Ever wonder what happens to the scrap carbon fiber cutouts that results from the production of 787 fuselage sections? Spirit Aerosystems cuts out 18 window panels from each 787 section 41 it produces for Boeing. That is 180 carbon fiber "windows" that are discarded each month.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Kurchina
Photo Courtesy of Michael Kurchina
This is where Rouge pilot (the LCC division of Air Canada) Michael Kurchina steps in. After arranging a visit to Spirits' 787 production facilities in Wichita, KS, Michael was granted permission to take a couple of the carbon fiber window cutouts during his visit.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Kurchina
Michael was also given permission to take the flight deck window cut outs of Air Canada's first 787-8.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Kurchina
This is where Michael turned a hobby into a 2nd career. He got permission from Boeing, Spirit and Air Canada to receive the carbon fiber window cut outs from the 787s that are destined only for Air Canada on a regular basis which are turned into personalized and polished display plaques. He produced a few for the Future of Flight as well as for pilots and executives at Air Canada including CEO Calin Rovinescu.
Michael receives regular shipments of the window cutouts from Spirit from the section 41 of Air Canada's Dreamliners via Fed Ex. The section 41 has 18 window cutouts (9 on each side) thus he has the potential of receiving almost 1000 cutouts coming from Air Canada's 787 order (including if the carrier exercises its options).
When he receives them with a large cut out grove in the middle (from the diamond or carbide cutting tool) which he fills, coast with polyurethane and sands down. Michael actually codes each panel with the line number, registration, fin number, serial number, variable number and the position on the actual aircraft that the cut out came from.
Photo courtesy of Michael Kurchina
Michael then produces the graphics which includes the aforementioned details on the graphics which is done on Fuji Metallic by Fotobox which is cut out and then laminated. Michael cuts them out by hand.
Photo courtesy of Michael Kurchina
The cutouts are then mounted in a specially constructed jig. Michael enlisted the help of Adam Mills who then sprays the window panels with automotive clear coat for protection. After it's dried the clear coat is sanded with three different grits of sandpaper (1000 dry, 1500 wet, and 3000 wet), two levels of polish and finally a rubber edge is then put on around the perimeter of the window cut out.
Michael can be reached at aviatorwindows@gmail.com with regards to interest in his window plaques. As far as getting the cut outs from 787s other than those going to Air Canada, Michael says he would need permission from Boeing, Spirit (section 41 supplier) and the 787 customer. For now he's not planning for that but it may change if he adds staff and he sees a demand for these unique window plaques.
Here are some videos of how these window plaques are made:
Boeing was dealt a body blow on Saturday when tornadoes ripped through Wichita and severely damaged Boeing's BDS plants as well as the plants for Spirit AeroSystems 737 and 787 operations.
Thankfully there weren't any injuries or fatalities but production of 737 and the forward fuselage of the 787 may be severely impacted due to the power outage and damage caused by the storm.
Right now Spirit is telling employees not to report for work through Tuesday as they are still conducting damage assessments. Spirit is just one of a handful of Boeing 787 suppliers that have had very little issues with producing their work share of the 787. This could set Boeing back though if it does and by how much is still uncertain though Spirit is saying most of their capabilities are still intact. I don't know what they mean by capabilities.
From the photos that Spirit had posted on Flickr, the damage at least externally, looks to be pretty severe. I will try to follow this and report what impact, if any, these tornadoes have on 787 production.
Flightblogger broke news this morning that Boeing has initiated a 3 week halt to part deliveries into Everett. The halt started a week ago when LN 31 (ZA117) did not load into the final assembly tool on Dec. 1st as expected. According to my sources, this airplane is now expected to start final assembly on Dec. 23rd...about two and a half weeks from now. Parts for this airplane have arrived though Boeing is halting parts so that they can minimize "adverse effects" to the final assembly line. It's unknown what the adverse effects may be.
This news comes on top of Spirit Aerosystems announcing that they were temporarily halting production of the 787 forward fuselage sections and reassigning those workers to help with 737 overtime production. Spirit currently has 50 forward fuselage sections either delivered or in the production process in Wichita. It is probably unrelated to the current production halt as Boeing is telling it's suppliers to continue their production and delivery schedules. Flightblogger reported that the main fuselage section for ZA117 has not arrived into Everett leading me to believe that Boeing Charleston might be the source of the current production delay.
This is the 4th production halt this year as Boeing is still attempting to ramp up production of the 787. This only adds to the problems the program is facing in the midst of the power panel fire on ZA002 and the subsequent need to initiate re-design of hardware and software in the 787. It is still unknown when the 787 will return to test flight though I think it'll happen between the first and second week of January.
Boy I did pick a helluva day to come back and start posting.
First to start the day Boeing decided to buy out Alenia North America's share of Global Aeronautica thereby bringing the entire North Charleston facility into Boeing complete control. It is important to note that Alenia, the Japanese heavies, and Spirit still have responsibility in manufacturing their respective segments but the integration of section manufactured in Italy and Japan will be wholly done by Boeing. Here's Boeing's Press Release:
Boeing Acquires Alenia North America's Interest in Global Aeronautica
SEATTLE, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) said today it has acquired Alenia North America's half of Global Aeronautica, LLC, a South Carolina fuselage subassembly facility for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, and is now the sole owner of that entity. Alenia North America is a subsidiary of Italy's Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company.
Operationally, Boeing will integrate the Global Aeronautica facility with the rest of Boeing's organization in North Charleston, S.C.
"The Boeing Charleston site is critical to the success of the 787 program," said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Through this acquisition, Boeing benefits by joining together two solid operations - including their talented employees and state-of-the-art facilities - into one Boeing team. Ultimately, we believe integration of the site will increase productivity for the 787 program and allow us to maintain our long-term competitiveness."
"We are proud of the major contribution we have made over the past four years through our partnership in Global Aeronautica to the 787 program and to the state of South Carolina," said Giuseppe Giordo, president and CEO of Alenia North America. "We are confident that the foundation we have developed will continue to flourish as it is integrated into Boeing Charleston." The acquisition was effected through a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing; other terms were not disclosed.
"We look forward to integrating the employees of both operations into one team in North Charleston, along with continuing our partnership with Alenia on the 787 program," said Albaugh.
Global Aeronautica, LLC, began in 2004 when Alenia North America and Vought Aircraft Industries formed a 50/50 joint venture in support of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In 2008, Boeing purchased Vought's interest in Global Aeronautica, making the company a 50/50 joint venture between Alenia North America and Boeing.
Global Aeronautica's integration entails the joining of the mid-fuselage sections, the installation and testing of associated elements, and the application of surface finishes to more than 60 percent of the 787's fuselage. Global Aeronautica sits adjacent to the Boeing Charleston site and shares a 240-acre (97-hectare) campus.
So does this come as a surprise? Frankly no in my opinion. The Global Aeronautica production was key to getting the supply chain up and running smoothly. There are still issues with travelled work coming form Global Aeronautica so if Boeing hopes to ramp up to 10 or more per month then they have to fix the issues at GA.
Now the other big story is that ZA002 the second 787 made its first flight today as I had posted earlier, this airplane was expected to make it's first flight prior to Christmas and it has. This flight was cut short (it was in the air for about 2 hours) due to issues with the main landing gear doors, the nose gear and one of the two T-33 chase planes having run low of fuel.
Here's Boeing's statement of Dreamliner 2 taking to the air:
Second Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First Flight
EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, completed its first flight today. The all-new airplane, which features the livery of the Dreamliner's launch customer, ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan, took off from Paine Field in Everett, completed a two-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle.
"We are delighted that the second Dreamliner is in the livery of our launch customer, ANA," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are honored by the airline's support and look forward to delivering ANA the first production airplane next year."
Captain Randy Neville was at the controls for the flight, with Chief Pilot Mike Carriker operating as co-pilot. Neville and Carriker took the airplane to an altitude of 13,000 feet (3,962 m) and an airspeed of 200 knots, or about 230 miles (370 km) per hour. The airplane took off at 9:09 a.m. PST and landed at 11:10 a.m. PST.
This is the second of six 787s being used in the airplane's flight-test program. Each of the airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on systems performance. Like its predecessor, ZA001, the airplane is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
"We would like to convey our sincere congratulations to the Boeing team for its achievement of this milestone, and we look forward to the delivery into our fleet next year," said Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA.
Boeing Press Release makes no mention of any in flight anomalies
Dominic Gates of the Seattle Times reports the gear door problem as well as issues with the nose gears that were eventually resolved. Dreamliner 2 apparently landed with the landing gear doors down instead of the up or stowed position. Here's Dominic's story:
Flightblogger also weighed in with information on the Dreamliner 2's first flight and gave some clarity to the situation but all in all the issues that this airplane faced are minor and will be corrected and tested before the airplane goes up again.
Well the title sums it all up. I even heard a date of Dec. 12th though I really think that date is not realistic. One pattern is emerging: the date is going to be between Dec. 14th and Dec. 22nd and Boeing is marching towards that date.
Flightblogger reported that Boeing performed software checks as well as testing the thrust reversers. The final gauntlet testing is still schedule for next week and ZA002 is inside going through some final reassembly activities as well as getting it's fuel tanks washed out.
Also Matt Cawby reported on his blog that Boeing conducted VHF radio checks on the same frequency that was used for the taxi tests. The nose section for LN14 (Dreamliner 14) was delivered today on the LCF from Spirit Aerosystems.
Well after a few weeks without any news of the 787's journey to first flight, Guy Norris at AWST put a posting this evening saying that Boeing is targeting a first flight for late December. Work is still not yet done on ZA001 and there is the validation work yet to be done on ZY997 which is the static test air frame. According to Guy, Boeing hope to get renewed gauntlet testing underway on ZA001 around Thanksgiving time in late November.
Assuming that the FAA and Boeing are in agreement on the fix and pre-flight gauntlet testing goes well, Boeing would be looking at first flight around Christmas time. Stay Tuned!
Late December First Flight Targeted for 787 Also Flightblogger has a great posting on Spirit and its delivery of the nose section of the 787. In his post, Flightblogger is reporting that Spirit will deliver 10 787 sections this year and will restart production of the fuselage barrels later this quarter to prepare for the ramp up to full production.
Flightblogger posted the second part of his report on his trip to Spirit Aerosystems. Here he details Boeing's (and Spirit's) plans for further weight reductions as well as initiatives that Spirit is undertaking in their facility to cut down on time and manpower including the use of AGV (automated guided vehicles) that take fuselage barrels from one facility to another.
Flightblogger also said that there will be a major weight saving measure that would be implemented with LN 34 and the 787-9 will be LN 109. The interesting thing is that the forward fuselage (section 41) for the -9 should be the same as that being built for the -8 version with most of the strengthening and stretching being done on the other sections of the 787.
Flightblogger took a trip earlier this month to Wichita, KS and met with Spirit Aerosystems execs. What he posted is quite an eye opening insight into the 787 program. In his posting he outlines the progress that Spirit, the best performing 787 partner thus far, has made on building the 787 forward fuselage section along with a few other parts for the aircraft. Flightblogger also reviews the challenges that await Spirit and the other partners as Boeing looks to ramp up production of the 787 over the next 4 years.
One item of great interest is Flightblogger's report on the fuselage section for LN 13, the thirteenth flying 787. With this aircraft Boeing is hope to achieve stability in the production of the 787 across the supply chain. It also incorporate some design changes with the aim of achieving weight savings in the 787. The changes that are being implemented with this airplane is known in the program as NC (Net Change) 5. Ultimately the net effect of implementing NC 5 is to reduce travelled work, stabilize the production and help with weight reduction. There will be further design changes that would have to be incorporated in the supply chain but for now Boeing is on its way of stabilizing the production but there will more changes resulting from flight testing.
Flightblogger sent out a few Tweets this afternoon about Spirit's prodcution of the 787 forward fuselage sections. Spirit will deliver 10 - 12 787 section 41s this year (2009) to Boeing (they've delivered 3 thus far this year).
They say that they are capable of making 7/month right now but they'll be doing 2/month for the 2nd half of 2009 and for 2010 or until Boeing give them a go for increasing beyond the 2/month rate. The last section they'll deliver this year will be for LN17.
So that automatically says that Boeing expects to produce 2 787s per month until the end of 2010 it seems though if they could up that rate before the end of 2010 I'm sure they'll do that. To me that doesn't sound very promising for their earnings in 2010.
Spirit does plan to up production to 7/month later on but didn't give a time frame as to when that will happen. Boeing has said that it expects to hit 10/month production rate sometime in 2012.
About a week and a half ago a Boeing 747 LCF made a routine delivery flight from Nagoya, Japan to Charleston, SC stopping in Anchorage, Alaska to refuel. Now typically these delivery flight are routine and usually not the subject of a blog entry but with the IAM strike going on at Boeing, it does underscore a couple of things about the what is happening with Boeing’s production model and it’s relationship with outside contractors and its labor unions.
First let’s look at the 787 as of late last week. Jon Ostrower, reported in his blog that ZA001 had its nose cone attached and that the airplane is sitting on its wheels which means that the landing gear swing tests seem to have been completed. Jon also says that he saw flight test equipment on the airplane. Right now the impediment to Boeing getting the plane out the door (other than the strike) is getting the remaining flight test and cabin equipment installed on board as well as knock on effects from some small systems integration issues. Schedule margin is tight without the strike as it is and Jon and Scott Hamilton reported that first flight would be delayed as much as 5 weeks (into mid December at the latest) before any strike effects.
Adding to the pressure of the 787 program is a report by Geoffrey Thomas saying that the production problems on the 787 are hurting new sales of the airplane. Apparently, delivery slots are not available until 2020 which means that the impact of the production problems have effectively pushed out the earliest delivery slots by about 2 to 3 years unless Boeing can manage an orderly increase of 787 output to about 14/month.
Now because there is strike on doesn’t mean that work on the 787 has come to a grinding halt as evidenced by the LCF flights this week. The tier 1 contractors like Global Aeronautica, Vought and Mitsubishi will continue to produce their respective work packages for as long as they possibly can (without shipping further sections and wings to Everett). Depending on when the strike ends, this work during the strike period will eliminate traveled work going to Everett. Boeing can restart production on LN 5 when those parts arrive with no traveled work to be done thus utilizing the 787 production line in a manner it was intended. This can only help in increasing the production rate of the 787 in the near term. So while the strike is on going at Boeing that hasn’t completely bought the 787 production to a grinding halt and may in fact help the production system recover fully by the time the strike ends. One note to all this is that some Boeing’s 787 suppliers are starting to cut back on production, namely Spirit has said they are cutting back on production on some of the products they supply to Boeing without citing any specific Boeing programs. At the end of the day there will be progress in the suppliers’ efforts to clean up the production mess and get their end of the business back on track because of the strike. If Boeing can get its end in order then the production model for the 787 can be a big success. Read an AP report here.
That all said the question that should be asked (and so far has not) is the IAM being very short sighted in its on the issue of outsourcing. James Bell Boeing’s CFO said at a conference yesterday: The union, he said, "would like all of the work to be done in the Puget Sound area and that's not realistic." Boeing, he explained, would like "complete flexibility" to outsource work to suppliers; "We have to figure out what's the right balance." There is nothing that could stop Boeing from selling its Renton and Everett plants to an investor thus turning Boeing into a pure systems integrator and having Renton and Everett bid on work packages much like other firms did when they went shopping for suppliers for the 787. We’ve already seen that happen with Boeing Wichita when those operations were sold to Onex Corp. and was renamed Spirit Aerosystems. Is something like that going to happen, probably no but it is plausible. It is one thing for the IAM to fight for better wages and health care benefits for their membership and their retirees but it is another thing to try and dictate to Boeing management what can be built where in a world of tight margins and intense price competition from Airbus. To see how much things have changed Spirit is going to be building fuselage panels for the A350 for Airbus. Clearly outsourcing is not just an American phenomenon but a global one and Boeing competes on a global stage.
Pat Shanahan gave a 787 update this morning in the UK though short on details (as opposed to the one in April) it still suggests that they are on track for first flight late this year. Power on was successfully completed with a few minor glitches that were quickly resolved. Boeing is finalizing the shipping date of the two remaining sections for LN 4 later this week. My guess is that they will be in Everett by the end of next week but we’ll see.
Boeing is planning to activate LN 1’s hydraulic system next week, otherwise known as “oil” on (as opposed to power on). This will allow Boeing to raise and lower the landing gear in the hanger before first flight (you don’t want to test something like that on first flight in case something goes wrong). It will also allow Boeing to test all the movable flight surfaces (flaps, slats, elevator, rudder and speed brakes). As reported on this web site earlier, Boeing was planning to move the fatigue air frame from 40-24 to the fatigue test area and move LN 1 from 40-26 to 40-24. The later move is probably in doubt due to hydraulic on next week and the need to test some of the mechanical systems. I think the move of LN 1 probably won’t occur until 1st to 2nd week of August
Regarding LN 4 – the damage to the main fuselage caused a disruption in the schedule and the certification process maybe impacted though Boeing says they do have some schedule margin to absorb the disruption in the schedule.
Speaking of margin, Shanahan said that small glitches in the production schedule is eating up some of the margin. I’m presuming that he’s talking about LN 4 and that may be a cause for concern further down with certification testing. Everett is now the bottleneck for continuing production. The suppliers are no longer the issue and they have greatly improved on reducing traveled work. Look for no traveled work starting with LN 8, by then Global Aeronautica should be shipping 100% complete sections, Spirit is already shipping 100% complete sections with LN 4 and Vought will ship 100% complete rear fuselage sections starting with LN 5.
One issue with regards to the road to first flight is the traceability of the brake control software to meeting certification requirement which is being characterized as a minor issue and that a fix is being implemented. Crane Co. is responsible for that part of the Dreamliner.
Right now Boeing is saying that APU and engine testing is due to start next month, followed by gauntlet testing (a series of tests that trick the airplane’s computer into thinking that it’s in flight and see how the systems react to normal flight procedures as well as in flight anomalies). This will be followed by taxi and brake tests and then first flight. Shanahan is saying first flight should take place around November but I personally think it’ll be October if there are no major issues.
So far Boeing has completed 98% of safety of hardware testing, 96% of hardware is qualified for first flight (will be 100% by 2nd week of August) and 95% of hardware is ready for first flight. Despite this progress there is still some part shortages with LN 1 though these are minor. There is still some work to do in the mid fuselage and the wing of LN 1 and they need some tubing to complete the fuel system on the airplane as well. Also they need to complete airplane 2 before airplane 1 can fly as airplane 2 will be used for ground verification tests. Finishing up work in the mid fuselage of LN 2 also has eaten into some of the margin.
In terms of future variants, Boeing is planning to finish trade studies for the 787-9 by the end of the year and have a firm configuration for the 787-9 by the 2nd quarter of 2009 and entry into service by early 2012. They also said that the 787-3 will benefit from the experience gained on the 787-8 and 787-9 thus indicating that they are still going to go ahead with that variant though the time table is still up in the air.
On the static test aircraft frame, testing is due to start soon with three main tests to be done soon: pressurization testing, leading/trailing edge testing, and vibration testing.
Until the next update…have fun and keep your head in the clouds!
The Seattle Time and Flightblogger visited Spirit Aerosystems yesterday and provided some great information and pictures on the production of the 787 forward fuselage.
In the last few days Boeing and it's partners have been providing the media with great access to the other partner sites in the US, specifically North Charleston where Vought builds section 47/48 (the rear fuselage) and Global Aeronautica (Boeing-Alenia venture) assembles the main fuselage; and Wichita where Spirit Aerostructures builds section 41 (forward fuselage).
Here Boeing and its partners are eager to show the progress at overcoming the production issues that have hobbled the 787 program..
Now compare that to the picture of the flight deck of Dreamliner 4 which Jon has taken today and posted on his blog site. Section 41 for LN 4 is virtually 100% complete according to Jon and will be shipping to Everett on June 19th. This is also the same day that ZY998 the fatigue test frame is pulled out of building 40-26 at Everett and placed into 40-24 (767 line). Jon also said they Spirit is already building the section for LN 22.
This means no traveled work (or very small bits and pieces of traveled work at the most) for section 41. Now what about the other sections. Well it's expected that Global Aeronautica will be shipping 100% complete main fuselage sections starting with LN 8. I think this won't happen until September of this year. Vought, who had been the source of frustration for many at Boeing actually has com along extremely well and is expected to start shipping complete rear fusealge sections with LN 5 (the first GEnx powered 787). That probably won't happen until sometime next month. Reduction of all this traveled work is going to go a long way of validating Boeing 787 construction approach and will set them up to raise production rates. The wings are also arriving in substantially better condition though it not known how much traveled work come with them.
So starting with LN 8, it is possible that almost all if not 100% of traveled work can be eliminated.
When that happens is anyones guess though it is possible that as time goes on and there is more and more confidence in the supply chain Boeing can up the production rate in order to catch up deliveries as much as possible.
Soon after the 19th Boeing will start final assembly of LN 4 after LN 2 and LN 3 are moved down the line. Wants important at this stage is that workers currently working on LN 3 won't move with it but will stay at the first position to work on LN 4. This means that the final assembly line will start doing what it was designed to do.
Posts
