Latest 787 news, problems, problems, problems

I take no pleasure in this although considering the 'meal' some make, every time they can, of anything causing the headaches at Airbus it seems only fitting to post up the latest problems with the Boeing 787.

This is the very latest news I can find dated June 9th 2006;
the reports are of problems with weight, software, the materials and possible delays to delivery - although the Boeing line so far is that there is no expectation these problems will cause great difficulties or delays.

(.......and I'm sure all those posters who love to try and tear Airbus to shreds on the smallest snippet will no doubt demonstrate their even-handedness and impartiality on all things aeronautical and disbelieve everything Boeing have to say as mere down-playing and propaganda and will be itching to denounce this as signs of a great aviation disaster in the making.
Yeah right .)

Despite problems with the new Boeing 787, the company says the jet's debut won't be delayed.
Associated Press

Engineers will rework the prototype made from high-tech composites.
Boeing Co.'s 787 program suffered a potential setback when engineers discovered problems while testing the new jet's fuselage, but Boeing says no delay is expected for the 787's highly anticipated debut.

A 33-foot prototype of a fuselage section was supposed to be used to help gain certification for the airplane's manufacturing process from the Federal Aviation Administration.

But Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said the company's engineers called off FAA certification plans after discovering bubbles in the high-tech composite materials used for the section.
They decided that the part would likely fail the government test, she said.

www.tulsaworld.com...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Boeing (BA) is wrestling with technical and production problems on its much-anticipated 787 Dreamliner, leading to speculation the company may delay the new aircraft's scheduled 2008 delivery, BusinessWeek magazine reports in its June 19 edition.
The fuselage section of the plane has failed company testing, the nose section was deemed unacceptable, software programs from different manufacturers aren't talking to each other correctly, and the plane is still too heavy, according to BusinessWeek.

www.marketwatch.com...

- I'm quite sure Boeing will sort the difficulties out eventually (as all the manufacturers usually seem to do at some point) but it just goes to show, ground-breaking new tech is hard for everybody in places, whichever side of the Atlantic the project is on, eh?



[edit on 10-6-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey
I take no pleasure in this although considering the 'meal' some make every time they can of anything causing the headaches at Airbus it seems only fitting to post up the latest problems with the Boeing 787.

So, in other words, sminkeypinkey, you created this thread to purposely draw confrontation with those who had or have commented on Airbus's problems?

Of course, you "take no pleasure in this"....






seekerof

I saw this on the Flight website this morning sminkey and I must confess I was thinking exactly the same as you have written. I haven't read anything in depth yet so I will wait a little longer to comment. I can't help but feel though how odd it is that the 'harbingers of doom' have been a little slow to bring this one to the board. Now if a sliver of paint had been scratched off an A380?

I think the 'anti Airbusism' has looked worse recently because of the insane rantings of a certain member I'm not taking another warning for, while there is no such rabid anti Boeing sentiment among the members.

[edit on 10-6-2006 by waynos]

Originally posted by Seekerof
So, in other words, sminkeypinkey, you created this thread to purposely draw confrontation with those who had or have commented on Airbus's problems?

Of course, you "take no pleasure in this

- I'm just posting up the latest news on the 787 Seekerof, like I said.
It is the very latest and it hasn't been posted here before.
Perhaps you missed that part, hmmmm?

In addition to those facts I poked a little fun at those who pronounce massive disaster(s) at every and any Airbus 'problem' going.
Maybe you have missed that tendancy here and all?

......what's your problem?
Like many here I'm genuinely interested in the latest news on aviation, which this is a part of, I haven't 'bashed' Boeing at all, actually.

I hardly think a passing, obviously joking, reference to a very obvious part of what goes on here can honestly be reasonably construed as the point of my posting.
OK, I've done an edit andput a laughing face in to make it obvious for the hard of comprehending.

( and I suppose if I look I'll find you making similar comments to those who roll out every time to do the Airbus-bash, eh?
Yeah right)

Yes Waynos, I was pretty surprised no-one has mentioned it yet.
It's just the latest reports on how things are going and hardly news of Boeing going bust now, is it?



[edit on 10-6-2006 by sminkeypinkey]

I read about this in the ATA Smartbrief yesterday, but didn't have time to post it. (Waynos, you might be interested in that. It's got some great information in it, and it comes to your email). I'm not really surprised that Boeing is having problems considering all the new things they're trying with the 787.

Here's the latest word from the company -

"If you stand back and look at the whole program, we're on track," said Mike Bair, the senior vice president in charge of 787 development. "There are parts of the program that are a little bit behind schedule."......

.....Specifically, one of the fuselage barrels had failed during testing. The barrels, whole sections of the fuselage cast in one piece, are a key feature of the plane. By casting them in a solid unit instead of using hundreds of fasteners, Boeing expects to drastically cut the amount of time it takes to build the plane......

.....Bair said Boeing and its suppliers are nearing a decision on whether to increase the rate it will produce 787s in Everett. Boeing won't confirm its plans, but analysts say the company plans to build about seven a month after the initial ramp-up period in 2007-08......

.....If airlines don't commit now, it'll be 2015 instead of 2012 before they can get the planes they want, he said.

www.heraldnet.com...

- Interesting that no mention is made of the weight difficulties or the software glitches?
That comment about capacity and no chance of a delivery until 2015 is very interesting too.

(.....and interesting too that besides 2 serious comments no-one is interesting in this?

Still, never mind an important development in one of the important projects currently underway in the world of aviation, there's a typically ridiculous 'Airbus A380 dead?' thread to act like mindless 'football fans' on instead, eh?)

My copy of Flight dropped through the door and it includes a slightly longer version of what was posted above.

It seems the test section was found to be porous after baking since tiny air bubbles formed in it and naturally expanded in the heat process.

Boeing says that 'this is only a prototype section but if it happened on the first production fuselage we'd be very upset'.

Whats puzzling me though it how they can ensure this cannot happen during production of what Boeing surely hopes will be a couple of thousand 787 fuselages? I presume they have a plan to deal with it but if it did become a recurring problem it just may hand the initiative back to the A350 and its Al-Li fuselage?

Originally posted by waynos
It seems the test section was found to be porous after baking since tiny air bubbles formed in it and naturally expanded in the heat process.

-Yeah I don't get that either Waynos.
The exec talking in the report I linked to talks about the problem being with a tool they knew would cause problems but that they tried to use anyway.
That doesn't seem to tie in with the bubble story.

I think the main problem will be with routine maintenance/inspection and not the construction of the fuselage itself.


Every new process has teething troubles, indeed, they've done well to have so few for a pretty high risk project. I'm sure the people in Seattle will be more than happy so far.