Boeing

Boeing Commercial Airplanes continues to build its development team to help provide advanced materials technologies for the Sonic Cruiser and other potential new airplanes. Vought Aircraft Industries is the latest partner to be named to the team.

The Sonic Cruiser is a new airplane concept unveiled by Boeing in March last year. The airplane has a dramatic new configuration and is designed to fly as fast as Mach 0.98, shortening travel times with fuel consumption per passenger comparable to today's best performing widebody twinjets.

"Vought and Boeing have a strong relationship based on a history of working together," said Jeff Luckey, director of Supplier Management for the Sonic Cruiser program. "Vought's experience in aerostructures will be an asset to the team."

Tom Risley, Vought president and chief executive officer, said his company has concentrated on making investments in design, materiel and manufacturing technologies since it returned to being an independent company in 2000.

"The announcement today validates that this strategy is on target," Risley said.

Luckey said the Boeing formula for success has been to connect internal experts with industry experts from all over the globe.

"Boeing has a long history of being able to use that formula to develop the airplanes that really meet the needs of airlines and the expectations of passengers," he said.

Vought has supplied Boeing with commercial airplane components since 1968, when Boeing began the design and development of the 747. Today, Vought supplies aerostructures for almost all of Boeing's commercial airplanes. In addition, Vought manufactures fuselage skin panels using advanced composite materials for the V-22 and is the single largest structures supplier on the C-17.