LONDON — On July 31st, ZA001 was rolled from the flight line to Paint Hangar 45-04 where the first 787 will remain for at least several weeks, as preparations are underway to install the wing fix on the static test airframe in the first major step to remove the obstacle standing in Boeing’s way to flying the Dreamliner.
Boeing has begun preparations on the static test airframe (ZY997), the aircraft on which the problems were first discovered, sources confirm. Once installed, the wings of test airframe will again be flexed to validate the static strength of the structure.
Since the June 23rd delay announcement, much of the focus has been centered on not only developing the fix itself, but the challenge to Boeing engineers and assembly crews to install the side of body fix for the 787.
The installation, which will take place on the upper part of the side of body of the 787, is centered on two areas on both the port and starboard sides of the aircraft. The process of reinforcing the structure that connects the wing to the body of the aircraft will see modifications of both the Section 11 (center wing box) and Section 12 (wing box) of the aircraft.
The physical constraints of the area where repair crews will be working has been described by program sources as a series of “interconnected phonebooths laying on their side.”
To paint a picture of just how tight the area is, imagine a 17-foot long space along the wing root that is just over 5 and a half feet tall and about three feet wide. The areas on the top panels of these “phone booths” needing the fix are 17 I-shaped stringer beams on the Section 12 wing box and another 18 on the Section 11 center wing box that are affixed to the upper skin. The area requiring reinforcement is extremely tight providing just 3-4 inches from the top skin of the wing.
Crews will gain access to the inside of Section 11 by way of an access door into the center fuel tank from the rear spar inside the right hand landing gear bay. Two additional access holes leading from the side of the center wing box allows for crews to work inside the area on the Section 12 area of the side of body.
ZA001 and ZA002 hold unique challenges from the remaining four flight test aircraft because the interior working areas inside the fuel tank have been fully closed out and fueled for the previous APU and engine runs. Sources say ZA001 was drained of fuel before being moved back inside the paint hangar.
Supplier sources say that the reinforcing parts required for ZA001 and ZY997 have been shipped to Everett. ZY997, which will be the first test aircraft to receive the fix, has been surrounded by scaffolding in preparation for the installation.
Boeing continues to move forward with increasing the pace of deliveries to Everett, even as 787 is stalled by the fix. Boeing has begun final assembly on Dreamliner Eight, ZA101, though the upper panels of the final body join, sources say, will be done in an incomplete way to allow easier access to the the inside of the aircraft for installation of the fix. Wings for Dreamliner Nine (ZA102) are set to arrive later this week, just under 30 calendar days after Dreamliner Eight’s wings were delivered from Nagoya, Japan.
The first production 787, ZA100, has been moved to assembly position two inside Building 40-26, while ZA004 remains at position four closest to the door where it underwent gear swing tests this week.
The Section 11 half of the wing fix is expected to be incorporated at Global Aeronautica beginning with Airplane 15. The Section 12 side of the fix will continue to be completed in Everett because aspects of the modification require the wing box and center wing box to be in the wing to body join process, sources say.
Though as Boeing continues to churn through its internal assessment of first flight and first delivery expected to be ready later in the 3rd quarter, many outside the program are increasingly placing estimates on a slip of greater than six months into the first quarter of 2010 with a first delivery not occurring until the first quarter of 2011.
Over the previous week, FlightBlogger gathered the comments from several news reports, analysts and suppliers to aggregate the estimates on the timing of first flight and first delivery of 787. In addition to the public comments, six aerospace analysts, were polled on their estimates. They were provided the option of declining attribution due to the investment position of their respective firms. A total of 10 data points were collected.
The results, though gathered in an unscientific way, provide a basic framework for a window in which first flight and first delivery may take place. The consensus appears to trend towards early 2010 first flight with first delivery coming a year later in the first quarter of 2011.
The following are the assembled data points:
| Source | Type | First Flight | First Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior | Supplier | Late 2009 | 3Q10 |
| Barclays | Analyst | Late 2009 | Late 2010 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst | Late 2009 | 1Q11 |
| Seattle Times | News Org. | Early 2010 | — |
| Richard Aboulafia | Analyst | 1Q10 | 2Q11 |
| Analyst 1 | Analyst | End 09/Early 10 | 1Q11 |
| Analyst 2 | Analyst | End 09/Early 10 | — |
| Analyst 3 | Analyst | End 1Q10 | Mid-2011 |
| Analyst 4 | Analyst | 1Q10 | 1Q11 |
| Analyst 5 | Analyst | Nov-09 | 1Q11 |
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.