With just over twenty-four hours to go before the contracts of 26,800 machinists expire, Boeing’s beleaguered 787 is quickly running out of margin to achieve its first flight in the fourth quarter with a fresh slip in assembly completion.
According to several sources inside the 787 program and others familiar with the schedule, assembly completion of Dreamliner One is now tentatively targeted for early October, a slip of about five weeks.
Assembly completion was initially set for August 31, just four days prior to the expiration of the IAM’s three-year contract.
The change in the internal schedule is separate from the looming spectre of a potential strike.
Boeing spokesperson Yvonne Leach reaffirmed that 787 is “on track for first flight for the fourth quarter of this year.”
According to another source familiar with the schedule change, the remaining work centers largely on the installation of flight test instrumentation and cabin equipment.
The slip was necessitated by the production of long lead-time parts resulting from design changes, as well as small, but time-consuming, issues arising from systems integration.
When Boeing announced its recovery plan for the 787 program in April, the first flight of ZA001 was slated for late October. A five-week schedule slip would push first flight to early-to-mid December.
Yet anecdotally from suppliers, indications exist that first flight could slip to the early part of 2009, though these are currently unconfirmed.
787 Program Vice President and General Manager, Pat Shanahan, said in July at the Farnborough air show that he was “eating margin” built into the schedule to provide a buffer between first flight and the close of the year.
Shanahan also said at the time first flight was set for November.
A December first flight would still meet Boeing’s projected fourth quarter target for ZA001. Though the change in the schedule underscores just how tight the 787 schedule currently is, even before any impact of a potential IAM strike.
Yet with the slip, the 787 program is not without progress. Dreamliner One recently had all its movable control surfaces reinstalled and landing gear swing tests were successfully initiated.
In addition, section 43, the Kawasaki-built forward barrel of the center fuselage, was declared shop complete.
Even with the remaining work left to complete assembly of Dreamliner One, aircraft is set to move out of the factory to a slant position in Building 40-24 later this month, once the fatigue airframe is moved to the test rig.
The vacancy created by ZA001 leaving Building 40-26 allows Dreamliners Two, Three and Four to advance on the line, making way for assembly of Dreamliner Five, the first GEnx powered 787. The first four 787s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.