Tag: FlightBlogger Archive

Second of two parts detailing the 787 operations of Spirit AeroSystems–MORE PHOTOS

To hear Harold Leslie talk about the work ahead on 787, it becomes clear that his confidence in the ramp comes from the fact that tasks that would previously take days have been designed to take just hours on 787. On previous programs, it would take 2 to 2.5 days to hang the passenger doors. For the 787, the passenger doors, built by Latecoere, and the nose landing gear, supplied by Messier-Dowty, both can be installed in a single eight-hour shift. Once the floor grid is installed, significant work can be done concurrently, further cutting the integration time.

Another major time saving initiative about to be implemented by Spirit is the activation of a series of automated guided vehicles or AGVs. The AGV, as its name suggests, will transport completed barrels from the composite fabrication facility (CFF), where the barrels are wound, to the systems integration facility without a human operator.

Microchips currently being installed in the floor of the CFF will create a systematic predefined path between stations for the AGVs to follow. The barrels will, quite literally “take themselves” from station to station, cutting both time and manpower, says Leslie. The AGVs will enable daytime movement of each barrel without disrupting production.

The next major block point for Spirit will be at Airplane 34 with the incorporation of two major weight saving initiatives. The floor beams will transition to a hybrid titanium-sine wave design and a Pi-box shaped design for the seat tracks. These two changes, which will run the length of the fuselage, are expected to reduce the empty weight of 787 by more than 1000 lbs, according to the assessment found in Airbus’s 787 Lessons Learnt dossier.

After the Airplane 34 blockpoint change, the next major change incorporation point for the 787 will be on the 787-9 at Airplane 109, says Leslie. Spirit expects to be able to use a mostly common set of tooling, as the stretch of the fuselage will come entirely in the center fuselage in Sections 43 and 46, not the forward Section 41.

“Right now, that’s pretty big for us if we can keep the -8 and the -9 common,” says Buck Buchanan. “When I say keep it common, that doesn’t mean that the -9 has to look exactly like the -8 does today. But if we have to strengthen the 9 somewhere, if we can allow the 8 to carry the weight of the strengthening, we’d like to build one 41 section for the -8 and the -9. That has good cost benefits for the program. Every model we are that way, we did that on aluminum airplanes too. We really drive towards as much commonality as possible,” he adds.

Buchanan says he expects the major sizing of the 787-9 to firm up about a year from now, but adds that the -9 configuration could be driven by what Boeing learns in flight test on the 787-8.

Boeing added an additional 21 airplane -8 buffer into the production stream, versus the previous plan to build the -9 at Airplane 88, according to program sources. The 787-9 is now set to enter service at the end of 2013, the same year that Boeing is planning to meet its 10 ship set per month ramp up.

First of two parts detailing the 787 operations of Spirit AeroSystems – MORE PHOTOS

At Spirit AeroSystems Wichita, Kansas facility, 31 737 Next Generation aircraft speed out of the factory on railcars bound for Boeing’s final assembly line in Renton, WA. It’s a noisy atmosphere amid the industrial symphony of highly coordinated operations. A quick glance at a calendar suggests that the 31 per month rate means one narrowbody aircraft manufactured per day, but with just 21 manufacturing days in a month, Spirit produces almost 1.5 737 fuselages each day, up from a maximum rate of 21 per month achieved on the 737 classic.

At that rate, Boeing and Spirit churn out enough 737s per year to completely replace the fleets of Southwest Airlines and Ryanair, the two biggest 737 customers, in just 24 months.

Spirit has earned a great deal of experience in building effectively to a high rate of production, but each 737 that leaves Wichita represents only the structure of the aircraft. A few blocks south Spirit is undertaking its most ambitious project yet, fabrication and integration of the forward fuselage (Section 41) of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

Along with this 21-foot long section, Spirit is responsible for delivering the pylons and fixed leading and trailing edges of the 787’s composite wings.

To date, Boeing has taken delivery of 10 flying forward fuselages, plus two test barrels for the static and fatigue airframe, as well as another – designated ZY901 – that quietly made its way to Everett in November 2007 for additional testing. Of those 10 delivered, six are for the flight test program, four are production standard. Another sixteen barrels are in various stages of completion in Wichita.

Spirit’s formidable challenges are the meticulous creation of each composite barrel it fabricates while simultaneously managing its role as a Boeing top-tier supplier and handling its own supply chain that feeds the parts destined for integration inside each forward fuselage.

Right now, Spirit is operating at about 10% of its 2013 target of 10 787s per month. Spirit CEO Jeff Turner recently conceded that with Boeing pulling from its supply base about once a month it is not exactly a regular production flow for his company.

“What we really need to get productivity is a production drumbeat,” says Turner, speaking at a September investor conference.

The pace of that drumbeat will build quickly if Boeing and its partners are able to overcome the nearly crippling challenges of the last two years.

Turner says that it is costing his company between $10-15 million per month to keep the 787 running at this low rate as it prepares to begin ramping up in 2010. So far, the company has wound 26 barrels, the most recent one to avoid passing the expiration date of the composite tape it has in storage.

Spirit, Turner says, has the floor space to meet 10 a month on 787, and now with the company’s new dual-headed automated fiber placement machine, Spirit can wind at least seven barrels per month as the rate rises.

As the company works toward managing the ramp up, there are two supply chains to Spirit. The first is directly managed by Spirit, and the second, known as Partner Managed Inventory (PMI), is managed by Boeing has been a source of trouble. Spirit’s interaction with PMI suppliers is limited to dictating the need and timing of deliveries.

Heading into 2010, Boeing is expects to begin ramping its 787 production rate in preparation for first delivery, now targeted for the end of next year. As the rate increases, each partner will have to improve productivity, delivering the same level of completion at an ever increasing pace.

“Right now,” says Turner. “We have all kinds of plans, all kinds of ideas of what we can do to improve productivity…I like to say it is like a snow skier. You can have all kinds of plans for going down the hill, but until you are moving, you can’t execute them and you can’t change course and those sorts of things.

“As soon as we get this production line moving, a lot of the plans we have today will come true. Some of them we’ll say, well, that that isn’t going to work and new ones are going to emerge. And that is what we really need on the program is some momentum so that we can make the improvements. We have tons of ideas.”

Boeing handed over the keys of the first of at least 30 brand new 777 Freighters to FedEx yesterday. The delivery marks the first long range twin in the company’s fleet. Guy Norris made an interesting point about the what the 777F will provide to FedEx for the first time:

Secondly, the 777F – which is based on the 777-200LR, is FedEx’s first ETOPS-qualified aircraft. Although the company has been a loyal A300/A310 operator for years, its true long-haul overseas operations have been conducted using DC-10-30, MD-10 and MD-11 trijets. Now finally, FedEx enters the 21st century with a long haul twin.

As outside observers, we never get to see the mountain of paperwork that goes along with such a hefty purchase. Each 777F (at list prices) is valued at $252.5 to $260.5 million. However, the FedEx 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is public record, details the 161 options that the company selected for its 777F. The prices for each option are redacted, but the eight pages are a treasure trove of interesting items.

For example, the one that jumped out for me was the line item for an Enhanced Vision System, which if installed, would be a first for a 777 operator. I created a PDF document with just the list of options to make the 10Q easier to read. Enjoy!

  Photo Credit Boeing

Boeing has announced it has begun modifying two 787 Dreamliners as it pushes toward meeting its goal of flying by the end of 2009.

The company’s first 787 to fly, ZA001, along with the static test airframe, ZY997, are currently undergoing modification to return full static strength to the upper stringers of the structure that joins the wing to the side of body of the aircraft.

Boeing says the entire process of preparation, installation and restoration will take about three months, with program sources indicating that the installation itself will take roughly 30 days to complete.

After the installation is complete, Boeing will have to restore ZA001 to flying condition which includes a thorough aqueous wash to remove any debris accumulated during the work inside the fuel tanks.

Boeing says that to gain access to the area being modified, some systems and access doors were removed and will have to be reinstalled.

Following the completion of the installation, Boeing will first analyze the fix on ZY997 through a series of static tests that will validate the design, ultimately clearing ZA001 for flight.

After being in the shop for three months, ZA001 will go through a “warm up” process by repeating some gauntlet testing and taxi testing to prepare the 787 for it’s maiden flight, says Boeing.

The company announced June 23rd
that it had discovered that the upper stringers of the wing to body
join were not strong enough to meet FAA certification requirements for
static strength, curtailing plans to fly by the close of the second quarters.

In a strange cosmic coincidence, 747-8 (RC501) and 787 (ZA001) could fly on the same day, or at least Boeing is thinking they may:

Boeing ready to handle simultaneous first flights of 787 and 747-8
By Brendan Sobie

Boeing has decoupled the flight test programmes for the 787 and 747-8, allowing the two new aircraft to potentially take to the skies for the first time simultaneously.

The 787 and 747-8 are both now scheduled to have first flight during
the fourth quarter, most likely the second half of November or first
half of December. To avoid having to slow down one flight test
programme to keep another on schedule, Boeing has taken the
unprecedented step of entirely separating the two flight test
programmes and allocating each with a dedicated set of equipment and
resources.

Every sign on the 787 front continues to point to a late November first flight target. I’m not necessarily saying that University of Washington and Washington State football fans will have to split their attention, but it may be darn close.

Progress on RC501 has been accelerating as well, with low and high pressure blow tests being conducted earlier this week. The next tests will be to test the flap cable and perform ground vibration tests and prep for the factory gauntlet is also underway. Boeing says that RC501 should go to the flight line in 3-4 weeks.

Programming Note: I’ve been laid up with the flu for the the three days and I’m finally feeling like a human being again. I’ve been working on a big blog feature on my visit to Spirit two weeks ago in Wichita. My goal is to have it up today. Stay tuned.

As you may know, I was down in Brazil last week visiting Embraer’s Sao Jose dos Campos and Gaviao Peixoto facilities. We had a chance to see the company’s commercial jet production and the rapidly advancing Phenom 100 line. Embraer hopes to deliver 110 Phenoms this year and it looks like they are well on their way doing just that. We were only allowed to photograph selected portions of the assembly operations, but I hope that it gives you a glimpse into the goings on at two of the company’s biggest facilities.
 

At the bottom of Page 82 of Airbus’ Global Market Forecast are three interesting concepts for the European airframer’s next generation narrowbody concept. The A30X is now not expected for another 15 years, but the concepts provide an interesting glimpse into the potential for non-conventional concepts that could define the replacement of the A320 family. Rear mounted engines seem to be in the imagination of the company’s engineers, with options for both ducted and unducted configuration, as well as a Sonic Cruiser style model, presumably for long range operations.

Radically pushing the envelope of new aircraft configurations will invariable run into interesting challenges for airline operations and airport layouts. This, of course, will be an interesting one to watch.

Hat tip to Keesje for the spot

Have you been busting your tail to become a top notch engineer? Boeing IDS and Flight International have teamed up to sponsor the 2009 Engineering Student of the Year award.

The key criterion for this award is the impact, or potential for
impact, of the candidate’s work on current or future aeronautical or
space technology. This impact might be seen in:- new or enhanced
systems, processes or tools; new levels of performance; improved life
cycle costs; new capabilities; or other areas. The award is open to any
full- or part-time engineering student in a program leading to a
recognized academic degree such as B.S., M.S. or Ph.D.

The deadline for entries is September 25 (next Friday) and students can enter themselves, or a professor may nominate on behalf of a student. Make sure to check out all of the details.

The winner will be guests of Boeing at the Dubai Air Show, which is scheduled for November 15-19. The award will be presented on the 14th of November. I’ll see you there!

Boeing is set to begin installation of the side-of-body fix on ZA001 next week to return full static strength to the wing of the first 787, according to program sources.

Boeing declined to confirm the timing of the installation.

ZA001, Boeing’s first 787 Dreamliner, has been in preparation for the installation inside Paint Hangar 45-04 since late July when the aircraft was taken off the flight line following low speed taxi tests completed earlier that month.

Based on previous estimates by Boeing that the total preparation and modification for each 787 will run about three months, ZA001 should emerge from the paint hangar in early October.

The static test airframe, ZY997, is expected to undergo installation concurrently as ZA001 is being modified, said Boeing in a late August program update. Following installation, ZY997 will be used for full scale validation of the side of body fix, clearing the way for 787’s long-delayed maiden flight.

However, sources familiar with the installation process say that the fix itself will likely take about 30 days to complete, pushing the public debut of the modified ZA001 closer to the middle or later part of October.

Boeing’s latest forecast targets 787 first flight by the close of 2009, with first delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010 to Japan’s All Nippon Airways. This page previously reported that first flight was targeted for late November or early December, an assessment that remains in place today, according to those familiar with first flight planning.

The installation is expected to be especially challenging based on the difficult to access location inside the aircraft’s wing boxes and center wing box.

Boeing halted preparations for the 787’s maiden flight June 23rd after it was discovered that the upper stringers of the wing to body join were not strong enough to meet FAA certification requirements for static strength.

Inside the factory, Boeing has taken delivery of the last two structural sections for the 10th flying 787, ZA104. The fully stuffed forward fuselage, which arrived Tuesday evening from Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, was the first pre-painted fuselage section shipped to Everett.

Later this afternoon, Boeing will complete a line move that will clear the way for ZA104 to be loaded into the final body join position at the back of Building 40-26, the 787 final assembly line.

The view from Gaviao Peixoto, originally uploaded by flightblogger.

Taken from the control tower at Gaviao Peixoto airport near the town of Araraquara. GPX has the longest runway in the southern hemisphere
and is the South American alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle
if need be. In addition, it hosts Embraer’s flight test operations, as
well as final assembly of both the Phenom 100 and 300.