Three Points: Boeing’s 2030 airliner, SpaceX airlines, Embraer’s sustainability roadmap

• Doing the math on Boeing CEO David Calhoun’s timeline pushing launch of an all-new airplane another two years away means there will be no all-new product from the company until at least 2030. The key, says Calhoun, are its digital tools, which have yet to reach maturity for a clean sheet airliner and have had a bumpy ride so far. That timeline also puts Boeing in a tug of war between Pratt & Whitney and General Electric over what propulsion technology might be available for any new jet.
• SpaceX wants to fly each of its rockets every five days. Here’s why a 1940s British scientist’s wartime research is proving prescient for increasing the reliability of commercial space launches 80 years later. The company’s leadership has given a glimpse into the operational strategy that is aiming to make this a reality.
• ATR is pursuing hybrid propulsion for its recently announced Evo turboprop, but Embraer won’t be following suit with its own next-generation turboprop design. The company thinks that hydrogen will ultimately be a better fit for a 70- to 90-seat aircraft, but neither hydrogen nor hybrid propulsion technologies on that scale will be ready for launch by the end of this decade, said Embraer Commercial Aviation’s Arjan Meijer.

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