Boeing plans to produce up to five 787 widebodies each month by year-end. Boeing report they are on track with the program having loaded the first airframe on to a temporary line in the manufacturer’s Everett, Wash, facility.
This is the third line in the Boeing 787 assembly program, which was announced in 2009 when Boeing revealed plans to locate the second production line in Charleston, South Carolina.
Located in the former 767 manufacturing site sandwiched between the 777 and 747-8 lines, the site was completed on schedule in June but initially used for completion of finished airframes requiring change incorporation.
A Boeing spokesman commented: “We have now activated the line by loading the first airplane to be built on the line,” he says . “We are making steady progress toward increasing the production rate from the current 3.5 airplanes per month to five airplanes per month by the end of the year and 10 per month by the end of 2013.”
More news to follow at aircraft-completion.com regarding VIP orders and deliveries of the Boeing 787
Boeing 787-8 Fact Sheet:
Brief Description:
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is a superefficient airplane with new passenger-pleasing features. It will bring the economics of large jet transports to the middle of the market, using 20 percent less fuel than any other airplane of its size.
Seating:
210 to 250 passengers
Range:
7,650 to 8,200 nautical miles (14,200 to 15,200 kilometers)
Configuration:
Twin aisle
Cross Section:
226 inches (574 centimeters)
Wing Span:
197 feet (60 meters)
Length:
186 feet (57 meters)
Height:
56 feet (17 meters)
Cruise Speed:
Mach 0.85
Maximum Takeoff Weight:
502,500 pounds (227,930 kilograms)
Program milestones:
- Authority to offer late 2003
- Program launch April 2004
- Assembly start 2006
- First flight December 2009
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