Boeing's Albaugh says he doubts viability of unducted engine
Boeing Co.'s commercial aircraft chief, Jim Albaugh, said today he's not certain that so-called unducted-engine technology will ever be viable.
“I have a hard time believing that's ever going to be viable, though I'm not going to dismiss it,” Albaugh said at a press briefing in Singapore.
General Electric Co., United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce Holding Plc are all separately studying an unducted fan, which has blades on the outside of a jet turbine. The design may take a dozen years to develop, they say.
Albaugh reiterated that Chicago-based Boeing is looking at offering either a re-engined version of its 737 narrowbody plane or an all-new model, and that a potential successor would be available in 2019 or 2020.
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