How Boeing B787 got its name "Dreamliner"

"Dreamliner" came to being almost called the "Global Cruiser". When many people at Boeing suggested the name Global Cruiser. But instead Boeing decided to go an online contest. If that contest had been held exclusively in the United States, Global Cruiser would have won. 

Instead, the naming contest for the 787 was held online with people from more than 160 countries casting their votes. The four choices were:

• Dreamliner
• Global Cruiser
• Stratoclimber
• eLiner

After almost 500,000 votes were cast, the Dreamliner won by a margin of only 2500. While the Global Cruiser turned out to be the name preferred by U.S. residents, the Dreamliner was by far the favorite among the rest of the world in this name game.

India’s MMRCA Fighter Competition

It's finally Rafale vs. Eurofighter Typhoon for India's MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) military fighter aircraft purchase. India recently eliminated F-16 and F/A-18 E/F. 

                                                              Rafale

                                               Eurofighter Typhoon

Some of the weaknesses of the F/A-18 (Super Hornet) platform:

• Deep distrust of America’s reliability as an arms supplier 
• Technology transfer concerns 
• The aircraft’s expense. Given the costs to other customers so far, it seems unlikely that Boeing can deliver 126 fully-equipped F/A-18 E/F Block II aircraft for just $10.2 billion, let alone aircraft plus lifetime support. 
• The Super Hornet also offers poorer aerodynamic performance than the Eurofighter or Rafale, due to inherent airframe limitations. 
• Finally, it’s a new aircraft type for the IAF, so the entire support infrastructure would have to be developed from the ground up. 

Some of the weaknesses of the F-16 (Fighting Falcon):

• Weaknesses include the fact that Pakistan also flies F-16s; 
• The fact it’s a new aircraft type, so the entire support infrastructure would have to be developed; 
• Lockheed Martin’s difficulty in complying with industrial offset provisions, given their lack of penetration in India.

In 2006 Request For Proposals(RFP) were issued to:

• France’s Dassault (Mirage 2000-5 and Rafale), 
• BAE/Saab (JAS-39 Gripen), 
• EADS/BAE (Eurofighter Typhoon), 
• The American firms Lockheed (F-16 Block 70),  
• Boeing (F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet) and 
• Russia’s Rosonboronexport (MiG-29OVT with thrust vectoring, aka. MiG-35).