, we can be more 'flexible'. You see, hasn't Airbus also fallen a few planes, we are all 'friends', let's understand each other!
India also wants to pick up the crown jewel?
However, the completion of the Boeing factory made unknown India netizens feel excited, and they all said that this is to accumulate experience and lay the foundation for the future manufacture of domestic large aircraft.
First of all, let's give you a popular science, the aviation manufacturing industry is not as easy as making mobile phones and installing cars. You know, when it comes to building an airplane, the technical threshold is frighteningly high.
Let's take the most critical component, the aero engine. Aero engines are also known as the "crown jewels of industry". Isn't it because it's hard to make it to the extent of flying into the sky?
With temperatures up to 1600°C inside an aero engine, the choice of materials is crucial. If an ordinary piece of metal is used, even Iron Man's armor is estimated to be unable to stand this temperature, and there is a danger of turning into a puddle of molten iron at any time.
Therefore, the materials used in aero engines must have extremely high heat resistance and strength, which requires materials scientists and engineers to pick the most suitable materials like discerning artists.
In addition to high temperature resistance, it is also necessary to achieve extreme thrust, weight reduction and fuel efficiency. The relationship between these three is as entangled as a "love triangle". If the thrust is large, the weight will inevitably increase, and the fuel efficiency will naturally decrease; Let's reduce the weight, the thrust may not be enough.
It took decades for the United States to break through a key technology: monocrystalline blade technology. This technology can greatly improve the high temperature performance of the engine, allowing the engine to operate at higher temperatures, resulting in increased efficiency and thrust. This is the accumulation of technology in the past ten or decades.
Take China as an example, in 2008, COMAC was officially established. The subsequent R&D work can be described as "difficult". It's often an all-nighter. During the day, the drawings were discussed on the production line, and at night I went back to continue the design revisions.
This is because the design of the aircraft, materials, engine selection, avionics system, etc., are not problems that can be solved by "buying". The aviation industry is a systems engineering project that involves the coordination and cooperation of thousands of components.
There is a materials scientist who took a piece of alloy material and analyzed it for three months before finalizing its use plan. How much skill and patience does it take to do this?
His assistant once suggested to him, "Why don't you go and relax with a hot pot?" ”
When the C919 makes its maiden flight in 2023, the engineer answers his question: the deliciousness of hot pot can be fleeting, but the satisfaction of seeing his own aircraft soar into the sky cannot be replaced by food.
India still has a space dream?
Speaking of which, I have to mention our lovely neighbor - India. The country is also not completely ineffective in the field of aviation, it can only be said that it has been "defeated repeatedly".
The most representative is their "Caffrey" engine project. Since 1986, this project has claimed to provide strong power for India's domestic fighters, and the result? More than 30 years have passed, and this engine has not even reached the most basic thrust and stability.
In order to get out of this predicament, India has tried to buy technology from abroad many times, and even wants to cooperate with France to improve its engine research and development capabilities in the way of "buying technology and changing technology".
The results go without saying. The France can sell you engines, but you want a full set of technology transfer? Dream on.
At the end of the day, imagination is imagination after all, but reality is full of unknowns. India's "big aircraft dream" will not take off all of a sudden because of this cooperation with Boeing, and whether Boeing can re-emerge with the power of India depends on creation.
Information sources:
The surging: Collect丨 An article to understand all the knowledge points of aero engines
Xinhuanet: India's self-developed fifth-generation aircraft AMCA: how far is the distance between dream and reality
The surging: From "closed independence" to "open integration", China's aero engine has broken through on all sides
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