July 2009 Archives

Boeing announced yesterday it has completed the acquisition of Vought's South Carolina share of the 787 program where aft fuselage sections are fabricated and stuffed before being shipped to Everett.

The acquisition was first announced on July 7th after a week of reports that suggested the deal was rapidly approaching. Boeing will now be directly responsible for the operations on the south side of the Charleston campus, as well as the 50% of Global Aeronautica it shares with Alenia to intergrate the center fuselage.

A very recently taken photograph of the Vought signage being removed from the outside of the building shows the early preparations for the new external branding of the site. The new Boeing sign is set to be unveiled at ceremony on Monday. Special thanks to the person who sent me this picture.

This leads me to ask an open question: Does Boeing want the remaining 50% of Global Aeronautica?

On the heels of its announcement earlier this week to procure Boeing 777-200LR and Airbus A350-900 aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines has become the first airline to unveil its interior configuration for its Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Ethiopian Airlines, who is Boeing's African launch customer for the type, will fly 270 passengers in a two-class configuration. Business class will carry 24 passengers in four rows of 2-2-2 seating. Economy class will seat nine-abreast in a 3-3-3 configuration seating a total 246 passengers.

According to the computer rendering of the aircraft's interior on its specially design microsite, the Addis Ababa-based airline appears to have selected Contour's Aura Premium Business Class Seats. Contour said in a June 2007 press release that the Aura seat had been selected by six 787 customers as part of Boeing's Dreamliner Gallery 787 customization program.

For its economy cabin, it appears Ethiopian has opted for the highest density cross-section with Weber 5700 system seats. According to Weber, the 5700 seat can accomodate up to a 10.6-inch IFE screen in the seatback.

Ethiopian's microsite touts a delivery date of 2010, though Boeing has yet to announce a new delivery schedule for its first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways, making the entry into service date for Ethiopian uncertain. The African airline had previously said that it would receive the first of its 787s in June of 2010.

Renderings Credit Ethiopian Airlines

I'm posting this while I have a stable connection for this moment. #OSH09 connectivity has been...troubled..to be polite. I'm working on several different things simultaneously including a piece in relation to the Seattle Times article on the wing fix from this morning that will take a look at difficulty of the installation to come.

Thanks for hanging with me this week.

The long and storied saga of the 787's brake control monitoring system (BCMS) software has taken another strange turn with Boeing and supplier Crane Co. in a public spat over responsibility for the cost of the redesign of the software.

The redesign of the BCMS is the result of the relocation of a remote data concentrator (RDC) at the axles of the 787's main landing gear, says Boeing. The relocation is necessary due to higher than expected temperatures in the brakes due to inadequate thermal protection of the RDCs, as well as the differences in thermal conductivity of composite material holding heat in the wheel well, supplier sources explain.

As a result, Boeing has recommended that airlines operating early production 787s use fans at the gate following high energy landings to dissipate the heat if a faster turnaround time is desired.

Another option available is leaving the gear down after takeoff to cool the brakes, however Boeing says they have not made that recommendation to airlines. Boeing was seen cooling ZA001's brakes with fans during the taxi testing on July 7.

Remote data concentrators (RDCs) are used to flow digital and analog data from remote sensors into the 787's Common Core System and replace traditional, dedicated signal wiring, saving weight and allowing increased operator flexibility.

Crane Co. says they are happy to make the change for future production aircraft (the first flight version has already been delivered) but Crane believes that Boeing should pay for the revision because the changes in the requirements are at the airplane level rather than the software level.

The strange episode may appear insignificant to the looming obstacle of actually getting the 787 to fly, but it situation illustrates a key challenge across the entire program that Boeing has had to regain control of its supply chain.

As the full extent of the chaos of the program became apparent in 2007, Boeing moved to reassert its control over the design process of the aircraft after many parts required modification because of changing requirements and inadequate designs that rippled across the integrated systems and structure of the aircraft.

Complicating matters further, many suppliers outsourced the design to outside engineering firms pushing control and oversight farther away from Boeing making changes that much more difficult. The situation ultimately underscores where supply chain management and ongoing engineering changes have intersected to disrupt the program.

In an effort to clean up the situation, Boeing has been perpetually working with suppliers to incorporate design changes back into the supply chain to reduce the workload in Everett. The result of these changes not being added before delivery to Everett has created what we know as traveled work.

Yet, as the delays have stretched longer than two years for the program, 787 suppliers like Crane Co. are getting restless with the growing cost of the redesigns and has only served to add further uncertainty to the financial position of the program at large.

Dow Jones quoted Crane Co. CEO Eric Fast as saying spending "clearly far exceeds anything that we originally contemplated...and I can say that, universally among the supply-chain community for this airplane, we are not alone and unfortunately [are] exceeding our original targets."

Crane is only the most visible example of this issue, with sources across the 787 supply chain saying that negotiations about timing (and cost) of incorporation, though normal for a new aircraft program, have magnified the challenge of managing both the financial cost and sheer size of the global supply chain.

Here's a whole new batch of photos from Oshkosh. The count is up to 143 and will absolutely grow again before the week is out. The slideshow starts off with the beginning of the gallery that began earlier this week, so feel free to scroll through the already familiar ones. There are more pictures of WhiteKnight Two than you can shake a stick at and plenty of the interior of MSN004 from yesterday's tour. I think THIS ONE might be one of my favorites of the week so far.

During my time aboard MSN004 this afternoon I had an impromptu interview with Airbus CEO Tom Enders who was on hand to greet the arrival of the A380 in Oshkosh. I asked Mr. Enders about future of the A380 amid the slumping economy, composite technology development on A350, lessons learned from 787, the pending WTO ruling, and the future of the A320 replacement and its potential structural material. You may notice that Mr. Enders calls the entry into service date for A350 2014, he corrected himself later saying that 2013 is still the planned date for first delivery to Qatar Airways for the A350-900.

The Airbus A380, the worlds largest commercial aircraft, touched down at Wittman Regional Airport for the first time EAA's AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI this afternoon at 3:15 PM CT.

MSN004 arrived in the skies over Oshkosh to perform a seven-minute flying display for the assembled crowd that showed off the aircraft's envelope protection and slow speed handling qualities.

The aircraft's landing on runway 36, which is 8,000 ft long, was made significantly more challenging as there is only one taxiway able to accommodate the A380 5,500 ft down the runway. Adding to the difficulty of the landing was a perpendicular (270 degrees) 14-knot crosswind gusting to 23 knots at the time of touchdown.

The challenging approach saw the A380, powered by Engine Alliance GP7200 engines, crabbing significantly on final approach to runway 36. ("Analysis" of the landing)

MSN004 will spend Tuesday through Thursday on static display on the ramp which is one foot wider than the 262-ft wingspan of the A380.

Monday at AirVenture was a busy one for us with briefings and announcements from aerospace manufacturers like Hawker Beechcraft and Cirrus, as well as the arrival of WhiteKnight Two here at Wittman Regional Airport. Sir Richard Branson and Burt Rutan were also on hand to greet the arrival of the composite mothership.

The worlds largest commercial airplane is on the ground in Wisconsin. MSN001 has made its first stop on its way to Wittman Regional Airport by way of Milwaukee. Having landed at around 2 PM CT today in Wisconsin, F-WWOW will spend the day at General Mitchell Airport for customs clearance and provide airport official a chance to get acquainted with the aircraft.

The A380's passengers, comprising about 30 crew and mechanics, will spend the night in Milwaukee for crew rest and final preparations for the arrival into Oskhosh. The A380 has had to jump through many hoops to pull off this event. Because Airbus isn't an airline, the A380 cannot transport non-essential staff or passengers between two airports. Many of the company's staff will drive between Milwaukee and Oshkosh as a result. On previous visits to the US when passengers have flown on the Airbus owned A380s, the flights always landed at the same airport the aircraft departed from.

Tuesday afternoon, F-WWOW will depart Milwaukee and will make the 69 NM trip north. The superjumbo, flown by Airbus test pilot Terry Lutz, will arrive in the skies over Oshkosh around 3 PM CT where it will fly a seven-minute flying display before making the approach to runway 36.

The 8,002x150 foot runway is more than long enough to accomodate the lightly loaded (720,000-lb) A380, however the there is only one taxiway (P-2) at Wittman Regional Airport that the A380 can use to exit the runway. The aircraft will have about 5,500 feet to land before the P-2 turn off to Aeroshell Square. Airbus has brought in a A380 sized supertug from JFK to ensure that the massive aircraft gets into Aeroshell Square on the first (and only) try available to EAA.

The Aeroshell Square ramp is exactly one foot wider than wingspan of F-WWOW making the maneuver that much more challenging. I'll be covering the arrival live on twitter and here on the blog over the next two days.

I took these shots during my time at the show on Sunday when everything was being set up. It should give a flavor of the assortment of aircraft at EAA and the activities across the airport in support of the show.

Oshkosh is underway!
The 2009 EAA AirVenture is in full swing! Yesterday thousands of aircraft descended on Wittman Regional Airport in a truly incredible display of precision air traffic control. By some estimates there are about 7000 aircraft on site with an additional 3000 or so at airports in the Oshkosh area.

The State of General Aviation
Companies like Cessna, Piper, Cirrus and Hawker Beechcraft will all be giving updates on their latest product offerings and even possibly announcing new ones. However, the updates will also be a good chance to get a sense of how these companies are fairing in the recession. Cessna and Hawker both have been hit by major cutbacks in recent months and Cessna's workforce just returned from a major furlough. 

A380 Goes Regional
MSN001 will touch down in Milwaukee (KMKE) on Monday for a quick stop for some crew rest and a tour for airport officials. The superjumbo will make a quick flight to Oshkosh on Tuesday around 2:30 PM CT. The logistical details of getting such a large aircraft into a regional airport are nothing short of monumental. More on those later.

WhiteKnightTwo
The Virgin Galactic mothership will arrive on Monday afternoon here in Oshkosh. This will be the 16th test flight of N348MS and the farthest the twin cockpit composite aircraft has traveled from its base in the Mojave desert in Southern California. Sir Richard Branson will also be here this week promoting his space tourism venture. WKII will serve as the launch platform for the VMS Eve (SpaceShipTwo) for suborbital flights. 

Embraer Exec Jets Update
The Brazilian airframer will update the media on Wednesday about the production status on the Phenom 100 and flight test developments for the larger Phenom 300. This may also provide an opportunity to hear a bit more about the company's thinking about its new narrowbody concept it is considering.

ZA101 Assembly
The last parts for ZA008 arrived in Everett over the weekend and final assembly may not be far off. One thing to watch for with this airframe is how quickly the second production 787 actually goes into the final body join as it is likely paced by the wing fix. Boeing is still yet to provide a timeline on the details of the implementation or an updated program schedule.

OSHKOSH -- It will probably become immediately apparent how much fun I had actually producing this video today. All the footage from my flights between Washington, Chicago and Appleton was shot entirely on my iPhone 3GS and all the voiceovers are a product of the Voice Memo feature on the 3.0 firmware. The results were quite satisfying when I brought everything together in iMovie. Make sure you watch all the way through, the ending has a pleasant meteorological surprise that popped up this afternoon.

Today marks the beginning of two weeks on the road for me. Started off
this Saturday morning with a UAL A320 (N492UA) flight to Chicago. Next
leg will take me to Appleton, Wisconsin on my way to Oshkosh. The
approach, as you can see, was crystal clear over Lake Michigan and the
Sears (Er...Willis) Tower was beautiful from this angle. Next leg is a
CRJ flight along with my colleagues from London who just completed an
Atlantic crossing. Can't tell who has the better commute.

Something Fun
The clip above is nothing short of gratuitous airplane porn...in French. I confess to not knowing where it comes from or even what is being said in the clip, however the airplane geek eye candy of three Mirage 2000s intercepting a poorly disguised Qatar Airways A340-600 is nothing short of awesome.

Second 747-8I customer?
The grapevine hums... Order for 8? Let the speculation begin. JAL? Arik? Korean? Cathay?

3000th 737 NG
Somewhere inside the Renton, WA factory is the 3000th Next Generation 737 aircraft. The fuselage of the aircraft departed Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, KS a few weeks ago. The aircraft will eventually end up as a 737-800 for Jet Lite of India with a delivery sometime around the middle of August or so.

Iceland to Seattle
An Icelandair Boeing 757-200 (TF-FIA) touched down in Seattle yesterday on the airline's inaugural flight between Keflavik and the Pacific Northwest. The airline takes advantage of Iceland's geography by flying an almost polar route through Greenland and Canada to arrive in Seattle 7-8 hours after departure. Icelandair announced the new service very shortly after SAS decided to cancel its Seattle-Copenhagen flight.

Facebook Take 2
My attempt a few weeks ago to set up a Facebook page was summarily thwarted by the always clever Terms of Service agreement that says you can't have two Facebook profiles. I've accepted my fate on this one and set up a decidedly awkward "Fan" page for FlightBlogger. Not too much of a fan myself of the idea, but it's a good way to extend the reach of this blog and make sure you can get the lastest via Facebook.

With almost a month since Boeing announced it was forced to ground its 787s for structural reinforcement, the company continues to work to develop, install and test a fix that can get its troubled Dreamliner into the sky after more than two years of delays.

According to a senior program source: "There is good news and bad news. The good news is we know what to fix, and how to fix it. The bad news is the location is a [expletive] to get to."

Boeing says that revised schedules for first flight and delivery remain under review, as they have been since the company's June 23rd news conference.

DIAGNOSIS & DEVELOPMENT

While the fix is being developed and a fully revised schedule finalized for airlines, sources at both Boeing and partner suppliers indicate that the existing production plan has slid roughly one and a half to three months for the delivery of Airplane Ten's components to Everett, even as suppliers continue to prep parts for shipment.

The slip, the sources say, allows Boeing to finalize and test the fix and limit the number of aircraft in final assembly required to undergo the fix in Everett. Boeing previously stated that any fix developed would be able to be installed no matter the location of the parts in the supply chain.

Airplane Eight, ZA101, is expected to begin final assembly operations before the month is out, with parts for Airplane Nine, ZA102, believed to be arriving beginning in early August. The slip, one supplier sources say, could mean that structural components for Airplane Ten, ZA104, may not arrive until October. The customer ZA-designations are non-sequential.

The side-of-body issue was first discovered in late-May during a test that saw lower wing loads than the April 21st test of 120-130% of limit load. The test revealed the weakness in the upper section on the stringer caps of the wing to body join at the side of body of the aircraft.

A corps of Boeing engineers are working 80-hour weeks to design the fix that allows the 787 to fly with a robust flight envelope and achieve FAA certification with 150% of limit load on the wing, sources say.

For the development of the remedial fix, widely believed to be made of titanium, engineers have to design a modification that avoids two potential challenges down the road.

Veteran structural engineers tell FlightBlogger that the key to developing a reinforcement centers around ensuring that the loads that caused the initial problem at the site of the wing stringer caps are not redistributed elsewhere causing a further structural issue.

Second, as the area is stiffened Boeing engineers must take great care to develop a fix that isn't susceptible to long term fatigue issues that come from the normal structural aging of the aircraft.

These challenges aren't unique to structural engineering on the 787, in fact, they are part of the normal checklist that comes with developing the solution that is the 3-dimensional puzzle of designing aircraft. This is not to say, however, that solving the problem is any less complex, difficult or time consuming.

INSTALLATION

Several program sources indicate that August is a crucial month for the wing fix as the development phase moves into the installation phase.

Boeing reiterated that its engineers are "working with urgency", and no internal timeline has been finalized for the testing or duration of the installation of the fix.

Sources say the area that will be reinforced at the side of body is extremely tight and difficult to reach as the installation area of the fix will provide very little room to install the fasteners to secure the reinforcement.

The installation of the fix may begin as early as the middle of August, with installation times  around one month for each already assembled airplane, sources estimate.

Boeing has nine 787s at its Everett facility (6 flight test, 1 production, 2 ground test) that have gone through, or continue to undergo, final assembly operations, and structural sections for a 10th (Airplane 8) continue to arrive.

ZA001 is expected to leave the flight line for Paint Hangar 45-03 where the first 787 will undergo installation of the fix.

ZA002 will remain on the Everett flight line and the area around the side of body will be covered with a specially ordered tent to protect the aircraft.

In addition, Boeing has moved the approximately 50-foot long, two-thirds span test wing box, known as the "Dash 18" wing, from the company's Seattle Development Center to Building 40-23 where 787 static testing has been taking place in Everett.

The company is considering using the test wing box, which was formally broken in November 2008 above 150% of limit load, to test installation methods as a dress rehearsal before modifying the static test airframe and ZA001.

PERMANENCE & PRODUCTION

Even with the remedial fix in the works, a key discussion centers on the future of 787 production and when the permanent fix is designed into the wing to body join.

Sources say a revision of the upper part of the wing to body join is almost certainly necessary to create a permanent long-term solution and eliminate the time consuming installation of the remedial fix.

Boeing says there are about 40 787s in process throughout the global supply chain and a question yet to be answered is the timing of incorporation for the permanent fix.

Boeing has already planned a series of blockpoint changes to incorporate weight reduction and performance improvements into the design of the aircraft. The first major blockpoint was for ZA100, the first production 787 (Airplane 7), with the next expected to follow around Airplane 20.

Airbus faced a similar challenge when the A380 wing ruptured below the 150% mark in 2006 forcing the European airframer to modify aircraft already in final assembly. Airbus eventually incorporated its own remedial fix into A380 production before the wings were delivered to Toulouse, however the company has had to redesign the effected area as a long-term solution.

Photo Credit Fortune Magazine

An engineless ZA005 rolled out of Paint Hangar 45-03 yesterday afternoon in Everett, WA sporting a fresh livery. This particular 787 will be the first powered by General Electric GEnx-1B engines. When it went to the paintshop on July 9th, the aircraft had a rudder formerly painted in the colors of Royal Air Maroc, the original customer for the fifth and sixth flight test aircraft. The paint scheme of ZA005, now registered N787FT, is a simplified version of the Dreamliner scheme's wave and a blue tail similar to that of ZA006. Sources say the aircraft is expected to return to the factory shortly at position three inside Building 40-26.

Photo Credit Liz Matzelle

With last Friday's passing of former CBS Evening News anchor Walter Cronkite and today's 40th anniversary celebration of the first landing on the Moon, it was only fitting to share the original unedited live footage of that July afternoon's television coverage. The coverage is narrated by Walter Cronkite and Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Astronaut Wally Schirra. The video picks up at the moment of Eagle's 1202 alarm at around 33,000 feet above the lunar surface.

There's only one fitting choice for Movie Monday, on this, the 40th anniversary of the first landing on the Moon.

This week's comes from one my absolute favorite programs ever produced for television. From the Earth to the Moon was a 10-part HBO miniseries from 1998 about the Apollo program. Each episode tracked a different element of the program beginning with the Mercury 7 astronauts, through the technology proving missions of the Gemini flights, all the way through Apollo 17, the final mission to the Moon in December 1972.

Make sure to check out the related multimedia I've added in the bottom section the clips. There's some original archive footage from CBS news and the original Saturn V rocket reference manual from NASA. These clips, running about 15 minutes, show Armstrong and Aldrin's landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969.


PART TWO AFTER THE JUMP

With Boeing and Airbus's hands full with their respective composite widebody aircraft, Embraer has begun to publicly discuss its options for entry into the narrowbody market.

This week's exclusive report by Mary Kirby, looks at what Embraer executive vice president airline market Mauro Kern had to say about the possibility of an all-new design larger than the E-195 .

In what is perhaps the Brazilian airframer's strongest indication yet that it may bring to market a clean-sheet competitor to Bombardier's P&W geared turbofan-powered CSeries, Embraer executive vice president airline market Mauro Kern says that Embraer is studying "some possible work with a little bigger [aircraft] than the current 195, not only in terms of using the current platform, but also in terms of actually a new design".

Kern said clarity on a decision is 18 to 24 months away and an entry in to service wouldn't be until the second half of the next decade. However, that timing puts Embraer in an interesting position to potentially be the initial launch customer for the CFM LEAP-X platform, slated for certification by 2016.

Embraer is talking with General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, however Kern pointed out his company's special relationship with GE, which makes the CF34 engines that power the family of E-Jets. The report says that the thrust requirements for a potentially 130-140-seat aircraft would exceed "the nominal 20,000lb (89kN) upper threshold agreed by CFM International partners GE and Snecma for unilateral engine development, meaning that any offering would likely come from CFM."

Kern did not elaborate on what the configuration of a clean-sheet design may take, but its future competitor, Bombardier's CSeries, has opted for 3-2 seating up to 145 seats with its larger CS300 aircraft. The 3-2 seating arrangement is also shared by the currently flying DC-9, MD-80 and 717.

The Brazillian company now potentially expands the narrowbody competition to five parties with China and Canada actively vying for a piece of the market against Boeing and Airbus. Perhaps distantly, keep an eye on the result of the upcoming first ruling in the Boeing/Airbus WTO case, expected by the close of summer. The preliminary ruling could set the stage for how launch aid funds are handled for future commercial aircraft development programs.

Even with the grounding of the 787 fleet, Boeing is making room in the factory for production standard aircraft.

The company has said that production would roll on as normal to limit disruption to the slow production ramp up as the fix for the wing root is being developed for installation at all phases of completion.

The progress on the wing reinforcement will be the topic of a dedicated report.

Boeing received its 10th set of 787 wings (8th flying set) from Japan on Monday. The wings for the second production 787, ZA101, will eventually be delivered to ANA.



Last Thursday night, Boeing moved ZA005 and ZA006 out of the 787 final assembly line. The move opens up two assembly locations inside building 40-26 for production standard aircraft.

ZA005 was moved to Paint Hangar 45-03 and ZA006 relocated to Building 40-24 on the 767 line. No word yet on what colors ZA005, the first GEnx-powered 787, will wear after the six flight test aircraft were no longer assigned to customers.

ZA100 remains at position one inside Building 40-26 with ZA004 sitting at the head of the line closest to the football-field sized doors.

Out on the flight line ZA002 will be fired up again as early as Thursday for systems checks. According to Aviation Week:

Chief amongst these will be a high-lift system ground test using engine-supplied electrical power as well as flight deck checks of the crew alerting audio system.

Another key system due for checks on ZA002 is the gross weight center of gravity processor, originally set for tests on July 12. This is also now scheduled for tests on Thursday and will be an important tool for flight test work in the coming months on ZA002 which will verify 787 stability and control along with ZA001. The processor will allow flight test personnel to precisely monitor and alter cg positions in-flight to enable tests of several conditions in a single sortie.

In other 787 news, the fourth LCF, when it becomes operational, will be registered N718BA.

Video shot by Matt Cawby

Yesterday afternoon, a 737-300 (N387SW) operating as Southwest 2294 made a safe emergency landing at Yeager Airport near Charleston, West Virgina after depressurizing due to  an apparent hole in the upper fuselage of the aircraft.

The incident has caused Southwest to inspect its 737-300 fleet, and according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Boeing is sending personnel to provide technical assistance to the NTSB.

This week's Movie Monday explores Air Transat Flight 236. The flight, a transatlantic A330-200 crossing from Toronto to Lisbon, took place on August 24, 2001. The cause of the accident, which resulted in 18 minor injuries and no fatalities amongst the 306 on board, was traced to a fuel leak on the right hand side of the aircraft, resulting from improper maintenance conducted five days prior to the flight. Once the aircraft ran out fuel over the Atlantic Ocean, the A330 was forced to make a dead stick landing with 200 knot approach speed into the Azores. 

***Editors Note - This is the first time I've tried to incorporate Movie Monday with Apture, please let me know if it displays alright.

On July 9, 2007, ZA001, or what was later to become ZA001 wrapped up one final photo op for the morning television news shows. The aircraft sat at the head of the 747 line gleaming brand new. Once the camera lights dimmed, the 787 was rolled back to Building 40-26 and the real work to prepare for flight had begun, a task that continues two years later. White plastic decals were removed from the wings, painted foil covering unfilled fastener holes were removed, the full extent of the show N787BA had been prepared for the day prior could no longer remain unreconciled against the work that would be required to make it fly.

Those working directly with the airplane knew full well that the first 787 was far from its maiden sortie, but why pronouncements like this from program vice president Mike Bair at the Paris Air Show in June 2007?

"The aircraft will be structurally complete at rollout but will still have systems, ducting, wiring and similar work to be done before first flight. When those tasks are completed, it will be powered up and proceed to ground test before it flies."

Vought would confirm publicly a year later that the first aft fuselage barrel was only 16% structurally complete at the time of shipment to Everett.

At the time the roll out festivities came to a close, August 27th was the target for first flight, one month and 18 days later. What followed is well documented.

Almost exactly two years later, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Scott Carson said assuredly (June 15) to the gathered crowd of reporters at the Paris Air Show: "We remain absolutely committed to our forecast that it will fly in the second quarter of this year. If you count the way I do, that means within the next two weeks roughly."

Carson would also later tell CNN at the show, "The technical issues are largely all behind us."

Just over a week later, Boeing revealed the extent of the weakness in the wing to body join.

Yet, in that statement, there lies a question of how it got to that point? How could an executive near the head of a Fortune 50 company make such a statement? Was it just a breakdown in communication? Or something more telling about the state of the program? The information, or the gravity of the information, didn't flow where and when it needed to.

Mr. Carson, in responding to questions on the delay announcement said:

When we were at Paris last week we had been through the preliminary analysis of the data and were of a mind that the airplane could enter flight test with a credible flight test envelope as we worked relatively minor modifications. The work done by the team through the week last week narrowed the envelope to the point where on Friday we determined that to fly would be such a small envelope for us that it would be an interesting exercise in having the airplane in the air but not particularly useful in terms of preparing the airplane for certification. So at that point is when we made the call to delay the process, identify the fix, test the fix, install the fix, and then enter a flight test program that is fully robust.

A program built on global transparency did not live up to its own early expectation and the lessons continue to be manifested in changes like the 50% acquisition of Global Aeronautica in March 2008 and the establishment of the Production Integration Center, a mission control nervous system for the global supply chain that became operational in December 2008, and most recently this week with the Vought South Carolina buy out.

Many program sources have suggested privately that as Boeing has improved its visibility outward, it still struggles with communicating with itself. Good news flows freely to the top, yet the bad news is not elevated to an appropriate level. They talk of a 'kill the messenger' culture has established itself inside the program, where the push to move ahead and show marked progress is often in conflict with requiring the often uncomfortable task of ensuring that 'power' has 'truth' in its hands to make good decisions and communicate progress outwardly.

During my time in Paris, I received a message from South Carolina on Tuesday morning (June 16) that told of "emergent first flight issues" with no other details available. Another message from Washington, just a day later (June 17) suggested a rumor about possible delamination in the wingbox stringers, but the source added, "it is just a rumor to my knowledge."

From the point of view of covering the program, those rumors were almost impossible to substantiate. Separating the wheat from the chaff, takes a fine tooth comb that appears much more difficult when nine time zones away.

Yet, if this outside observer could know of these two hints a week before the delay announcement, how was this information flowing inside the company?

The story is far from unfamiliar and Boeing is far from the first aerospace company to face such a challenge.

At the height of the A380 delays facing Airbus, broken communication, both internal and external, drew the ire of airline customers, Wall Street and the media. On June 20, 2006, Flight International weighed in on the situation:

[Airbus Chief Operating Officer John] Leahy says it was the "low-tech stuff" that got them - the wiring harnesses - but this will hardly reassure the customers. More worrying is how Airbus management was apparently unable to hear the timebomb ticking in the A380's Jean-Luc Lagardère assembly plant a few kilometres from its Toulouse headquarters. Especially given that the join-up of sub-assemblies for new aircraft had been on hold for two months and working parties were furiously trying to rectify problems on completed aircraft.

The problem of communication not only impacts the outward credibility of the company's leadership, but how Boeing's own employees view those running the ship of state. If information isn't able to flow freely to the top without perception of fear of reprisal or penalty, then any report of information being disseminated from the top down may lack the credibility that the leadership needs to motivate employees to solve the challenges facing the program.

A 2006 speech by Boeing CEO James McNerney given in the wake of the US Air Force tanker scandal tackled this culture head on:

So then we had to ask ourselves some really tough questions: Were these lapses symptomatic of a larger issue with our corporate culture?...Did our people feel confident enough to speak up about ethical concerns without fear of retaliation?

McNerney discussed the solution to the problem:

To make sure everyone understands this, I think that you have to create a work environment that encourages people to talk about the tough issues--business- or ethics-related--and to make the right decisions when they find themselves at the crossroads between hitting their numbers for the quarter and stepping forward when there's a problem.

Boeing should ask itself if McNerney's vision has yet to become a reality.

Yesterday brought the first taxi tests for ZA001, the latest major step on its way to the sky. Chief project pilot Mike Carriker (left seat) and test pilot Randy Neville (right seat) took N787BA out of Stall 105 starting around 10:00 AM PT and had the first 787 back by 4:30 PM PT.

The tests looked at the low speed handling characteristics of the aircraft by exploring of the anti-skid system, steering, nose gear shimmy and ground loads validation, says a program source.

Boeing says that the testing brought Dreamliner One to a top speed of just over 100 knots on runway 16R, still within the low speed range. The company adds that the high speed taxi range is between 120 and 130 knots, with Vr (takeoff) speed closer to 150 knots. Yesterday also saw the first rejected takeoff (RTO) test which was executed using manual toe braking, not the autobrake function.

The autobrake setting, which is located just below the landing gear lever, has seven settings (plus an off setting) that automatically specifies the braking power required. Five of those settings (1, 2, 3, 4 and MAX AUTO) provide a specific rate of deceleration upon landing, while the sixth, DISARM, disengages the autobrake system and releases the brake pressure. The final setting, RTO, which is the standard takeoff setting, automatically applies maximum braking when the throttles are retarded above a certain speed. For the 777, this speed is 85 knots.

P.S. Make sure you watch that video with your speakers ON.

SEVEN GREAT PHOTOS FROM YESTERDAY AFTER THE JUMP

Video Courtesy of KOMO News in Seattle.

This morning, ZA001 conducted its first slow lap around Paine Field. Taxi tests began a little past 10 AM in Everett.  The fleet of 787's remains grounded until a remedial fix is applied to the side of body before the aircraft can be cleared for its maiden flight, however Boeing can still proceed with these taxi tests on N787BA. A very special thanks to the person who sent these to me.

1:06 PM: South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on Boeing's announcement that they will purchase Vought Aircraft Industries' North Charleston facility:

"Boeing's announcement today is a real testament to the dedicated work of our economic development teams at the state and local levels, and it's also a testament to the workforce and business climate of South Carolina that a world-class company like this is choosing to expand its presence here," Gov. Sanford said.

"This in many ways has been a project years in the making, and accordingly I would give credit to former Secretary of Commerce Bob Faith and his team for their pursuit of the original $560 million investment. In that same vein, I'd give real credit to Joe Taylor and his current team at Commerce for the way they've continued to cultivate this business relationship."

"Our administration is equally committed to doing whatever we can to help Boeing succeed and grow in our state," Gov. Sanford said.

12:42 PM: Statement from IAM District 751 President Tom Wroblewski in Response to Boeing's Purchase of Vought Operations in South Carolina:

"The Machinists Union is encouraged to see Boeing take tighter control over the 787 airplane and their partners' work packages. The Machinists Union and our members are committed to making this new airplane successful. Our focus remains on getting the 787 flying and certified, which will show this is where the plane needs to be built.

The success of the 787 will ultimately depend on the expertise of all Boeing employees in Puget Sound who are going above and beyond the call of duty. Every day Machinists Union leaders and our members are stepping forward and offering ideas to help get the program on track and applying their skills and expertise. Keep in mind the initial production of composite fuselage barrels was developed, perfected and built here before Boeing sent it to suppliers around the world.

Boeing has noted this is not a statement of where the second 787 line is going to be located. When that issue is discussed, we will do everything in our power to ensure that Puget Sound is at the top of the list and highlight all the advantages that have made this region the largest aerospace center and Boeing the premiere aircraft manufacturer in the world - one that other cities are trying to emulate. Currently, Machinists Union leaders are working closely on various fronts with business, community, labor and government leaders to unite to keep production of all Boeing aircraft in this state. It is an effort we will continue to pursue aggressively."

12:40 PM: A quick first thought on this: If ever there was a clearer starting gun on the race to win the second 787 line, this is it. Boeing has signaled their willingness to invest outside of Puget Sound for aerostructure fabrication and integration. Boeing chose to cut out the middle man between itself and Vought's supply chain, but the company could have just as easily seen the Charleston site divested to a more financially stable third party.

11:46 AM: Just completed a podcast with Addison Schonland and Scott Hamilton on the Boeing/Vought deal. We take a closer look at the deal and bore down on its potential implications for the placement of a second 787 final assembly line. Factors we discuss include the possible result of the USAF Tanker contract and local Washington politics.

11:30 AM: Flashback: Will Boeing Buy Out Vought on the 787? - December 11, 2007

A buy out of Vought makes the most sense moving forward. It would eliminate the middle-man in what the Wall Street Journal called a "new bureaucratic ladder." This allows Boeing to more effectively work with its global suppliers by retaking the reins on manufacture and assembly of 787 structures.

Overall, this is not a rejection of the fundamental principles upon which the 787 was built. Without Vought, the 787 is still very much an aircraft program that has a global scope. Reassuming control which was previously outsourced is not a rejection of outsourcing, it's an acknowledgment that good business is done with good partners - a tenet which has never changed.

An amicable end to a tumultuous relationship allows Vought to walk away from the 787 program with its financial house in order while giving Boeing the best opportunity to meet the only goal that really matters:

10:53 AM: Boeing announces completion of ZA001's final gauntlet. The company says the tests lastest 18-hours and were completed on the evening of July 2nd. Anyone in Everett seeing 787 rolling around Paine Field this morning?

10:43 AM: Seattle Post-Intelligencer aerospace journalist/blogger Andrea James reports on statements from Washington Governor Chris Gregoire and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson:

"Yesterday, I spoke with Scott Carson, who informed me of Boeing's decision to purchase the Vought facility in South Carolina," Gov. Chris Gregoire said Tuesday morning via an e-mailed statement. "I recognize that this announcement underscores that Boeing wants to ensure that it manufactures the 787 Dreamliner as efficiently as possible, thus they have made the decision to buy Vought. In my conversation with Scott, he assured that no decision has been made on a potential second line for the 787, and that today's announcement doesn't have anything to do with that. Washington state is proud to be home of the world's best airplane manufacturer and most skilled aerospace workforce."

"Boeing's announcement today of its purchase of Vought in South Carolina gives Boeing greater assurance and predictability in the production of the 787," Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson said in a statement. "This appears to be a critical step in reaching Boeing's priority of delivering the 787s to its customers. The 787 is assembled in Everett by some of the world's most skilled machinists - the successful delivery of this aircraft is crucial."

10:36 AM: Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Bob Cox spoke with Vought CEO Elmer Doty who discussed the sale of the North Charleston site to Boeing:

"At the end of the day, this is the best way to protect the company, preserve our capability and set the company up for growth in the next two or three years," Doty said in an interview with the Star-Telegram.

10:18 AM: Scott Hamilton has some additional information on the future of the second 787 line. He says that there are four sites being considered for the second line, citing a source with "some knowledge of the situation." Everett, WA, Charleston, SC, San Antonio, TX and an unknown fourth site, thought to be Long Beach, California.

9:46 AM: From Flight: Boeing confirms deal for Vought's 787 role

8:53 AM: Statement from Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon:

"The Boeing Company's purchase of the Vought facility and a significant portion of adjacent undeveloped property in South Carolina is clearly a bold business decision, and one which signals that Washington state is truly in a competition for the second line of the 787 and all future generations of commercial aircraft.

"We must do all that is necessary to permanently improve the competitive climate of Washington state and encourage the Boeing Company and their unions to work together to reestablish the effective and successful partnership that has made Boeing Commercial Airplanes a leader throughout the world."

 8:15 AM: Boeing Announces Agreement to Acquire Vought Operations in South Carolina

SEATTLE, July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today that it has agreed to acquire the business and operations conducted by Vought Aircraft Industries at its South Carolina facility, where Vought builds a key structure for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner airplane.

The Vought facility, located in North Charleston, performs fabrication and assembly of structures and systems installation of 787 aft fuselage sections, which are made primarily of composite materials. After the transaction, Vought will continue its work on many Boeing programs, including other components of the 787, as well as structures and components on the 737, 747, 767, 777, C-17 and V-22 through operations located elsewhere.

Sources in Charleston and Dallas indicate that an announcement of a Boeing acquisition of the Vought 787 operations is imminent. Glen Farley of KING5 (NBC Seattle) is also reporting that the announcement is expected as early as tomorrow. When an announcement does arrive, it is likely to come in the morning hours and is likely to occur anywhere between 8 AM and 10 AM ET.

Movie Monday is back and I was feeling inspired by my visit to the Air & Space Museum yesterday to provide another episode of Dogfights. This episode focuses on the "Dogfights of the Future" looking at new fifth generation platforms like the F-22 and F-35. In addition the show takes some creative liberties with the Su-47 or what may eventually be the Sukhoi PAK FA stealth fighter. The program gets even more creative with its view of Scramjet and space warfare, but it's interesting nonetheless. The full program is available in nine parts total after the break.

Also, if you find great aviation videos online, feel free to pass them my way. I try to make sure Movie Monday runs between 20 to 60 minutes, and that's really the only criteria along with the fact that they are embeddable.

787 Taxi Testing
ZA001 could roll out of Stall 105 as early as this evening in Everett under its own power for a slow lap around Paine Field. However, another source indicates that if you're around KPAE first thing tomorrow, you may see something special. I'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

Backlogs Shmacklogs
Richard Aboulafia has this nasty habit of making a heck of a lot of sense. Richard weighs in on the importance, or lack thereof, of the backlogs held by Airbus and Boeing. His monthly newsletter, which can typically be found on his website, is particularly illuminating. Here's his  June edition. It's absolutely worth a thorough read. Here's the key quote:

If the backlog mattered at all, how would new orders be even remotely consequential? Instead of orders, we need traffic, and aside from show attendees, you weren't going to find it at Le Bourget. It's a simple and timeless equation. When airlines make money, they order planes. If they keep making money, they take delivery of those planes.

Hello Australian Open Skies
Delta's 777-200LR touched down in Sydney this morning from Los Angeles after flying across the pacific as DL17. The airline's inaugural US-Australian service marks the second US carrier to enter the market in AGES and the fourth overall after following V Australia. I'm exceedingly curious to see what the DOT Form 41 data shows later this year with United's 747-400 against Delta's 777-200LR. Unfortunately, it only covers US airlines, because throwing the QANTAS A380 and the V Australia 777-300ER data would make for one heck of a comparison.

Methinks it will might be time for REAL a fleet renewal, United.

New 787 Tally
In case you were keeping count, Boeing holds 850 orders from 56 customers for 787. That includes the starting tally of 865, minus the 15 787-9s canceled by QANTAS. That number also includes the five previously unidentified 787-8s from ANA.

Facebook
I'm on Facebook! I've actually been on since 2004, but now I have a FlightBlogger-specific account. You can find me at: http://www.facebook.com/flightblogger. I need to get the profile up and running completely, but feel free to drop me a message over there if you're so inclined.

Aerospatiale-BAe Concorde F-BVFA

A few important tidbits to wrap up the week before heading into the holiday weekend here in the US. The first half of this week was certainly an interesting one and I took the opportunity during the latter half to catch up on a lot of non-blog items that had previously eluded me. I'll be off until Monday celebrating Independence Day so this weekend will be a good chance to catch my breath.

Boeing is set to announce its intention to acquire the 787 operations currently run by Vought Aircraft Industries in North Charleston, SC in a major shake up of the supply chain for its new flagship product.

According to multiple sources familiar with the plan, Vought Aircraft Industries 787 arm is to be divested from parent company The Carlyle Group and sold to The Boeing Company.

"It's a done deal," says a source close to the agreement.

The same sources indicate that the sale of the Charleston 787 operations unit, known as the Advanced Aerosolutions (AAD) branch of Dallas-based Vought, will likely be the first key step to establishing a second production site for the mid-size widebody aircraft.

Both Boeing and Vought are adhering to their respective policies to not comment on rumors or speculation regarding mergers and acquisitions.

However, Boeing added that it has "long said that a second line is an issue we will consider in due course, and we have, and will continue to evaluate the many factors that will be a part of any decision. Our primary focus right now is getting the 787 into flight test and getting the existing production system running smoothly."

Boeing announced last week that a delay in first flight was necessary to reinforce the side-of-body of the 787, indefinitely grounding the fleet until the company can develop, test and install a remedial modification.

INSIDE:

• What's Next?
• The Campus
• A Second 787 Line?
• Protecting The Supply Chain