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First time poster, but was wondering if they could copy the European model and produce one? Politics aside, this could be great for all respective economies...
Japanese companies like Kawasaki Heavy/Mitsubishi Heavy could do most of the engine work. COMAC (China) has some experience with fuselages....Koreans/Taiwanese may do the electronics. Heck you could even get nations like Vietnam to do the seats? Singapore to provide safety sensors etc?
Airbus and Boeing control the market. They have a big head start with experience. It'll be hard for a newcomer to enter but it's not entirely impossible. Time will tell.
Serious economic cooperation between Japan and those other two nations is not what it could be.
Personally, I would not fly on a Chinese built airliner at this time. Japanese? Sure. Korea has a very good manufacturing base. Much of it having to do with aviation.
Funny thing is...all these nations build parts and even assemblies for most aircraft carrying the Boeing label. Without them, the company would be finished.
The Soviets/Russians have tried to compete with Airbus and Boeing. The Ilyushin IL-86 was a four-engine wide-body aircraft that was developed and delivered during the Cold war, and wasn't competitive with Western designs after 1989. Its follow-on, with advanced engines and avionics, the IL-96, could compete with some older Boeing and Airbus models. The Tupolev Tu-204, aka "Seven-Fifty-Sevenski", is more viable, costs less than a Western competitor, but there's that nagging question of quality control.
First time poster, but was wondering if they could copy the European model and produce one? Politics aside, this could be great for all respective economies...
Japanese companies like Kawasaki Heavy/Mitsubishi Heavy could do most of the engine work. COMAC (China) has some experience with fuselages....Koreans/Taiwanese may do the electronics. Heck you could even get nations like Vietnam to do the seats? Singapore to provide safety sensors etc?
Sure, it could happen. Don't know if the breakdown would be as you suggest. The three Japanese Heavies (Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and Fuji) already do a good deal of airframe work for Boeing, surely they could group together to design and integrate an airframe. Engines are a different story; it is probably more difficult to design and produce a high performance turbofan engine then it is to design an airliner. IHI (a Japanese company) already supplies parts for GE / PW / RR engines, and I believe one module for the V2500 turbofan. Probably more likely to see a partnership with one of the existing engine manufacturers...
As for avionics, yes any of the countries that you mention probably have the talent to design these components, but keep in mind that avionics boxes are not produced in anywhere near the volume that consumer electronics are. The cost to design, manufacture, and certify high reliability avionics that are produced in low volume may not be an attractive business to Samsung or LG. Keep in mind that even the "European" Airbus sources a lot of these components from Honeywell, Rockwell, etc.
By the way, China already tried this 40 years ago, when they produced a clone of the 707 (called the Y-10, I believe). Totally produced within China, with the exception of the engines. The end result was an acceptable aircraft, but with technology already 20 years old, and at a much higher cost then simply buying a Boeing product.
You would need all the aerospace corporations of Japan, South Korea and China to work closely together hand-in-hand; due to a whole range of historical, and political reasons, it would not happen for the next 50 years.
Sure, it could happen. Don't know if the breakdown would be as you suggest. The three Japanese Heavies (Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and Fuji) already do a good deal of airframe work for Boeing, surely they could group together to design and integrate an airframe. Engines are a different story; it is probably more difficult to design and produce a high performance turbofan engine then it is to design an airliner. IHI (a Japanese company) already supplies parts for GE / PW / RR engines, and I believe one module for the V2500 turbofan. Probably more likely to see a partnership with one of the existing engine manufacturers...
As for avionics, yes any of the countries that you mention probably have the talent to design these components, but keep in mind that avionics boxes are not produced in anywhere near the volume that consumer electronics are. The cost to design, manufacture, and certify high reliability avionics that are produced in low volume may not be an attractive business to Samsung or LG. Keep in mind that even the "European" Airbus sources a lot of these components from Honeywell, Rockwell, etc.
By the way, China already tried this 40 years ago, when they produced a clone of the 707 (called the Y-10, I believe). Totally produced within China, with the exception of the engines. The end result was an acceptable aircraft, but with technology already 20 years old, and at a much higher cost then simply buying a Boeing product.
Great info! Of all these nations, it would appear Japan need is most since most of their electronics and cars poweress is slowly being eroded away from the bottom end by South Korea/Taiwan/China and top end by Germany/European marks.
In theory it makes economic sense, for these nations it would remove the need/reliance of Europe/USA for planes, how much would that save? Selling to the primary to the Chinese market would keep Japan and Korea afloat for years.
I've always wondered why Japan never made an aircraft (complete from design to manufacturing) by themselves since they've master a lot of tech and bare in mind before the Americans banned from from making planes, the Mitsubishi Zero was one heck of an aircraft!!
Long term wouldn't mastering the art of producing high tech, critical components be better off for these countries? China is everywhere on the value add scale but can't master high tech, quality etc. Japan is now an advanced manufacturer but fails to win Europe....South Korea is now in the middle of the value add chain but this could propel them to where Japan is.
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