I intently watched the news coming out of the Farnborough Air Show held recently, and I was happy to see the positive reviews of the Qatar Airlines 787.  People were raving about the comfortable cabin layout, the seating, the unique lighting, and the large windows.

This event comes on the heels of my recent visit to Japan.  The Japanese are very proud of their involvement on the 787 program.  At our HyperWorks Technology Conference in Japan, Altair COO Brett Chouinard recounted his recent experience flying on the 787 from Tokyo to Hiroshima.  Like those at Farnborough, he also raved about the plane’s features, including the quiet ride.  I also discovered that Eiichi Kasono, one of our managers in Japan, has flown on both the Airbus A380 and Boeing 787.  He happened to be on the inaugural commercial flight of the A380 and has flown on the 787 several times.

Altair had significant involvement with both the A380 and 787 programs, helping to reduce the weight of both aircrafts.  We are proud of our involvement and the positive contributions of our engineers and our technology.

I’m still waiting on my first 787 flight, so I might need to head back to Japan!

Last week I attended the International SAMPE Conference and Exhibition in Baltimore, MD.  It was another excellent conference highlighting the continued growth of advanced materials and composites.

One of the conversation topics that came up repeatedly in my interactions with attendees is that the industry is doing a great job in coming up with new materials but we are much slower in testing and certifying these new materials.  Many of these materials offer tremendous advantages but if they are not fully characterized they cannot be used in many applications.  Read More

I recently provided insights on Boeing’s delamination issue to EETimes.com’s Military & Aerospace DesignLine, discussing the challenges experienced when moving to different manufacturing methods and new materials. Here’s a preview of my thoughts on the issue:

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Brazil-based Embraer recently opened its first North American facility in Florida, a development that highlights the international nature of the aerospace industry. In years past, Boeing planes were built in Seattle, and Airbus planes were built at a few facilities across Europe. Now, the industry has an international supply base much like the automotive industry. Suppliers who were captive to one OEM are now providing parts to other OEMs, with the supply base supporting Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Embraer, and Comac. But what does this shift mean for the industry? Read More

My colleague Ming Zhou has contributed the following post:

At the recent COMAC Composite Forum in Shanghai, we heard a good deal about the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s use of composites in the C919, the company’s first product, a single-aisle plane designed to compete with the A320 and B737 later in the decade. Read More