Said To Be 2.5 Percent Over Weight Target

Looks like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner might need to go on a dream-diet. Engineers say the aircraft is 2.5 percent overweight... much of it because of extra lightning protection required in the composite airframe.

Specifically, Boeing says nearly all of the extra weight is in the wings -- and much of it is directly related to lightning protection, as the composite-skinned airliner needs a mesh of aluminum webbing to direct the force of a possible lightning strike away from sensitive areas of the airframe. Conventional, aluminum-skinned planes need no such system, as the aluminum dissipates the electrical force.

"We always planned to deal with this issue, but we did not anticipate the complexity," acknowledged Boeing's Scott Strode, head of 787 development and production, to the Seattle-Post Intelligencer.

While the Dreamliner may need to shed some pounds to meet Boeing's goal of a very-light airliner, the company promises the Dreamliner will still be within the range of weights promised to customers... which, it adds, is what really matters.

Hmm... how many pounds are saved by painting the engine nacelles just one color?

FMI: www.boeing.com