They are still burning the midnight oil in Everett.
Formally Aircraft number 2 is in final assembly. See here for an image released Feb 15th. http://boeingmedia.com/imageDetail.cfm?id=15106&clr=release. Altogether there are 4 ships on the line.
Contrast this with the image released earlier showing the first aircraft Ship #1 and the 2 static test aircraft. LN2 now joins them.
Since this one was widely circulated earlier - I am going to risk the wrath of Boeing and reprint it here.
Altogether there are 21 aircraft (mostly in pieces out of sight of both these photos) now in Everett. Four are now officially on the line itself. Still it has been a mild winter so far so not much chance of any weather related problems with the aircraft.
The prognosis is getting better but things are still not looking rosy for the schedule. Despite several statements from Carson and Co, it really doesn't look good for 109 Aircraft delivered by end of 2009. The biggest problem will be full certification. To all intents and purposes the LN1 (First aircraft) is not really a representative sample of the aircraft. While the design in now "100%" complete there is a lot of work to be done to bring the current line delivered structures as well as parts in the supply chain already that will have to be re"travelled". Certification will be extremely tight. The biggest obstacle being the Cold Soak test. There is now just a short window every year when such a test can be accommodated. The consensus from what can see is that first flight will now slip into Q4. Delivery for May 09 to ANA looks reasonable if you are an optimist.
Boeing... do it right. Take the time. And best of luck to you
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