Model Airplanes

Dassault Aviation recently showcased its flagship Falcon 8X  at ABACE 2017 in Shanghai, and if the success of the 7X in China is any indication, the 8X should do quite well in this market. Dassault already has one 8X under contract with a Chinese customer, according to Jean-Michel Jacob, president of Falcon Asia-Pacific. “Prospects [for the 8X in China] look extremely good,” he said. “And there are many negotiations in progress already.”

Related Article

New Aircraft Preview: Falcon 8X

Dassault’s Falcon 8X is a bit longer—and in many ways, much better—than its wildly popular predecessor.

In China, the market for business jets “is waking up,” said Jacob. “It was quiet for the last two years, but now there is some real movement. Not as good as five years ago, but certainly an active market. The driver is the economy of China. China is getting bigger and more global, and its investments are located far away.”

China is the second-largest market for the 7X, with 29 of the model currently in the country, although at one point nearly 40 Dassault 7Xs were in China. With a range of 6,450 nautical miles, the 8X can fly from Shanghai to much of the U.S., including Chicago; all of Europe; most of Africa; and all of Asia Pacific. “With one stop you can go to all of the places that you want,” said Carlos Brana, senior vice president of civil aircraft for Dassault Aviation.

“When you think of a given market, you try to meet the needs of the customer. The

Article source: https://www.bjtonline.com/business-jet-news/dassault-chinese-business-jet-market-is-waking-up

By Alwyn Scott

SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co hired Norsk Titanium AS to print the first structural titanium parts for its 787 Dreamliner, a shift that the Norwegian 3-D printing company said would eventually shave $2 million to $3 million off the cost of each plane.

The contract announced on Monday is a major step in Boeing’s effort to boost the profitability of the 787 and a sign of growing industrial acceptance of the durability of 3-D printed metal parts, allowing them to replace pieces made with more expensive traditional manufacturing in demanding aerospace applications.

Strong, lightweight titanium alloy is seven times more costly than aluminum, and accounts for about $17 million of the cost of a $265 million Dreamliner, industry sources say.

Boeing has been trying to reduce titanium costs on the 787, which requires more of the metal than other models because of its carbon-fiber fuselage and wings. Titanium also is used extensively on Airbus Group SE’s rival A350 jet.

“This means $2 million to $3 million in savings for each Dreamliner, at least,” starting in 2018 when many more parts are being printed, Chip Yates, Norsk Titanium’s vice president of marketing, said in a telephone interview.

Boeing builds 144 Dreamliners in a typical year. The company declined to comment on the estimate but said Norsk’s technology would help

Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/boeing-dreamliner-cost-drop-2-182501229.html

Security tight as France prepares for presidential vote

PARIS (AP) — Early voting began overseas Saturday in France’s most nail-biting election in generations, and the 11 candidates seeking to become the country’s next president silenced their campaigns as required to give voters a period of reflection.

Opinion polls pointed to a tight race among the four top contenders vying to get into the May 7 presidential runoff that will decide who becomes France’s next head of state. But the polls also said that decision was largely in the hands of the one-in-three French voters who were still undecided.

Polls opened in France’s far-flung overseas territories but voting wouldn’t start until Sunday on the French mainland. France’s 10 percent unemployment, its lackluster economy and security issues topped voters’ concerns.

Political campaigning was banned from midnight Friday until the polls close at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Polls suggested that far-right nationalist Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister, were in the lead.

___

Trump sons take helm of company, eye domestic expansion

NEW YORK (AP) — Apprentices no more, Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are now at the helm of the Trump Organization and adjusting to the reality presented by their father’s presidency. They’re eyeing ways to use the new lease on the family fame by expanding the brand into parts of the United States that embrace him.

Some business has slowed as a result of the pledge to stall international dealmaking while Trump is president. But a U.S. push is planned, and two new hotel

Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/article146143819.html