Good Photo Gallery
Posted on 05/16/2007 10:00:43 PM PDT by skeptoid
Systems not installed.
Workmanship issues with the horizontal stabilizer.
Temporary fasteners that will have to be replaced.
That's only some of what 787 workers at The Boeing Co.'s Everett plant face as the mad dash begins to get the first Dreamliner assembled and out the factory door by July 8.
Judging by what one source described -- and has personally seen -- it's a good thing Boeing is prepared for the extra work that it will take to get that first plane finished on time.
Boeing executives have stressed that the company has contingency plans to deal with any number of issues related to 787 production, manufacturing and final assembly in order to keep the program on schedule.
"The joke around here is that they will beat us if they have to, but that first plane is going to be finished on time," one Boeing mechanic at the plant said Wednesday after the last of the large 787 structures was delivered by the Large Cargo Freighter called the Dreamlifter.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
Good Photo Gallery
Are those 'proud' rivets on the humpback?
That link goes to this thread.
Coordinated chaos. So what’s new? I was on the assemblyline of the first DC-9’s back in ‘66. If anything could go wrong, it did. The things took off, flew, and still are.
this whole article gets filed under “duh!”
Back in 66 I'll bet all the components that were manufactured far away were truckable and 'conventional', i.e. same type of part as before, different specs.
These are huge assemblies from Japan, Italy, South Carolina and Kansas that have got to fit some pretty close tolerances and you can't modify, bend, hammer them into shape. Same kind of chaos, but the goal is to get the assembly process down to THREE DAYS.
That's what holds my interest. This has never been done before.
Granted back in ‘66 we made the airframe from scratch in Long beach.
Perhaps it’s a first for a project of this magnitude, but Boeing is a well established company that has established a reputation for innovation and success. I doubt this is anything but very exciting for those involved.
The facilities in Japan, Italy, South Carolina, and Kansas most certainly were attended by Boeing Engineers to ensure dimensions and quality of product prior to shipping those components to Washington for assembly.
There will be bugs in the coordination of efforts to reach the goals they intend, but nothing that cannot be fixed, and nothing as devastating as EAD’s dilemma.
Coordinated Chaos is simply the term one becomes accustomed to in any new project undertaken, especially as the project closes upon the date of promise.
Been there, Done that multiple times in various projects. Probably why I had grey hair before I was twenty.
What?
INDEXING HOLES?
"EAD's dilemma" - you've coined a phrase; or perhaps a new name for the 380!
Good one.
.. and I bet Boeing mandated the use of the same software version of their CAD systems...:^)
... preventing the Airbust software screwup with different assembly/design locations... for those of you who forgot...:^)
CATIA in the case of both companies, which comes originally from a French aircraft company: Dassault Systems (which, AFAIK, is independent of EADS < }B^).
I think that is the ugliest plane I have ever seen....at least on the outside. Must be something else on the inside.
My mistake....Thanks.
Bump
Till that baby takes, flies and lands in one piece, everyone is scared sh-tless.
Of course there is high anxiety. That’s good as it means the flying public gets an aircraft that has team care and concern in every detail. Makes one feel safer already.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.