[skeptoid]

"....Composites are not cheap, either."

They ARE cheaper than anything else, because the fuselage sections and the wing box and the wing structures are composite. The fuselage is laid up on a rotating mandrel and then cured in a huge oven (AUTOCLAVE) and emerging in ONE PIECE. This saves about a gazillion parts (and associated rivets) and therefore LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of LABOR.

I agree; composites are not 'CHEAP', but they are RELATIVELY cheap.

And they are proven.

Boeing and Airbus have been using composites for years. Notably, in Boeing-built military aircraft and control surfaces in transport ships. The BIG DEAL now is the fuselage, because it is a 'pressure vessel'.

And I'm crossing my fingers with everyone else that this works.

See this Mulally report from Farnborough for more inspiring news.

[phantomworker]

I agree composites are "relatively" cheap.

The fuselage development is on schedule.

[The Red Zone]

The fuselage is laid up on a rotating mandrel and then cured in a huge oven (AUTOCLAVE) and emerging in ONE PIECE. This saves about a gazillion parts (and associated rivets) and therefore LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of LABOR.

Till the giant part gets dinged by a food truck, then what? They can't just replace a panel or a bracket or whatever.