Boeing: January 2009 Archives

Boeing just released the following photograph of ZA005, AKA Dreamliner Five, having been loaded into position one in Everett. You'll notice that the photograph, which was taken yesterday, shows the Section 41-43 join complete and the aft fuselage waiting to be loaded for the Section 46-47 join.

Production Resumes on Boeing 787 Dreamliners With Fifth Flight-Test Airplane

EVERETT, Wash., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Production of Boeing (NYSE: BA - News) 787 Dreamliners resumed yesterday with the join of the fifth airplane designated for flight test.

This airplane, designated ZA005, is the first to be powered with General Electric GEnx engines. The major assemblies were loaded in final body join over the past several days. The fuselage and wing joins occur simultaneously.

Image Courtesy Boeing

Update 4:27 PM: Special thanks to the person who sent me the follow photo. ZA005 as seen from a 40-26 observation deck.

In the wee hours of the morning, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Northwest about 17 miles from Boeing's Everett facility. Fortunately, there were no reports of any damage according to the Seattle Times.

The map to the right shows the location of the earthquake, which is near to the 6.8 magnitude quake that hit in 2001. Today's brief earthquake's epicenter was near Kingston, WA.

No word yet on if this morning's shake qualifies as ground vibration testing for Dreamliner Two. </snark>

Dreamliner One, Boeing's first 787, has been re-powered-on for the first time since before the 57-day IAM strike, Boeing confirms.

The aircraft's electrical systems were reactivated on Tuesday as the aircraft continues its sprint to complete its first flight by June 30th.

The electrical system activation testing first began on June 11, 2008 and was completed nine days later.

ZA001 currently occupies a slant assembly position on the 767 line, two doors down from the 787 final assembly line where it has been since January 2nd.

This story will be updated

James Wallace of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that his Boeing sources have confirmed the identity of the customer that cancelled an order for 15 787 Dreamliners.

Boeing won't say what customer canceled its 787 order for 15 planes. My sources confirm it was the S7 Group in Russia. McNerney, in the conference call, said the customer canceled because of the uncertain global economic environment, not because of the program delays.

The Russian airline placed the 787 order in May 2007.

In other Dreamliner-related news from the earnings call, CEO Jim McNerney provided additional insight into the start of the 787 flight test schedule. Boeing now expects that all six flight test aircraft will be airborne within four months of the start of the flight test campaign. The airframer previously anticipated having its six test aircraft flying within two months of first flight based on its revised April 2008 schedule.

Program sources I've spoken with indicate that ZA002 first flight could come as early as May with ZA005 flying by early to mid-July. These estimates are previously based on ZA001 flying by late April, though this target remains up in the air. My apologies for the pun.

Though McNerney does not anticipate further schedule disruptions to the 787 program, he felt that the flight test program could present a "possible long pole in the tent" for meeting the certification and delivery target in the 1st quarter of 2010.

UPDATE 2:18 PM ET - More from James:

In an e-mail statement that I received last night from All Nippon Airways of Japan, the first 787 customer, the airline said it will take delivery of its first 787s in February of next year, and put the plane in service in March.

Boeing is set to announce its 2008 fourth-quarter and year-end earnings today at 10:30 ET. I'll be live blogging the conference call with CEO Jim McNerney and CFO James Bell here via twitter. The full live blogged transcript will be available at the conclusion of the call.

The company is expected to provide guidance for the year ahead and discuss progress on the 787 Dreamliner program, the first major update since the 3rd quarter earnings call last October during the IAM strike.

Boeing Posts Quarterly Loss on Strike Impact and Charges

• Fourth-quarter revenues declined to $12.7 billion from $17.5 billion as labor strike pushed airplane deliveries out of the quarter
• Fourth-quarter EPS declined to loss of $0.08 per share, reduced by an estimated total of $1.79 due to strike, 747 charge and litigation-related reserve
• Backlog grew 8 percent in 2008 to a record $352 billion
• 2009 EPS guidance of $5.05 to $5.35 underpins a solid foundation in challenging times

Full liveblog transcript continued below.

Dreamliner One is set to come alive again, as re-power-on is expected later this week, the first time since before the IAM strike.

Though, according to program sources, internal schedules have seen a shift from identifying specific milestones dates, including first flight, towards classification as TBD, away from the originally set date of April 24. Sources add that there is no indication that first flight has moved beyond Boeing's current target of the 2nd quarter of 2009, though could signal a slip to later in the quarter.

In the near term, Dreamliner One will undergo the "medium blow" test in early February, which will see the differential cabin pressure raised to 9.43 PSIg, less than the 14.9 PSIg registered on the successful "high blow" test on the static airframe in August.

In mid-February, the static airframe will complete structural rework clearing the way for additional structural testing ahead of first flight. Similar rework is also continuing on the fatigue airframe on the Boeing flight line to replace improperly installed fasteners and some strain gauges.

The first flying 787 has found a spot in its new home on the 767 line surrounded by a "phalanx of manufacturing engineers and other support people" according to one Boeing engineer. "There is no shortage of resources being thrown at [Dreamliner One] right now," the engineer added.

According to a report by analyst Scott Hamilton of Leeham.net, Boeing plans to leave some temporary fasteners in place during flight test.

"The small number of fasteners that won't be replaced are 1: not easy to reach AND (not OR) 2: don't represent a safety of flight issue," says Boeing. "They have the ability to withstand the loads and number of cycles expected during the flight test program. They must be repaired before long-term operations begin so they will be replaced during the refurbishment program after flight test."

One 787 machinist tells FlightBlogger that Boeing was able to save considerable time toward restarting the systems integration process by dropping "hundreds" of jobs on parts that meet short term specification. The remaining fasteners stem largely from non-deburred aluminum holes on the aircraft structure.

In addition, Dreamliner One has received its engine nacelle cowling and the last of its control surfaces.

ZA005 & ZA006

Late Sunday evening in Everett, the final structural section arrived for Dreamliner Five kicking off preparations for the start of final assembly of the first General Electric GEnx powered 787.

The aircraft will eventually be delivered to Royal Air Maroc.

The center fuselage, which is made up of four integrated structural components from Italy and Japan, touched down at Paine Field at 9:07 PM. The eighty-four foot, 110,213 lb. barrel joined the forward, aft and wing structures already in the factory.

When the center fuselage was brought into the 40-36 building in the rear of the 787 Final Assembly Line, the 100% completed forward fuselage had already been preloaded into the first assembly position awaiting its arrival.

The center fuselage remains in the soak area to complete traveled work from Global Aeronautica.

When final body join gets underway, the aft fuselage, which arrived 95% complete with major systems and wiring install and free of fastener issues will be mated to the center fuselage, horizontal and vertical stabilizers.

In addition, the GENx tailored pylons for Dreamliner Five have arrived in Everett and have been mated to the wings to push forward on completing integration in preparation for final body join expected later this week.

Building 40-26 is beginning to get crowded with all four assembly positions filled and two sets of wings in the pre-integration position, the first time this has happened. The wings for the final flight test aircraft, number six, arrived on January 16th the first set to arrive fully painted and with virtually completed structure.

ZA002

Back in Building 40-26, work on Dreamliner Two, which is the closest aircraft to the football field sized doors, primarily centers around completion of fastener replacement and preparations for power on. The aircraft received its Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines two weeks ago and has all its flap assemblies installed.

Ground vibration testing, a milestone that must be accomplished prior to Dreamliner One's first flight, is now targeted for the second half of March.

ZA003 & ZA004

Sitting behind Dreamliner Two, the 787 test aircraft run sequentially. Dreamliner Three has had its pylons reinstalled and is now sitting on its own landing gear, newly used in the last few weeks during the January 2nd line move. Dreamliner Four is undergoing preparation for landing gear installation and remains the lowest priority amongst the five flight test aircraft currently being prepared for flight.

Image courtesy Liz Matzelle

Why is Air Force One a 747-200B and not a 747-300?
I've been asked this one many times in the last week and it's time for an answer. Many have suggested it was the service requirement for the airframe set forth by the Air Force criteria, but in fact, it's not. The Air Force required the winning airframe/engine combination to have two years of commercial service by the time of delivery, more than enough for the 747-300.

Air Force One is actually powered by four General Electric CF6-80C2B1 engines that are identical to those on the 747-300. The 747-300 first entered service with Swissair in 1983. That engine went into service with Thai International Airways in December 1987. Boeing delivered the first modified 747-200B in August of 1990. Yet, that still doesn't answer the question.

According to a June 1986 Aviation Week article (which I can't republish):

Boeing did not propose the very long range 747SP (special performance) derivative because it would have been necessary to redesign the wing to accept the larger engines required to make the range/payload requirement. In addition, it would have been difficult to meet the interior space requirements with the foreshortened 747SP version. On the other hand, the stretched upped deck of the 747-300 provided more room than needed, and the greater gross weight and increased drag of the upper deck presented a range problem.

How many seats does Air Force One have?
The VC-25A is certified to carry 78 passengers and 23 crew members. Though, there is seating for 94 passengers, only 78 can be filled during takeoff and landing.

What number 747 off the line was 28000 and 29000?
Twin VC-25As 28000 and 29000 were number 679 and 688 out of Everett respectively.

How many auxiliary power units does Air Force One have?
Two! Twin Garrett GTCP331-200 APUs provide redundancy and guarantee sufficient ground power to main communications and air conditioning during extended ground stops in hot weather. The GTCP331-200 is actually designed for the 767, but the smaller unit was needed to double up in the VC-25A. The tailcone is modified to make way for this, and other "enhancements."

Earlier this week, FedEx exercised options on an 15 additional 777 freighters just three weeks after a regulatory filing stated that the cargo company was deferring delivery of its first 777F until FY2010. Though this simultaneous deferral and expansion of the order provides an illuminating glimpse into the thinking of the cargo giant. International air cargo traffic fell 13.5% in the month of November last year. Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's general director called the drop, "Shocking."

Air cargo, it appears, is a canary in a coal mine, setting off alarm bells for the rest of the global economy. Put simply, if people aren't buying, good aren't moving. This, of course, prompts a larger discussion as to whether or not air cargo traffic is a leading or trailing indicator of global economic health. Either way, it's dropping...fast.

Though if we assume that air cargo is an indicator of the health of the global economy, then the FedEx order might just shed some light on where the world's economic future lies. The initial deferral of FedEx's first four 777Fs in FY2009 is an unsurprising move, but adding 15 more for delivery between FY2011 and FY2019 is a clue to what the company sees as a decade of robust global air cargo growth. Whether this happens or not is just reading tea leaves, but FedEx has put its money where its mouth is. Maybe we should listen.

FedEx 777F Delivery Calendar FY2009-FY2019

	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	Total
Original 15	4	10	1									15
Deferred		4	10	1								15
Deferred+15		4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	1	30

*Source - Seattle Post-Intelligencer & Flightglobal.com

Q: Can an order for three aircraft justify the development of a sluggish selling derivative?

The Seattle Times is reporting that Boeing Commericial Airplanes will layoff 4,000-4,500 employees, citing a person familiar with the plan. According to the report, the announcement is expected to come later today. Boeing employs 76,400 68,000 in its commercial airplanes division, the vast majority in Washington state. 

UPDATE 1:27 PM ET:

This message was sent to employees from BCA Chief Scott Carson:

From: Scott Carson
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2009 10:00 AM
Subject: Meeting the challenges of 2009

***This message is being sent by Scott Carson, president and CEO of Commercial Airplanes, to all Commercial Airplanes employees.***
 
Meeting the challenges of 2009
 
As we look forward to 2009 and see daily headlines of how a growing global recession is impacting economies, it is clear that industries and individuals must prepare for a year of tough challenges.
 
Airlines are seeing passenger and freight traffic decline. Our customers are cutting back on capacity by parking older airplanes, reducing orders for spares and taking other steps to deal with the current business environment.
 
Orders for new airplanes, while still at high levels, tapered off in 2008 after three consecutive record years. In addition, Commercial Airplanes delivered fewer airplanes than projected and rescheduled the 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8 development programs.
 
To stay ahead of these challenges, we are taking prudent actions to make sure Commercial Airplanes remains well positioned in today's difficult economic environment. These steps will allow us to be in a financial position to adapt to uncertainties, meet our customer commitments and continue investing in our current and future product lines. We must also protect our competitiveness in a fiercely competitive business environment - our competition is not standing still, and neither can we.
 
We have already begun a program to reduce overhead costs and discretionary spending. This includes cutting back on travel and carefully managing inventory costs. We also took steps in the final months of 2008 to slow our hiring and leave some open positions unfilled.
 
As part of this overall effort to meet our business plan and address current business realities, we will be reducing employment by about 4,500 positions. Normal attrition and a reduction in non-Boeing labor will account for some of the job reductions, but layoffs of Boeing employees also are necessary. This is a difficult and painful decision. Many of the job reductions will be in overhead functions and other areas not directly associated with airplane production. This will enable us to continue our high production rates and successfully execute our key development programs.
 
Initial 60-day layoff notices will be issued on Feb. 20, and most layoffs will occur in the second quarter of the year. As we've always done, Boeing will support employees with layoff benefits and career-transition services. Next week, Doug Kight will provide managers with more information about the process we'll use.
 
Any decision involving involuntary job reductions is hard to make, but decisive steps now will improve our ability to meet our commitments and remain competitive as we move through this economic recession. At the same time, we must keep our focus on key imperatives in 2009, which include:
 
    •    Successfully executing our development programs (including certifying the 777 Freighter, flight testing the 787 Dreamliner, beginning final assembly of the 747-8 and continuing production of the P8-A).
    •    Delivering on our strong backlog by meeting our commitments to our customers.
    •    Continuously improving quality and productivity.
    •    Continuing the high level of customer support provided by Commercial Aviation Services.

Given these challenges, we will take special care to ensure that we retain the skills and resources needed to continue to be successful. We regret the disruption to employees and their families, but we believe that acting now will allow us to keep employment reductions to a minimum while we meet these key challenges, enhance our competitiveness and adapt to the uncertainties of this economic cycle.
 
Through this uncertain period, I must ask everyone to stay focused on meeting our commitments. Our customers are depending on us.
 
Scott

The DEW Line just got a hold of the RFI for a new Presidential transport to replace the VC-25A as Air Force One in 2017. Frankly, what's important here is what's not said in the RFP. There's no specification on a twin or four engine requirement or anything about where final assembly has to take place. I think this leaves open the door for A380 as a contender here as Airbus has already demonstrated its willingness to conduct modifications to commercial aircraft in the US.

Boeing just released its order and delivery totals for 2008. The year concluded with 662 commercial airplane orders, bringing the backlog to above 3,700. Boeing received orders for 93 787s, 484 737s, 54 777s, 28 767s, 3 747-8 VIPs. Of those 162 orders, unidentified customers ordered 162 aircraft, including 38 787s, 9 767s, 6 777s and 109 737s. Airbus is expected to release its 2008 order and delivery total later this month.

Deliveries in 2008 were down significantly from 2007, as a result of the IAM strike in September and October that halted jetliner production for 57-days.

Deliveries	4th Quarter	Full Year	2008 Orders
737 Next Generation	36	290	484
747	1	14	3
767	2	10	28
777	11	61	54
787	--	--	93
Total	50	375	662

Several photographers were on the scene on Friday to capture the move and they've got some pretty wonderful shots of Dreamliner One leaving the factory at sunset, a close up on the wing to body fairing, a peek inside 40-26, ZY998 before and during the move to the flight line, ZA001 at night and backing into her new home. Also, did anyone else notice the China Southern 777F making an appearance too?

Photographer Liem Bahneman also captured a Google Maps inspired 32 Megapixel look at Dreamliner One. This is incredibly impressive and is a surefire productivity killer.

Friday's 787 line move made way for Dreamliner Five to begin final assembly once all its remaining structural sections have arrived. With that being said, I went about comparing April's 787 rollout to last Friday's and the results were surprising. It's a game of spot the differences (there are a lot of them).

Special thanks to Liz Matzelle for taking this video.

Dreamliner One doesn't look like she's quite ready to fly yet. But if you compare what you see here to April, then you can see the forward progress made. Clearly, there's still work to be done, but ZA001 is becoming an airplane.

Beginning around 4pm PT (7pm ET) and stretching through the 8 o'clock hour locally, the south apron of the world's largest building (by volume) will host the first 787 line move of 2009.

The move will have the Fatigue Airframe (ZY998) departing 40-24 first, followed by Dreamliner One moving out of 40-26.

Also, careful where you park (via Boeing):

Today, Jan. 2, the 787 program will have a major line move affecting the entire south apron of the factory. All parking rules on the south apron will be strictly enforced. Vehicles parked in unauthorized areas after 7 p.m. will be towed at the owner's expense.

I'll be tweeting updates as they come in this afternoon and evening, so if you're in Everett or just want to know what's going on, follow my twitter feed. Better yet, you can receive an SMS with every update. HERE'S HOW

Send me your photos or video (or links to them) - looking forward to seeing them all! If my math is right, this will be the 6th time Dreamliner One will be outside.

1. June 26, 2007 - Night time trip to the paint shop
2. July 8, 2007 - Roll-out
3. July 9, 2007 - Returned to 40-26
4. April 25, 2008 - ZY997 leaves 40-26 for 40-23
5. June 20, 2008 - ZY998 leaves 40-26 for 40-24

UPDATE 4:55 PM ET: Looks like the line move will be closer to the 7pm PT time frame. The operation, sources say, will be a move of three aircraft. One 777 and ZY998 and ZA001. ZA001 will actually come out first and wait on the south apron for the 777 and ZY998 to move.

UPDATE:7:08 PM ET: Silly timezones. Looks like ZA001 is leaving the factory around 4 PM PT not ET. Sorry for any confusion. Which is right about now.