The dream becomes reality

On December 15th last year, Boeing's long awaited 787 Dreamliner finally got off the ground as aircraft ZA001 took to the sky to begin the flight testing programme. With initial deliveries planned for the end of 2010, Simon Lott speaks to vice president and general manager of the 787 programme Scott Fancher to get a project update. Boeing's new mid-size 787 Dreamliner will bring the American airframer into a new era when it enters service with All Nippon Airways later this year, taking the aviation industry one step further into the composite age. Being the first major aircraft to make use of a predominantly carbon fibre structure, the 787 boasts a fuel efficiency improvement of 20% over similar sized vehicles of the current generation, a potential 30% reduction in maintenance costs, and with its 787-9 variant, can carry up to 290 passengers over a range of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles.

The main difference, besides the obvious weight advantage, is the size and relative simplicity of assembly that composite materials allow. “Using composites on the 787 airframe has allowed us to build a huge structure out of one piece,” explains Fancher. “Instead of literally thousands of panels that need to be fastened together into subassemblies and joined, we receive the 787 in six major end items, fully stuffed and ready for final assembly. These include the forward nose section [provided by Spirit AeroSystems], a fully integrated centre fuselage section [assembled from sections produced at Alenia Aeronautica and Kawasaki Heavy Industries], the aft fuselage [Vought], the wings [Fuji, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Spirit], the horizontal stabilisers [Alenia] and the vertical fin [Boeing]. This simplifies the assembly process considerably and requires no monumental tooling. That alone changes the appearance of the factory when compared with the assembly lines of aluminium airplanes and it is a much quieter environment. The assembly tools can also be mobile and are designed with ergonomics in mind.”

To ensure that new processes ran smoothly, he also mentions that: “Suppliers were involved much earlier in the development process than ever before. They helped us develop and understand technologies and options for the aeroplane as we went through the early phases of concept development. Suppliers have also provided more of their own development, design and manufacturing funding. The tier one partners now have primary responsibility for managing their sub-tier relationships, although we have visibility of supplier performance at all levels.”

The programme is now firmly into testing mode, with the vast majority performed so far serving to confirm that the aircraft's performance and characteristics are close to Boeing's predictions. It has however also revealed the importance of understanding the way in which composite parts are designed. Last June, the company announced it had discovered a need to reinforce an area within the side of body joint connecting the wing to the fuselage due to a design issue. The solution fortunately was relatively straightforward, requiring the installation of new fittings at 34 stringer locations within the joint attaching the wing to the fuselage. On November 30th, static tests to validate the modification were completed including subjecting the static test airframe, the wing and trailing edges to their limit loads, i.e. the highest loads expected to be seen in service. Modifications to the sixth and final test vehicle are now being completed.

Looking forward to the 2010 schedule, six 787 test aircraft will come into operation as Boeing's tightest ever flight test schedule for a major aircraft progresses. Flight testing has so far gone smoothly with the third aircraft, the first to have interior elements installed, taking to the skies last month.

On the progress being made, Fancher adds: “As of February 10th, the first two aircraft have completed 35 flights and amassed more than 112 hours of flying time. Pilots have taken the airplane to an altitude of 30,000 feet and a speed of Mach 0.65 and we've completed the initial stall tests and other dynamic manoeuvres, along with extensive check-out of the aircraft's systems.

“Six different pilots have been behind the controls of the 787 so far and the handling characteristics are as we expected. We achieved Initial Airworthiness on January 15th and look forward to receiving Type Inspection Authorisation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which then permits us to begin certification testing. While things are going very well, much work remains. We're focused on getting the remaining four flight test airplanes in the air no later than midyear. We appreciate the aggressiveness of our schedule, as well as the inherent risks of a flight test programme, but we believe we have the people, plan and resources to be successful.”

Despite the time from first flight to first delivery being less than a year, Fancher is confident that Boeing will keep to its current target set in August last year, which gives time to implement the side body modifications and other potential issues that might come up. During this period, 34 pilots will spend 3,100 hours in the air, with the ground test programme expected to take 3,700 hours. As the programme develops, the aircraft will be taken to its operational limit of over 40,000 feet and Mach 0.85, with subsequent testing expanding the envelope further.

And with the 787 is well on its way to production ramp up, this year will also see the ongoing construction of a new final assembly line in North Charleston, where Boeing currently manufactures the 787 aft fuselage and integrates mid body fuselage sections. Commissioned in order to meet its large order book, Fancher explains: “This new facility will be modelled on our Everett facilities. We broke ground on the North Charleston facility on November 20th 2009 and our goal is to have the site up and running by July 2011, with the first aircraft delivered by the first quarter of 2012. Our baseline plan is to ramp up to three airplanes per month at North Charleston and seven per month in Everett. As with any new facility, there are challenges, everything from logistics to training, but Boeing will temporarily establish transitional surge capability in Everett to ensure the successful introduction of the 787-9, the first derivative model of the 787.

“That said we are not rushing to achieve rate. Our stated schedule is 10 per month by late 2013. There's an orderly, strategic plan in place to meet that goal. Boeing and its partners are working to that plan and are in regular contact to ensure production system health.”

www.boeing.com