Rockwell Collins' California-based Kaiser Electroprecision unit has been selected to provide the pilot controls for the Boeing 7E7, including the control stand, pitch, lateral and yaw/brake control assemblies, writes Guy Norris.
Combined with the earlier awards to Rockwell of the 7E7 display, communication and surveillance systems and core network cabinet, the latest win brings the total estimated value of the work to $3.5 billion over the life of the programme. Rockwell says the pilot control package, to be developed in a modular format, will have a "look and feel" similar to that of the 777.
Meanwhile, Boeing confirms that several key design features being considered at the outset of the programme are either no longer part of the baseline configuration or are under further review as the 7E7 nears the mid-2005 design freeze. Although Boeing is still aiming at the "more electric" concept with several electrically powered systems now baselined, such as the brakes, it is considering a possible shift from a dual hydraulic/dual electric to a triple hydraulic redundant system.
Other early concepts such as variable-camber leading-edge Krueger flaps and Sakurai trailing-edge flaps "were also looked at for six to seven months, but are not now part of the baseline", says the company, but it adds that "this could change" over the next year. Another feature, a proposed cabin humidifier system, is also being re-evaluated in light of the decision to baseline the configuration with a 6,000ft (1,830m) instead of 8,000ft cabin pressure altitude.
Source: Flight International
