23 May 2007

Is Boeing Fudging on 787 Delays?

Boeing has committed in very public pronouncements on the roll out for the 787 on july 8 07. A huge embarassemtn for them if they miss it. But they wont. Flying it will be a different matter.

The delivery of several important components are not all coming together at quite the right time. So there will be some parts that are going to be late. Specifically sources tell us - the wiring wont be ready and they will be installing this long after the actual roll out.

We wish Boeing ALL the luck with 787. Having seen and actually touched a test subject - I can assure you that it is going to be a great aircraft. However it is ground breaking and there are many aggressive new components that make up this ambitions design. Comparing sections side by side with a conventional metal based fuselage shows just how different it is. Across the airport not more than a mile or two away from where the 787 is being assembled there is a fine example of what can go wrong. Volunteers mostly from Boeing are nearing the end of their 11 year restoration of a Comet (a 4C originally delivered to Mexicana). Lets just hope that Boeing hasnt made the same mistakes that De Havilland did with the original Comet 1.

Still lets see if they make an early first flight with the 787. If there is a screw up on the dates and significant slack time is taken up - it could make for some bad press for Boeing and bad news for the current high flying stock.

Cheers

Timothy

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