A glimpse into the future: You won't believe what we saw in the development center of the Boeing company

When the Boeing Company began to make commercial flights at the end of the 20s of the last century, it did not yet fly passengers, but delivered mail deliveries. And when the company wanted to promote the idea of flying passengers, it was not a simple matter at all. After all, if people have a way to reach their destination by car, train or ship, why do you need to fly in the sky? People really had to be convinced that it was both possible and safe.

How did pro-Russian hackers develop and how might the trends threaten Israel?
"Understands the power of the Israeli market": the giant company that will start investing in Israel

At this point, Ellen Church, a compassionate nurse from the state of Iowa, came to Boeing's aid. In 1930, Church proposed to the directors of "Boeing Air Transport" to place sister flights. She claimed that the nurses would be able to calm the frightened passengers, who put their lives in their hands and boarded the flight.

Click here and receive the Ma'ariv newspaper for a month as a gift for new members>>>

Since then, many airplanes have flown in the sky, nurses have meanwhile given way to flight attendants, and the entire industry has developed to huge proportions, with developments designed to take it deep into the 21st century constantly coming to market. In this context, at the end of last month, Boeing held an international press tour of its facilities in the city of Charleston, South Carolina, to present the company's activities on a number of topics.

We were greeted by the president and CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun. In a conversation with him in the room overlooking the amazing production hall and the huge dimensions of the Dreamliner planes, Calhoun sounded optimistic and enthusiastic. He can be understood. As someone who heads a huge aviation company that survived the Corona virus and survived to tell the story, Calhoun has every reason to be satisfied.

"In the industry, we estimated that there would be a recovery after the epidemic," he says. "What we didn't expect was that the recovery would come faster and with greater force." Still, according to him, the problems with the supply chain remain. "Patience is required here," he says. "There are many suppliers, and there are those who supply us with only one item. There is no choice, we need them and they need us. It won't help to get upset. I estimate that we will return to work at full capacity by the end of next year.'

paint a plane in two days
In the various departments of the Boeing facilities in Charleston – one near the airport and the other north of the city – they are working on a series of developments and innovations. For example, in one of the departments they are developing a system for painting airplanes using ink injection technology, like in the home printer. This way you can paint a plane in two days, instead of several weeks. One Alaska Airlines plane has already been painted with this technology.

In another place stands an airplane that serves as a laboratory for the implementation of new technologies. Here is an example: it turns out that even in 2023, much of the navigation of the planes is based on telephones and faxes. For example, if a volcano erupts, the control tower is reported and from there all airports are informed that the eruption may affect them. That is why Boeing is now developing a system similar to Wise.

This means that it will be possible to report and receive reports in real time. And if we return to the volcano, such a system can track the ash cloud and, depending on the situation, update more airports. Thus, it is possible that a plane that was supposed to land significantly late due to the eruption, will land faster, after receiving a real-time report on the state of the ash cloud.

Although the aviation industry is only responsible for 2.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, the industry, including Boeing, is being recruited for the net zero 2050 pollution reduction project. In this framework, they are working on the development of sustainable aviation fuel saf. At the same time, they are working on other ways to reduce pollution, for example by streamlining traffic. This means that planes will "waste" less time in the air.

order a taxi in the sky
Another solution, which currently seems a bit futuristic, is to switch to airplanes that run on electricity rather than fuel. In this respect, Boeing is particularly proud of the Whisk project. It is essentially a flying autonomous electric taxi: it has places for four passengers and instead of pilots, there are inspectors on the ground who accompany the flight.

This taxi takes off and lands vertically, and its advantages for the industry are clear. Although it is still not an aircraft that can replace airplanes, it does not pollute and can bring people closer to their destination. This is while today we depend on airports and only from there can we continue to the final destination. After Boeing has supported the project since it was launched, at the end of last month Wisk became a subsidiary of Boeing.

In a conversation with Wisk's CEO, Brian Yutko, one of the journalists asks the obvious question: "That's all well and good," he says, "but how the hell are you going to convince people to get on a flying taxi without a pilot"?

Yutko smiles. "This is the question I get asked the most," he says, "and I have an answer." Let's go back, say, to 2006. You are standing at a bus stop or waiting for a taxi, suddenly someone stops next to you and offers you a ride. Surely you would have waved him off and while he was walking away, you would have marveled at the audacity of the proposal. Now we will skip to 2023. You have to get to the meeting, go out into the street, enter the Uber app and take a ride.'

The conclusion, according to him, is that if people are convinced that it is a reliable and affordable means of transportation, they will use it. And just like almost a century ago they managed to convince people to fly, despite the concerns, Boeing is convinced that they will succeed this time as well. ###

The writer was a guest of the Boeing Company in Charleston, South Carolina.