But Says Company Remains On Track For Rollout

We're less than one month away before the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner is scheduled to be rolled out in a flashy public ceremony, and the planemaker admits it has run into some snags as it builds the first-ever composite-bodied commercial airliner.

The Associated Press reports Boeing workers in Everett, WA are wrestling with fuselage sections that don't line up properly, as well as an industrywide shortage of fasteners to hold the plane together. Despite the seriousness of those issues, however, Boeing says it remains on-track for the rollout... and the planemaker is resolving problems as quickly as they arise.

Take, for example, the 0.3-inch gap that cropped up between the Section 41 nose/cockpit barrel (shown at right), manufactured by Spirit Aerosystems, and the Section 43 forward cabin barrel produced by Kawasaki Heavy Industries when the two pieces were mated for the first time. The Spirit-made piece bulged out further than the section behind it.

Boeing says it was able to fix the error safely, eliminating the gap. "The join in those pictures is now resolved," 787 program spokeswoman Yvonne Leach told The Seattle Times. "It's not a problem now."

Another spokesperson, Mary Hanson, echoed that sentiment. "It wasn't a perfect go-together the first time," she said. "There were a few challenges. We overcame them. In general, [Boeing's engineers] are pleased with how all the joints are going."

Sam Marnick, spokesperson for Spirit, called the gap "a slight fit issue with the first barrel -- nothing unusual with a new program." She added the issue "was quickly resolved and we learned as we moved onto the next one."

Such gaps aren't unusual when fitting sections of aluminum-bodied planes together, industry observers note, even planes that have been in production for years.

Considering the all-new build processes involved with the 787, however, including digital design software shared by all suppliers to keep tolerances in line -- and composite construction doesn't lend itself to the traditional "hammer-it-out" solution common with aluminum -- observers are keeping a close eye on the possibility of larger problems down the road.

TECOP International technical consultant Hans Weber, after reviewing photos of the gap sent anonymously to The Times, said he sees no cause for immediate alarm.

"It doesn't strike me as all that unexpected," Weber said. "In the process of putting those splice plates on one side, they distorted the structure a bit. That's not unusual. The structure distorts fairly readily."

Those problems may be corrected, Weber added, by disconnecting interior fittings such as floor struts and other supports that put pressure on the outer shell of the fuselage. Once the sections are pulled into alignment, those fittings are bolted back down.

Such a solution is a universal constant in plane manufacturing, regardless of whether the aircraft is metal or composite.

A possible cause for additional concern, though, is the early fuselage sections came without much of the wiring and hydraulics expected on later shipments pre-installed by suppliers. Boeing is handling those assemblies in Everett on the first few birds... and pre-installation of those additional fittings may lead to more distortions down the line, which may not be as relatively easy to correct.

Another issue Boeing has come across are dings to the first plane's horizontal stabilizer assembly, which the planemaker believes is due to improper handling during shipment from Italy's Alenia Aeronautica to Everett.

The company is maintaining a close watch of quality control throughout its supplier network. Last week, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Ted Perdue, vice president of 787 operations for Vought Aircraft in Charleston, SC, resigned after reports surfaced analysts had found the plant to be less impressive than those of other 787 suppliers.

And then there's the issue of fasteners, used to attach sections of the Dreamliner -- and other commercial airliners -- together. Boeing admits the problem has proven to be a bigger issue than first thought, as such fasteners are in high demand due to boom times in the commercial airline industry.

"We were surprised at how much detailed management we had to do on all of those little fasteners to get them here, but we are getting them here," said 787 development and production VP Scott Strode to the Post-Intelligencer.

For the moment, though, Boeing remains optimistic it won't encounter deal-breaking problems as the first 787 comes together.

The planemaker also stresses should such a problem come up, the company will report it immediately -- aware of the fallout its European rival, Airbus, experienced after problems with wiring connections on its A380 superjumbo were made public, weeks after it appeared the company was aware of them.

FMI: www.boeing.com