Aircraft

Alenia Aeronautica today shipped the first carbonfibre fuselage sections for the Boeing 787 from its Grottaglie plant in southern Italy to the USA by Boeing 747LCA Dreamlifter.

The shipment included two fuselage barrels – the central 8.5m (28ft long) section 44 and the central-rear section 46 (10m long) – which are being transferred to the Global Aeronautica plant in Charleston, South Carolina. Global Aeronautica is a joint venture between Finmeccanica’s Alenia and Vought set up to build 787 sub-assemblies.

Once integrated at Global Aeronautica, the fuselage sub-assemblies will be transferred by 747 Dreamlifter to the 787 final assembly line in Everett near Seattle where the first 787 airframe is coming together.

Alenia has a significant role in the production of the 787, manufacturing the central and rear fuselage sections and the horizontal stabiliser, which together account for 14% of the aircraft structure.