Seattle story

Has anybody seen this:

 

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=787gaps12&date=20070612&query=787+gaps

 

 The Seattle Times show a jet's first two Boeing's 787 Dreamliner forward sections that are ill-fitting to say the least?

Old news, I'm afraid. Boeing attributed it to the weight of the pre-installed cabin fittings and associated wiring slightly warping the airframe.

As the article goes on to say, once the composite fuselage sections are mated together, the internal structure will become 'load-bearing' therefore taking the excess strain off of the outer skin of the aircraft.

Titch

I was there when they mated the forward and mid fuselage of the first Sea Harrier. There was a 1in gap down one side. This was before CATIA and digital mockups. Wonder if it is still flying around with the nose pointed to one side?

When Vought built the wings for the first Gulfstream V, the Texas heat caused the tooling to warp and one wing ended up with a little more built-in twist than planned. It's not easy building aeroplanes, particularly the first one.