Mar

Another Delay For Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner

Posted by admin Published in Transportation Alternatives

Boeing is expected to announce another delay for completion of its 787 Dreamliner. that moment the problem is a design flaw with the plane’s center wing box, which is where its wings join the fuselage.

According to flightblogger, the flaw is a conclusion of Boeing’s efforts to reduce the 787’s weight:

During the initial development phase of the center wing box, the
structural spars were designed to the appropriate width to support the
called for structural loads.

The original design for the center wing box was changed when the
weight of the Dreamliner began to increase. The structural spars, which
are made of composite, were reduced in width as a weight saving degree.

Boeing and Fuji Heavy Industries manufactured composite experiment pieces
to demonstrate the structural capabilities of the spars. Findings
indicated that the composite spars were buckling prematurely compared
to metal spars of the same width.

Industry sources believe that the first Dreamliner is now likely to
be delivered in

the moment half of 2009, six months behind the latest target and nearly a year later than originally scheduled. Boeing has booked by 700 orders for the 240-seat plane, making it one of the most successful commercial airliner launches in history.

If it seems like deja vu, it is.

Airbus’ double decker A380,
which went into commercial service in October, was plagued by its own
production delays and the first plane was delivered more than a year
late. Airbus’ parent admitted the delays would cost the company
billions of dollars.

Despite being the fiercest of rivals, Boeing didn’t take even one public dig at Airbus when they announced the A380 delays.
possibly they figured that at some point they might have some not good news of their own.

Source: Reuters. Photo courtesy of Boeing.