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Ever-louder rumblings inside Boeing from Everett and Charleston point to this potential course of action.

Following the October 10th announcement of the six month delay in first delivery of the 787, significant speculation began as to the exact source of the problems.

Though many have been looking for a smoking gun, there are many factors that added up to create the current situation. One piece of the puzzle that has been perpetually been identified as a source of the program’s problems is Texas-based first-tier supplier, Vought Aircraft Industries.

Vought has never been identified by name as the source of the problems, yet it appears that the change in language amongst the top brass at Boeing and Vought points to a cooling relationship which could be setting the stage for a clean extrication in the near future.

October 31
Former 787 Program Manager Mike Bair spoke frankly in an address to the Snohomish County Economic Development Council remarking on unidentified suppliers that, “Some of these guys we won’t use again.”

November 7
A memo to all 787 program staff from Program Manager Pat Shanahan announced that, “To strengthen the management of the supply chain, Scott Strode, previous vice president of Airplane Definition and Production, will oversee all BCA supplier development activities with Vought Aircraft Industries, with special attention to 787 recovery and production ramp up.

November 9
Vought CEO Elmer Doty at his company’s third quarterly earnings report admitted that “I don’t think you need rumors to assume we are among the riskiest, if not the riskiest, of the structure producers.”

December 7
BCA President Scott Carson, who was surprisingly available just days before the 787 update remarked to the Wall Street Journal Friday in regards to Vought and its suppliers, “In addition to oversight, you need insight into what’s actually going on in those factories…Had we had adequate insight, we could have helped our suppliers understand the challenges.”

So how does Boeing gain that insight?

A buy out of Vought makes the most sense moving forward. It would eliminate the middle-man in what the Wall Street Journal called a “new bureaucratic ladder.” This allows Boeing to more effectively work with its global suppliers by retaking the reins on manufacture and assembly of 787 structures.

Overall, this is not a rejection of the fundamental principles upon which the 787 was built. Without Vought, the 787 is still very much an aircraft program that has a global scope. Reassuming control which was previously outsourced is not a rejection of outsourcing, it’s an acknowledgment that good business is done with good partners – a tenet which has never changed.

An amicable end to a tumultuous relationship allows Vought to walk away from the 787 program with its financial house in order while giving Boeing the best opportunity to meet the only goal that really matters:

Build 109 Dreamliners in the next 751 days.

In advance of tomorrow morning’s Boeing 787 Program Update, a Flightblogger-style program update is now available. Different from previous updates, this post provides visual context for understanding where the program currently stands. Below is an image depicting the rough locations of the three airframes currently being assembled in Washington, and is accurate as of December 10, 2007. This page will feature liveblogged coverage of the conference call on the morning of December 11 (10 AM ET, 7 AM PT, 1500 GMT) so please feel free to come by, leave your comments and questions for the 787 leadership.

Dreamliner One – ZA001
Structural work has largely concluded on Dreamliner One and installation of insulation blankets began on the forward part of the aircraft in Section 43 on December 3rd. ZA001 remains at position three in Building 40-26. Doors three and four have not yet been reinstalled following their removal just after the July 8th rollout. Electronics racks in the airframe have also been installed in the cargo bay and the airframe is still largely surrounded by scaffolding.

Power on is still planned to take place on or before January 24th. Early February is slated for the second rollout/factory completion of Dreamliner One. At that time the first flying 787 is expected to move to the flight line where it will be prepared for its first flight. The aircraft is expected to achieve flight readiness by the end of February in preparation for a first flight on or before the 31st of March 2008.

Click to View Larger Image
Original Image Courtesy of Boeing
Edited by Flightblogger to reflect current status

Program Note:
I will be liveblogging the Boeing 787 Program Update on December 11th starting at 10 AM EDT (7 AM PT, 1500 GMT). This will be the first update offered by new 787 Program Manager Patrick Shanahan and BCA CEO Scott Carson since the October 10th delay announcement.

In addition, a Flightblogger 787 production update will be posted later today.

Stay tuned.

Compiled below is the completion of almost a month’s worth of research. Many thanks to those of you who assisted in its compilation, you know who you are. Just as this blog was born from data about the Boeing 787 that was publicly available, this production update aims to provide similar information about the Airbus A380. Photographs, press releases, magazines, online encyclopedias and news articles have all been utilized to provide the most comprehensive status update regarding the A380.

If you feel that there are required changes or additions to any of this information, please do not hesitate to contact me at flightblogger (at) gmail (dot) com or leave comments. Those who have information should be aware that sources are closely held and never shared.

If there are those of you who live along (or near) the route of travel for the A380 convoys please do not hesitate to contact me as well.

UPDATED: Monday, February 11, 2008 5:10 PM ET – Changes are BOLD

GOV HOPEFUL ABOUT DIRECT BOSTON-TO-CHINA FLIGHTS
State Capitol Briefs
December 6, 2007

Gov. Deval Patrick says there’s hope of arranging new direct service between Boston and Beijing and Shagnhai. During an interview with New England Cable News that aired Wednesday night, Patrick, speaking from Shanghai, said, “We will have some news, I hope, to announce with respect to direct air service between Boston and Beijing and Shanghai. We have some details to work out.”

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson announced today that Boeing will be making a decision within the next eighteen months about its plans for the 737RS. Entry into service would still be around 2015 or so. Boeing is clearly striking while the iron is hot. With Airbus scaling back it R&D; costs because of the weak dollar, Boeing is going full steam ahead with plans for a new single-aisle program.

One distinct challenge here, is that Boeing has significant resources devoted to the three new programs right now: 787 taking the lion share of the most experienced engineers, the 747-8 and the 777F. However, I can promise you that deep in the depths of Boeing there are white boards being scribbled on, pots of coffee being brewed and visionaries at work. For the sake of full disclosure, beside flight testing, the “idea” phase is the one that is a personal favorite of mine. Watching “an idea” become something that defies gravity is a feat deserving of nothing but enormous respect.

According to those involved in developing new commercial products, it appears that the attitude inside Boeing is that the competitor isn’t Airbus, but rather the 737NG itself. The task, and it is a big one, is to unseat its own hot-selling product while providing significant improvements in fuel consumption, noise, comfort and range.

The magic number here is 20. Come up 20% increase in fuel efficiency or it just isn’t worth it to develop an entirely new product.

This is not going to be easy – but who ever said it was supposed to be?

Progress on Boston’s first Asian route. Clearly discussions have been fruitful:

Xinhua Financial Network News
December 6, 2007
Thursday 3:36 PM GMT

US state governor hopes to see ‘progress’ on Boston-China direct flights

BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – Deval Patrick, governor of the US state of Massachusetts, said he is close to reaching an agreement that would allow direct commercial flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Boston’s Logan International Airport.

“We’re one of the few major cities in America that doesn’t have direct service. We’re working on that, and we have made some progress and we hope to have something to announce, if not by the end of our visit here, then shortly thereafter,” Patrick said in a statement.

Patrick is currently heading a trade delegation to China.

He told XFN-Asia in an interview earlier: “There are no direct flights between Boston and any of the commercial capitals of China, but we have 68,000 people who travel between Massachusetts and China every year. So it’s a market waiting for someone to make money. Hainan Airlines comes to mind.”

The latest podcast from aviationpodcasts.com and IAG is an absolute must. Addison Schonland sat down with Mark Dunkerely, President and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines to talk about the A350 purchase. They cover the map with talk of delivery dates, engine manufacturers, new routes, and even the possibility of new narrow-bodies.

LISTEN HERE

Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts (D) departed for a trade mission November 30 to China by departing Boston’s Logan International Airport with a 40 member delegation for a direct flight to…

…another airport in the US that serves China directly.

Currently, Boston has no direct service to Asia.

Logan Airport has always been limited by a runway that is unable to accommodate a fully loaded 747-400. Korean Airlines operated service between BOS-IAD-ICN, not the most attractive of options for New England travelers. The 747 would depart Boston with many empty seats and fly to Washington, DC to pick up additional passengers before flying to Seoul. The airline struggled to achieve profitability on the route and it was eventually canceled in July 2001.

Talk of establishing the route had been floating around the aviation world when Boston’s Mayor Menino first announced plans for the service in early 2006.

According to his public schedule, Governor Patrick will be sharing dinner with the Chairman of the soon-to-be-re-branded Hainan Airlines (Grand China Air), this evening (December 3rd). Undoubtedly, a topic of conversation will be the air link between Boston and China. Accompanying Governor Patrick on the Trade Mission is the CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) Tom Kinton who oversees the operation of Logan Airport.

Not coincidentally last week, a member of the Governor’s Commission on Asian American Affairs reaffirmed that flights between BOS and PEK were planned for launch sometime in 2009.

Grand China Air will fly its new Boeing 787s on the route. GCA is expected to receive ZA012 and ZA016 sometime in 2009 following flight testing and certification of the Dreamliner which is expected to begin in March 2008.

It was initially reported on this blog on November 27 that the nose section (PHOTO) delivered one day prior from Wichita was identified as belonging to Dreamliner Two (ZA002). This delivery would’ve been early as major structures are not scheduled to arrive until late December. Flightblogger has learned that the nose section was improperly identified at the time of publication.

The nose section has since been linked to a previously unknown airframe, LN9901 or ZY901.

Image added 9:39 PM 11/29

Unlike previous sections that have arrived from suppliers, the nose section was loaded onto a flatbed truck on Tuesday evening for transport to the Boeing Development Center at Boeing Field south of Seattle for testing.

When asked for clarification about the plans for this nose section, Boeing responded in this way:

…our policy is that we do not respond to questions with respect to 787 production details, particularly when they involve specific parts or airplanes. We also, as you know, are not going to comment on or “confirm” information obtained through unauthorized means.

The arrival nose section raises questions about its destiny. Could this section be used for additional drop testing? What about freeze testing? Or is this airframe going to be the unlucky victim of an onslaught of frozen chickens?*

*Editors Note: Non-frozen chickens have been shown to do just as much damage to an aircraft as frozen chickens.

**Editors Note Two: I was wrong about frozen chickens. They, in fact, do cause a lot more damage. I have no credibility on chilled poultry weaponry.

Update:

The center fuselage for ZY998 (fatigue airframe) was delivered on the night of November 28 from Charleston. It was loaded into the body join rig along with section 41 at position one in the factory. The wings are also being moved into position to begin the wing-body join.