sameolesid wrote:

Guy Alcala wrote in message ...
C Knowles wrote:

They have already changed their mind and said that, well, maybe with the new
alloys, it's possible after all (Air Force magazine.)

To quote Gomer,"Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!";-) Got a link? I can't find it
in the current (May) issue online.

I would think that

with the possibility of supplying hundreds of KC-7E7s, they could make it
work. After all, the KC-135 and 707 are two very different airplanes, both
built at the same time, each benefiting from the other.

You'd certainly think so.

Guy

Reengineering the 7E7 for this role will entail some serious costs and
time. The smarter move for Boeing would be to invest in the BWB.

That might well be the best choice for the USAF (dual booms and at least two pods), but how does a BWB stack up for
commercial use? If the USAF chose to replace their entire fleet of KC-135s (and perhaps related a/c) with BWBs, it would
probably make economic sense for Boeing to invest in it. But lacking a commercial equivalent, we'd likely see the usual
development and production delays and cost overruns that are seemingly inevitable for pure military programs.

Guy