[quote=TopHatter;465746]Hardly the first time, though still a rarity, and as
scorefour pointed out, it's a wake-up call for Boeing.
Hopefully it'll be a wake-up call for the rest of American industry.
I'm also thinking about the new Marine One Presidential helicopter: A British design flying the American president around.
If that and the KC-30 aren't enough to shake the American industrial establishment out of it's "divine right of industry" mentality, I'm not sure what will be.
Maybe building a new class of surface warship overseas? (Never happen, but still...)
The other thing to keep in mind is how much work will be done here in the States for these machines.
Production lines are to be set up in the USA for both types.
Heck, the double-decker Airbus is having major components fabricated right here in the US.....just like the 787 is having major components manufactured overseas.
True. The aviation business is truly International. Some American aircraft have more foreign parts than home produced parts. Likewise some foreign aircraft have a majority of American components. We are seeing capitalism in action.
Where things get tricky is in deciding anything on the multi-national companies.
The one point to watch is not in designing but getting the components available when and where they are required - whether sub components or final assembly. Airbus shot itself in the foot with problems in the wiring looms that caused considerable delays, and so did Boeing with the 787 when they had insufficient approved rivets. (They had to complete the first example with non-approved rivets so it could be rolled out on the due date to meet the Press. It was then rolled back so the rivets could be drilled out, awaiting the proper ones.) You can bet that both companies have learnt a great deal from these howlers.