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#51
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"Vygg" wrote in message ... CTR wrote: Could be. Then again, a lot of things change over the course of ten years, especially in the commercial marketplace. Ten years ago the industry pundits were vilifying MD for trying to hold on to their commercial operation. They said that the domestic civilian rotorcraft market simply wasn't big enough for three players and MDHC Commercial was small potatoes with no hope for the future. Not even Bell or Sikorsky wanted it (Bell made a half-hearted bid, but breathed a deep sigh of relief when the Feds shot it down). Now we're ten years down the road and Boeing is being ridiculed for selling a low-value operation that they were once criticized for not selling sooner. The civilian market is very difficult to predict with any certainty more than a few years out and it doesn't take much to upset the best laid plans of the marketers. Problem is, MDHI's recent ownership/management has screwed the pooch even worse than Boeing did. |
#52
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The EuroCopter VP at the AHS Forum said they view the civil and
military markets as complementary businesses -- both to sustain production numbers and nurture new technology. I hate to see our short-term business mentality surrender the long-term market to them. They're following the same plan Japanese carmakers used here -- grow market share, set up domestic lines, and take the market. HW |
#53
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Helowriter wrote: The EuroCopter VP at the AHS Forum said they view the civil and military markets as complementary businesses -- both to sustain production numbers and nurture new technology. I hate to see our short-term business mentality surrender the long-term market to them. They're following the same plan Japanese carmakers used here -- grow market share, set up domestic lines, and take the market. HW HW, If you were at the AHS Forum, what did you think of Walter Sonneborne's speech on the state of the US helicopter industry? Also, what did you think of the Sikorsky CEO's response to the Mil Helicopter engineers question on the technical feasibility of the Advancing Blade Concept X2? Take care, CTR |
#54
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Unfortunately, I had to duck out for an XWorx visit before Mr.
Sonneborne spoke. I'm going to try to get a copy of his remarks. Personally, I think Mr. Finger should have answered Mr. Tschenko(sp?) -- just walking off the stage seemed a little disrespectful. The Russians certainly have solid technical insights, but I think Sikorsky has a new set of answers to the limitations of the coax and the thruster. Take a look at the shaft-driven fan in the JSF. That clutch and transmission could drive a thruster. We'll see. HW |
#55
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HW,
While at the Bell Xworx did you get a chance to see the BA609? Were you their to see it fly? What did you think? Take care, CTR |
#56
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It flew the next day. They were waiting to do a high-speed taxi run,
but I had to leave before that. The 609 in real life is stylish, neat. I believe there is a market for civil tilt rotor. I also think there's a market for a high-speed coaxial. You have to pick your market niches. More important, that sort of development is what the entire US rotorcraft industry should be doing --- with the avid support of the US government support. Europe has targeted rotorcraft as an area of industrial growth. We seem determined to surrender it to them. Maybe Boeing will get lucky with the A160 or Dragonfly technologies. HW |
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