ATW Daily News

On tour with the 787: Dreamliner is on schedule

Friday June 16, 2006

Boeing denied reports that its 787 program schedule has been affected by a fault in a composite fuselage barrel section.According to Mike Bair, VP and GM-787 program, the fault had been expected owing to a problem with a particular mandrel that developed a flaw. "We knew there was a problem with the mandrel, which we tried to fix but we should have scrapped it," he said.

Speaking to ATWOnline at the start of a global media tour to inspect the 787's major assembly sites in the US, Italy and Japan, Bair reiterated that the program is on time. Citing continued strong interest in the aircraft, he said a decision on an increase in the production rate will be made later this month. That decision will be influenced by Emirates' expected announcement to launch the 787-10 at Farnborough next month.

In Nagoya, Fiji Heavy Industries unveiled the first composite lower panel for the Dreamliner's center wing box (Section 11). FHI is responsible for both Section 11 and integration of the main landing gear wheel well (Section 46) with Section 11. The CWB is fabricated at FHI's West Handa Plant and built up and integrated with Section 46 at the Handa Plant.

According to Yasuhiro Toi, 787 program manager for FHI, the project is on time. The first production panel was completed on June 12 and the first production integrated Section 11/46 will be shipped in early 2007. Boeing VP-787 Airplane Production Scott Strode told media during the world tour that the first production panel "was a great milestone for the 787 program."

by Geoffrey Thomas

Other headlines: