Fasteners Part of Boeing Dreamliner 787’s Storied Delays
FEATURE
Boeing’s Dreamliner (courtesy Boeing.com)
Boeing made its first test flight of the fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner, almost two and a half years later than expected.
A critical shortage of fasteners, along with installation problems, is part of the Dreamliner’s storied delays in development, a fact still mentioned in the run-up media coverage of the first test flight.
“The lightweight carbon and titanium plane, promising to save airlines million of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs, has been hampered by a shortage of bolts, faulty design and a two-month strike, and it still has a long way to go before it proves to be a success,” Reuters reported.
As recently as mid-2009 Boeing engineers were adding fasteners to strengthen wing supports that showed a design flaw resulting in delamination of the carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic composite during structural testing.
A shortage of fasteners plagued production of the Dreamliner test planes at the start. Boeing announced an initial six-month delay and promptly replaced the head of its 787 program and deploying engineers into the field to help suppliers boost production. The test aircraft had to be delivered with temporary fasteners.
Months later came the news that Boeing was scrambling to replace other fasteners that had been improperly installed. That problem was traced to an engineering error made at the company’s facility in Everett, WA.
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