UPDATED: July 5 – 1:10pm EDT (updates are in blue)
All major Dreamliner structures have arrived in Everett, Washington. Deliveries were completed on May 16, 2007 with the arrival of the center fuselage from Charleston, SC. The major structures have traveled thousands of miles from across the globe and now reside at the largest building in the world (by volume) at Paine Field. The final assembly bay will officially be launched on May 21, 2007. Over the 39 days between assembly bay launch and rollout on July 8, 2007, the Dreamliner will be assembled piece by piece. Just as this site followed the journey of the parts to Everett, this post will be periodically updated to bring you the latest information on the status of the final assembly of the 787 Dreamliner.

Flightblogger Exclusive

First Flight Window Opens
August 27, 2007

From the assembly floor:

Update 3 – June 25, 2007 – 10:25pm
Sources inside Boeing say, “There is not much left to do before moving to paint shop. All doors are installed. All slats, ailerons, flaps, and spoilers are installed. They are working on access doors on the wing.” Another source says, “Most everything that will be “seen” is on the airplane, save for a few odds and ends.”

According to the schedule Dreamliner One will head to the paint shop after 10:00pm PDT (1:00am EDT). The airplane movement from assembly shop to paint shop usually occurs after dark to minimize the distraction of the drivers on the freeway below the bridge.

Mike Bair said today, “The aircraft will be structurally complete at rollout but will still have systems, ducting, wiring and similar work to be done before first flight. When those tasks are completed, it will be powered up and proceed to ground test before it flies.”

Update 2 – June 25, 2007 – 9:00am
Dreamliner One has been lowered onto its own landing gear for the first time and the tooling towers were being pulled back. Engine installation was complete and it should be heading to the paint shop today or tomorrow.

Update 1 – Early June
Reports of extended delay for the first flight in late August are largely unfounded. ZA001/LN1 is still on track to be sent to the paint shop on June 25. No changes have been made to the originally planned schedule. Staff changes at Vought have been happening for sometime including the dismissal of the VP in charge of the 787 program last week. The sentiment from the Boeing floor is that things are back on track at Vought and the next shipset is expected from Charleston in Everett between the 19th to the 21st of June. This assessment has been confirmed by Flight Global on June 12.

Seattle Based Media

Seattle P-I
May 22, 2007 – 787 Simulator Photo

KING5 Video
May 21, 2007 – How the 787 ‘Dreamliner’ is being built
May 22, 2007 – Expect more comfort on the 787 Dreamliner

LN1/ZA001– RR powered and first to fly
– Major structure assembly is complete and Dreamliner One was brought to the paint shop on the night of June 26. It is expected to remain in the paint shop until around 2pm on 7/8/07.
– All major structures in Everett
– Undergoing final assembly, which officially began May 21
– System software v. 6.5 currently being tested. 6.7 to follow shortly.
– Will be entering the paint shop around June 25
– Will be delivered to ANA after refurbishment.
LN9997/ZY997 – no engines, systems, etc. – Static Test frame, Wing Break Test
– All sections will be “in house and workable” by July 8.
– Wing in production in Japan (photo)
– Section 47 and 48 currently in SC. (photo)
– Section 43, 45, 44 (photo) /46 delivered to Everett July 3.
– Section 41 delivered to Everett July 3 (Production photo photo, photo 2)
– Tail fin now in assembly bay in Everett.
LN2/ZA002 – RR powered and test flight
– Section 43 and 11/45 arrived in Charleston on June 28.
– Section 44 and 46 arrived in Charleston from Italy on June 26.
– Wing in production in Japan (photo)
– Section 41 currently production in KS. (photo)
– Will be delivered to ANA after refurbishment.
LN9998/ZY998 – No engines, systems, etc. Fatigue test airframe.
– Section 48 currently in production in SC. (photo)
LN3/ZA003 – RR powered and test flight
– Section 41 currently production in KS. (photo)
– Will be delivered to Northwest after refurbishment.
LN4/ZA004 – RR powered and test flight
– Section 41 currently production in KS. (photo, photo 2)
– Will be delivered to Northwest after refurbishment.
– Section 41 in production in KS. (photo)
LN5/ZA005 – GE powered and test flight
– Section 41 currently production in KS. (photo)
– Will be delivered to Royal Air Maroc after refurbishment.
LN6/ZA006 – GE powered and test flight
– Section 41 currently production in KS. (photo)
– Will be delivered to Royal Air Maroc after refurbishment.
LN7/ZA007 – First to be delivered to ANA.
LN8/ZA008 – First to be delivered to Air China.

Production Line Explained
Boeing nomenclature changed for 787-8 program to ZA. 777 Test program wore WA. Test ZA001, ZA002, LN3 and LN4 will be refurbished and delivered to ANA and Northwest. If anyone has additional clarification on the nomenclature changes, including designations for LN3 and LN4, please notify me.

Click image for expanded view

40-23 Building – Full-scale static testing
40-36 Building – Pre-integration of wing parts
40-26 Building – Final assembly

Final Assembly Begins on First Boeing 787 Dreamliner
May 21, 2007

Photos Courtesy The Boeing Company

Vertical Stabilizer
– Installation of the vertical fin was completed as of June 21.
– As of June 20 the Vertical Fin was in position but not yet bolted down.
– Vertical fin installation was underway on June 18 to the body of the aircraft. It is expected to be completed by June 21.
– Rudder has been joined to the vertical stabilizer and moved to the final assembly area on June 13.
– Rudder has been painted in ANA livery. Not yet joined to tail fin. (photo late May)

Fuselage
– All windows have been installed.
– The aircraft is being sanded down in preparation for painting and as a result the airplane is losing the glossiness that it had. (June 22)
– Most of the wing to body fairing are attached as of June 22.
– Aft fuselage circumferential mating will be completed June 17.
– On June 12 it was revealed by the Seattle Times that at the time Section 41 and 43 were initially joined there was a .3 inch gap as a result of distortion caused by pressure from the installation of interior fittings. The problem was quickly resolved, though may pose a problem for fully stuffed sections coming out of Wichita and Charleston in the future. Flightblogger is working on acquiring additional details.

– Aft fuselage has completed being drilled for attachment. There are ample fasteners for mating available.
– Passenger doors have been installed in the forward fuselage.

– Aft fuselage (Section 47/48) initially positioned in the rear of 40-36 building. (photo) Now moved into position for attachment to the center fuselage on the morning of June 1.
– Wiring and hydraulics are being installed in earnest.
– Nose and Center Fuselages were loaded into the final assembly rig on May 16, 2007. Now joined as one piece. (photo)
– Many critical systems have not yet been installed. In the future, systems will be installed at sub-assemblies rather than in Everett.

Horizontal Stabilizer
– Elevators have been installed on the horizontal stabilizer. (June 22)
– The joining of the horizontal stabilizer/tail cone to the aft fuselage was confirmed completed on June 18, two days ahead of scheduled completion.
– Elevators are now on the factory floor.
– Horizontal stabilizer and tail cone are now joined and were moved into the final assembly area on June 13.
– Left and right horizontal stabilizers are now mated together and will be joined with Section 48 (aft fuselage).
– Tail cone was moved into position for attachment behind the horizontal stabilizer.
– Arrived “covered with pieces of blue tape, each piece indicating some kind of defect or area that needed attention.” This is seen as a quality assurance issue that will be resolved in the future, but will require additional work.
– Both port and starboard horizontal stabilizers have been loaded next to one another and prepared for final connection. (photo)

Wings
– Ailerons, outboard flaps and slats have been installed on the wings. (June 22)
– Left and right engine pylon installation are confirmed completed on June 18.
– Wing-Body join was confirmed as completed on June 15.

– Movable trailing edges have arrived in Everett and are expected to be installed on the wings between June 21-25.
– Wing-Body join began on June 6. It is expected to take two weeks.
– Left wing moved to final assembly position on the afternoon of June 1, right wing on June 3.
– The wings are being aligned using laser guidance. Boeing is measuring the gaps and making shims to fill the gaps accordingly.
– Wings have completed pre-integration and have moved into final assembly position 1 for attachment to the wing box and fuselage.
– Winglet has been attached to the port wing. (photo)
– Unconfirmed: Wing box needed to be re-sealed. Details currently unknown.

Main Landing Gear
– Main gear are in position and installation is underway as of June 22. Installation will be complete by the morning of June 24.
– ZA001 jacked up on the floor in preparation for installation as of June 21.
– MLG installation began June 20. It should be completed by June 21. ZA001 will be on its own three legs by June 22.
– Main landing gear arrived on the factory floor the week of June 18.
– Wheels down date, meaning the 787 will be on its own landing gear, between June 21-25.

Engines
– Both engines have been installed. (June 25)
– Left engine has been installed. Right engine in position for installation. (June 22)
– Engines are being installed on June 22nd. ZA001 jacked up on the floor in preparation for installation.
– Two Trent 1000 engines are currently on the final assembly floor as of June 18.
– Rolls-Royce shipped the first two Trent 1000s to Everett on June 7 and will be the final items attached.

All photos are courtesy of the Boeing Company unless otherwise stated.

While we all know Boeing’s plans for the Dreamliner One roll out, Flightblogger is taking it, as always, one step farther.

This blogger has been granted a media credential by Boeing for the roll out ceremony at Qwest Field on Sunday, July 8.

Throughout the afternoon of July 8, Flightblogger will provide live blogging of the roll-out. (depending on wireless availability) If your watching the roll out on your computer, this blogger recommends you have three windows open. Your streaming media player, Airliners.net roll-out forum thread, and of course Flightblogger. This page will be providing photographs of the live event to illustrate and provide commentary on the roll out of Dreamliner One.

Live blogging the roll out is not enough for this writer. Flightblogger is also excited to announce something you will not see anywhere else. Boeing expects nearly 22,000 attendees at Qwest Field in Seattle and of course hundreds of 787 program employees right on the factory floor.

I plan to be one of them.

Now I know for a fact that Boeing Employees frequent this page, and I kindly ask for your participation in providing a unique view for the world to see all of your incredible hard work. With your camera phones, please send pictures of the roll out from your point of view to flightblogger@gmail.com. Flightblogger will be posting your photos, from your perspective, right here.

As I’ve been hinting about for a while, I have just completed a second video installment following the assembly of Dreamliner One. As you may remember, the first installment documented the journey all the 787 parts underwent to arrive in Everett for final assembly. Over the last seven weeks, managers, engineers and machinists alike at the Boeing Company have worked tirelessly at all hours, day and night, to assemble the world’s first composite commercial aircraft.

The video provides a unique glimpse into the assembly; highlighting the major milestones that will culminate in the roll out this coming Sunday in Everett. From its beginnings as Project Yellowstone, the 787 has come together with this blogger, and the world, watching attentively. Never has so much information been available to the general public about the assembly of a new aircraft.

Please enjoy the video below; leave your comments and know that none of this could be possible without the near superhuman efforts of the good people of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and the 787 program.

My hat is off to you all.

While all eyes were on Dreamliner One heading to the paint shop yesterday, LCF2 was busy working overtime.

N780BA, Large Cargo Freighter 2, returned to Charleston Tuesday from Italy (after a fuel stop in Scotland) with Section 44 and 46 in tow for the second flying test frame ZA002. After arriving in Charleston just before 5pm EDT on June 26, LCF2 turned around two hours later and departed on its way to Everett.

LCF2 arrived in Everett around 9:30 PDT June 26. The full scale static test rig will be assembled and put through its paces in Building 40-23, two bays down from the location of the 787 assembly line.

The modified 747 turned around and departed from Everett (this morning) at around 4am on June 27 for Japan. LCF2 should return to the Pacific Northwest by Thursday.

Boeing 632 Flight Plan
Everett (KPAE) to Nagoya (RJGG)

TOU TR13 SPONJ ORNAI 5200N 14000W 5400N 15000W 5500N 16000W CDB A342 OLCOT R580 OATIS OTR3 GOC W18 SWING

Update: LCF2 returned to Everett without the center fuselage for ZY9997 as previously reported. The center fuselage for the static test rig continues to be assembled in Charleston. On its way back from Japan, the 747 stopped in Everett for fuel and continued on to Charleston with Section 43 and 11/45 for ZA002 aboard, not the wings as previously thought.

Tip pays off for aviation enthusiasts
By Kevin Cotlove – KOMO TV

Permalink Here

EVERETT, Wash. — Photographer and aviation enthusiast Charles Conklin managed to get a few pictures of the first nearly-finished Boeing 787 as it rolled out of an assembly hangar early Tuesday morning.

Conklin said he got a tip that the plane would be rolling out sometime late Monday or early Tuesday, but the informant wasn’t sure exactly when it would happen.

He drove to the factory with his camera and telephoto lens so he could get shots from outside the Boeing property. For the first two hours he just sat and waited.

“I wasn’t sure whether the tip was going to pay off,” he said. “I basically gave myself a cutoff of midnight, and that’s when things finally started happening.”

The hangar doors opened and the 787 jet was rolled out and into a nearby paint hangar. The whole process took about 40 minutes, Conklin said.

Conklin, who is also a private pilot, said he’s always been interested in aviation but didn’t realize how popular the first photos of the nearly-complete 787 would be.

“I’m kind of surprised,” he said.

The photos have been picked up by several news organizations and many aviation web sites and blogs.

Conklin said his tipster was Jon Ostrower, who operates the Flightblogger web site.

Jon started the site in March and said he’s seen traffic to the blog grow steadily with his coverage of the 787.

He started receiving tips from Boeing employees about assembly and development of the aircraft, and said that he knew back in May an approximate date for the 787’s move to the paint hangar.

When he received tips with a more exact time he passed the info on to Conklin, who was a reader of his blog.

“I was amazed that anyone had actually used my tip,” he said. “(Conklin) just took it and ran with it.”

Ostrower says he has no connection to the Boeing Co. and works in Boston in an unrelated field.

He said he’s always been fascinated with planes and was amazed when Conklin’s photos showed up in his e-mail inbox on Tuesday.

“From an aviation enthusiast’s standpoint it really is extraordinary,” he said of the 787’s progress.

The Boeing employees who tipped him about the rollout weren’t trying to spoil anything, Ostrower said, but rather wanted the world to see what they’ve been up to and the hard work that has been put in to the new aircraft.

“They deserve all the credit in the world,” he said, adding that he hopes to be here to see the plane’s first flight in person.

The new jetliner is due to be delivered in May 2008, and is now sold out for delivery until 2013.

Boeing employees have been rushing to finish the jet in time for its formal rollout ceremony on July 8, 2007.

The 787 will be the first large commercial airliner built mostly from light, sturdy composite materials instead of aluminum, making the plane more fuel-efficient and less expensive to maintain.

Boeing has lined up a vast network of suppliers around the globe that are manufacturing large pieces of the 787, which are then flown on a superfreighter to the final assembly plant in Everett, north of Seattle, where the plane is essentially snapped together.

Last night around midnight pacific time, Dreamliner One, in all her glory, rolled out of building 40-26 in Everett, Washington for the first time on her way, and on schedule, to the paint shop. Charles Conklin, aviation hero of the week, was there to capture the moment with his Nikon D200.

From Charles:

Had you not had the details [at Flightblogger] I probably wouldn’t have gone up. By the way, I got up there around 10:15ish, saw what I thought might be it already headed over, turned out was a 777, then saw another unpainted in front of it, thought that was it, but just another 777. Then didn’t see any activity and figured it was already behind closed doors. After monkeying around figured, I’ll wait till midnight, sure enough back in my location someone else finally showed up who is an employee, said they were doing it right after the shift change, so right around midnight doors opened and the rest is history.

I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

12 days until roll out.

I’ve updated the 787 tails to include three new airlines: Royal Jordanian, S7 and Arik Air. In addition, I’ve added updated liveries for three airlines: Jet Airways, Hainan Airlines and Air India.

UPDATE
Airlines not currently included (but will be added):

Aeroflot
Flyglobespan
Thompson Fly

Before now, it was not specifically known what airlines would be the first to receive the 787 Dreamliner. It was clear that ANA would be the launch customer receiving the first production model (LN7) and the previous six would be used as test frames; eventually being refurbished and delivered to ANA, Northwest and another unknown airline.

Flightblogger has learned exactly which frames, including the two General Electric powered GENx 787s (LN 5 & 6) will go once fight testing has ended. In addition, this blogger has learned the destination of the second production model 787-8.

All Nippon Airways will be the recipients of LN1 and LN2, while Northwest Airlines will receive LN3 and LN4. Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco will take delivery of LN5 and LN6, the GENx test frames.

Dreamliner Eight, LN8, also known as ZA008 will be delivered to Air China in time for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

In addition Flightblogger has also learned that LN1 will wear N787BA and LN2 will wear registration N787EX during the test flight program. The destination of N787DL is still unknown.

The complete details are as follows:

LN1/ZA001:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
N787BA

LN2/ZA002:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
N787EX

LN3/ZA003:
Northwest Airlines
Rolls Royce Trent 1000

LN4/ZA004:
Northwest Airlines
Rolls Royce Trent 1000

LN5/ZA005:
Royal Air Maroc
General Electric GENx

LN6/ZA006:
Royal Air Maroc
General Electric GENx

LN7/ZA007:
All Nippon Airways
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
Production Unit 1

LN8/ZA008:
Air China
Rolls Royce Trent 1000
Production Unit 2

I have been hinting over the last several weeks about some exciting new multimedia features here at Flightblogger. Following in the footsteps of the delivery video and assembly animation, I’m pleased to roll out the following four images. Each is rendering of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight deck. This is another Flightblogger exclusive; detailed images of the 787’s Rockwell Collins displays are not available anywhere else in the world. The Dreamliner features five 12.1 in x 9 in display screens. All images are to scale and were created as accurately as possible using Boeing photos and the best aeronautical information available. The similarities and differences to the Boeing 777 flight deck interface are apparent. The Dreamliner flight deck represents a bold step forward in operational commonality and innovative avionics. Here’s your first look.

Rule #1 of strategic communication:
Create your own narrative.

The Day Before Paris

Boeing aims at late August or September for 787’s first flight
Tinseth says that 787-8 number one “will fly when it’s ready to fly”, and has about the scope of about a month to get airborne without disrupting the flight-test schedule.
Posted June 17

First Day of Paris

Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Goodrich to Make Aviation History
As the history-making Boeing 787 Dreamliner prepares to be unveiled in Everett, Wash., Goodrich Corporation is once again poised to play a role in the history of the industry. According to Goodrich’s Jack Carmola, Segment President, Actuation and Landing Systems, “Across the Goodrich enterprise we have a true sense of pride and accomplishment for the contributions we’ve made to the Dreamliner. We’re truly fortunate to be part of the industry at such an exciting time.
Posted 3:00am

Hamilton Sundstrand Nearing Completion of Delivery of Systems for Boeing 787 Dreamliner
“The Boeing 787 is absolutely vital to the future of our company and we are totally committed to supporting Boeing’s flight test program,” said Hamilton Sundstrand President, David P. Hess. “We have already delivered more than 97 percent of our hardware and nearing completion of all our delivery requirements.”
Posted 3:00am

GE Aviation’s System Deliveries Nearing Completion to Support 787’s First Flight
GE Aviation recently announced several delivery milestones for its Tier 1 support of the Common Core System, High Lift Actuation and Landing Gear System on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The work, which is expected to generate more than $3 billion over the life of the program, is scheduled to support the 787 first flight scheduled for third quarter 2007.
Posted 3:00am

Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy considering new plant to meet Boeing 787 demand
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd said it is in talks with Boeing Co to build a new parts plant in response to brisk demand for the aerospace giant’s next-generation 787 Dreamliner.
Posted 3:19am

And then this…

JP Morgan says Boeing 787 up to 4 months late
“We believe that the ‘power on’ to the aircraft was scheduled for April 21, but is now scheduled for August 15, and even that date is considered a bit of a stretch by some suppliers,” said JP Morgan analyst Joseph Nadol in a research note, citing unnamed suppliers on the 787 program.
Posted 8:38am