• 

  Boeing

  Stock Code:

  BA

  Date Founded:

  1916-07-15

  CEO:

  Dave Calhoun

  Headquarters Location:

  Chicago, USA

  Key Product Lines:

  Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

Boeing took the opportunity to display two new aircraft at the recent Farnborough International Airshow – the 777X and the 737 MAX 10. The 777X may have generated more excitement as the latest widebody and largest twin-engine aircraft ever. The 737 MAX 10 though, attracted big orders, despite ongoing issues. Simple Flying was invited onboard to take a look at the new aircraft.

The Boeing 737 MAX 10

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 is the latest and largest addition to the 737 MAX family. It promises more efficient operation than previous MAX aircraft and a higher capacity of up to 230 passengers.

The 737 MAX 10 went into Farnborough with some uncertainty over its popularity. It faces potential issues in certification from the FAA. If it is not certified by the end of 2022, the aircraft will need significant system re-design to meet new cockpit alerting requirements. This is not just a costly design change – it will affect commonality with other members of the MAX family. Discussions are ongoing regarding certification by year-end, or putting a waiver in place for the MAX 10.

Despite these uncertainties, the aircraft attracted plenty of interest at the show. The biggest order was from Delta Air Lines. It announced a firm order on the first day of the show for 100 aircraft with 30 further options. More MAX orders/confirmations followed throughout the show from Aviation Capital Group, 777 Partners, Qatar Airways, and ANA.

N27752 at Farnborough

Boeing has so far completed just two 737 MAX 10 aircraft. These are both in use as test aircraft and are ultimately destined for delivery to United Airlines. The aircraft flown to Farnborough was N27752. It flew over from Seattle to Reykjavik on July 11th and continued to Farnborough on July 13th. It flew back on July 22nd/23rd and as of August 3rd, had not resumed flight tests from Seattle,

Externally, the most obvious difference of the 737 MAX 10, of course, is its size. This is the largest MAX aircraft, increased in length by 66 inches (168 centimeters) over the MAX 9. This will typically allow two more rows of seats.

Another major difference with the MAX 10 is its main landing gear. A longer fuselage requires more clearance on take-off to avoid a tailstrike. The landing gear could not be extended on the 737 MAX 10 without affecting commonality with the rest of the family. The solution was to add the ability for the landing gear to extend on rotation using a spring-loaded lever. It then collapses back for storage into the same sized wheel wells as on the other MAX aircraft.

The engines on the 737 MAX 10 are the CFM LEAP 1-B engines – the same used on the whole 737 MAX series.

Inside the Boeing 737 MAX 10

Stepping onboard, you see straight away that this is a test aircraft. There is no galley area or seating on entry, just empty space up front, standard seating for crew, and test equipment.

The banks of equipment and workstations certainly feel more cramped than in the huge space of the Boeing 777X test aircraft, but the functionality is essentially the same.

Each workstation has data feeds to access flight information and sensor data from the aircraft and can be configured for any of the tests to be carried out. There are also banks of recorders to store all the data being produced during test flights – vital, of course, for later analysis.

Taking up a lot of space at the front and rear are water tanks. There is also extensive piping running throughout the aircraft. This is standard on test aircraft and is used to simulate different loads and to shift the aircraft's center of gravity for tests. Boeing uses tanks on the 737 MAX (and also on the currently testing 777X) from Seattle-based manufacturer Alaskan Copper Works. Boeing previously used beer kegs (modified and specially produced) before switching to these differently designed containers.

It is difficult from a test aircraft to see what it will be like in passenger use. The seats onboard are not typical for the aircraft – they are just recycled spares installed by Boeing for staff use. There is a bit of a clue on this aircraft from the installed Space Bins, though. These were introduced in 2016 as an optional extra for 737 NG and 737 MAX aircraft, and (Boeing claims) allow 50% more bags to be stored. They are designed to take standard-sized cabin bags vertically. On the MAX 9, for example, this takes bag capacity up from 132 to 198.

The Boeing 737 MAX 10 cockpit

The cockpit design and layout are the same as the rest of the MAX series. This is critical for pilot commonality (both within the 737 MAX series and with minimal conversion from the Next Generation series). This is the concern with the delay in certification – if substantial changes need to be made to the cockpit, it could be considered a different type for pilot certification.

The only difference on the 737 MAX 10, which the test pilots onboard discussed with us, is an additional display for flight/airport maps. This is currently being tested but is expected to remain.

It was great to be able to see onboard the Boeing 737 MAX 10 just as Boeing was confirming more orders for it. Feel free to discuss the differences with the largest MAX aircraft, or its potential issues, further in the comments.