Articles Tagged with ''Boeing 787 aircraft''

CHICAGO—Zodiac Aerospace is struggling to meet demand for luxury seats for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, putting the aerospace giant at risk of missing its 2014 delivery target.

Manually assembling small parts isn’t that difficult. Inserting a screw into a hole or a wire into a connector is simply a matter of hand-eye coordination. Assembling larger parts, like, say, the multiton fuselage sections of a jetliner, is whole other matter.

SEATTLE—Boeing has pushed some factory work on the 787 Dreamliner to the uncovered tarmac outside its assembly plant in Washington state in an effort to keep churning out the popular plane at a rate of one every three days. At the same time, at least 16 Italian-made fuselage sections for the 787 have stacked up in a Boeing hangar in Wichita, KS, rather than being shipped directly to the factory, a sign of changes in the production process.

NORTH CHARLESON, SC—Boeing said on Friday that “hairline cracks” had been discovered in the wings of about 40 787 Dreamliners that are in production, marking another setback for the company’s newest jet. The cracks have not been found on planes that are in use by airlines and therefore posed no safety risk.

SEATTLE—Since late last year, Boeing 787 Dreamliner fuselage sections from North Charleston, SC, have arrived at the final assembly line in Everett, WA, seriously incomplete with wiring and hydraulics lines missing, according to multiple sources in the factory.

SEATTLE—Boeing is now producing 10 of its 787 Dreamliners per month, the highest rate for the aircraft.

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC—Boeing is adding more contractors at its 787 assembly plant here, acknowledging unspecified “challenges” as it prepares to make a new, longer version of the Dreamliner.

A test-centric assembly process would have helped Boeing and Airbus avoid problems with their new aircraft.