One of the biggest problems facing aerospace stock Boeing (BA) in the last few years—aside from its quality control issues and various legal headaches—is its aging product line. But Boeing has been working to fix that by getting the 777-9 into production. And with a recent return to Edwards Air Force Base in California, it is one step closer to making that leap. The news did little to help shares, though, as Boeing was down 3.5% in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
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The 777-9 returned to Edwards to engage in “…takeoff performance testing,” reports noted. This is familiar ground for Boeing, as the tests are a repeat of development work already accomplished. But with these tests complete, Boeing will have a major part of the necessary certification legwork done. One of the biggest measures these tests will come away with is known as “minimum unstick speed.”
Minimum unstick speed testing is accomplished this way, according to Ted Grady, chief pilot for the 777X. “…we intentionally put the tail of the airplane on the runway gently, and then we’ll show that the airplane can fly away with that three-point stance of the main gear and the tail on the airplane—it’s a very precise maneuver to fly.” Sufficiently precise, in fact, that it can take several tries to get a successful test. But it is a vital test, as it provides a number useful for both customers and regulators alike.
All That Speed Had to Go Somewhere
And then, just to show how downright staggering Boeing’s tires can be on their 747s, video recently emerged showing just what happens to those tires once a jet gets up to 300 kilometers per hour and then has a takeoff attempt rejected. The answer is, of course, nothing good for the tires.
The jet in question, a Sky Lease Boeing 747, had its takeoff attempt rejected, and had to come to a stop from its takeoff speeds. Sadly, the video did not show what happened to the tires during takeoff, but rather the aftermath, when the plane was sitting still on the runway. You know the old joke about how a tire is just fine because it is only flat on the bottom? So were all of this 747’s tires. Several of the tires showed long holes slit in the sides, likely by a combination of extreme heat and air pressure.
Is Boeing a Good Stock to Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 18 Buys and two Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 35.04% rally in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $257.61 per share implies 14.92% upside potential.
