Step inside Boeing’s Dreamliner factory in South Carolina

For most of its history, Boeing was synonymous with the Seattle area. Although the global aerospace company has facilities throughout the United States and abroad, it was founded in Seattle and for most of its history it built its commercial aircraft at two locations. factory in the Seattle area.

In 2011, Boeing opened its third commercial plant, this one in Charleston, South Carolina.

The new location comes after Boeing purchased the South Carolina-based operations of two suppliers in 2008 and 2009: Vought Aircraft Industries and Global Aeronautica, which built parts for Boeing.

Boeing took both operations and combined them together, before opening the assembly line and delivering the final 787 at the site two years later.

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The Charleston site operates in conjunction with Boeing’s Everett plant in Washington state, which produces wide-body commercial jets.

Boeing said it needed a second assembly line to “expand our manufacturing capabilities to meet market demand for the aircraft,” and it chose the Charleston site because of the parts work already done on the aircraft. asset.

However, the announcement came during a time of turbulent relations with the Washington-based union, which led to accusations that the plane maker was trying to pass illegally League. Since then, Boeing has been accused of resisting any attempt by Charleston workers to unionize.

Boeing says in 2020 that it will consolidation of 787 production in Charleston instead of splitting it between South Carolina and Washington, a move that was completed the following year.

TPG had the opportunity to tour the factory last December before an event marking New United Airlines order for up to 200 planes.

Say that Boeing work for Dreamliners at its factory are a bit misleading because Boeing – like Airbus, Embraer and other airframe manufacturers – doesn’t actually make many of the planes itself.

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Instead, the company outsources parts to specialized manufacturers, while also making some of the parts itself. Boeing then assembles each component and assembles them into the final product.

So really, the Charleston campus is a association, association tree.

As a result, as you drive around the facility located on the airport’s grounds, you won’t just see 787s in various finishes. You’ll also spot a rare type of aircraft: Boeing’s custom “Dreamlifter”.

The Dreamlifter is a converted 747-400 with almost three times the cargo volume thanks to its bulbous hull. Boeing designed the plane in the mid-2000s specifically to transport large 787 components — such as wings — from suppliers to its manufacturing plant. Other oversized cargo planes at the time were too small.

The four Dreamlifters, operated by cargo carrier Atlas Air for Boeing, primarily pick up Dreamliner wings, made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan, as well as a number of fuselage parts, frames, transverse stabilizers and other parts from Leonardo in Italy, and drop them off in Charleston.

The main fuselage, built by Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, is transported by rail, while thousands of other parts are transported by various modes of transportation.

During TPG’s visit, two of the Dreamlifters were on site.

However, Boeing still makes some of the parts itself – especially the rear or rear of the plane.

Unfortunately, Boeing has asked us to agree not to photograph certain parts of the facility, as it uses proprietary technology and methods in its manufacturing process. However, we were still able to view and take pictures in some areas.

Once the rear end is completed, workers take it to the final assembly building.

There, the aft part is joined to the fuselage, and the wings and other structures are attached to the main fuselage. As the aircraft moves down the assembly line, the plane is painted for the end customer and the aircraft interior is installed, along with the flight control systems.

The finishing touches are completed and each individual aircraft is flown through a rigorous test program before being delivered. During the TPG tour, a Turkish Airlines 787-9 landed after returning from nearly three hours of testing in the Atlantic.

The facility in Charleston has 787s parked around waiting to be delivered. The The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered 787 deliveries to be halted in mid-2021 after concerns arose around Boeing’s quality control process in Charleston. Deliveries resumed late last summer.

Due to a more than a year delay in deliveries, which comes just as air travel demand is starting to return from its pandemic low, Boeing is working to address the number of completed planes. backlog for airline customers.

In the midst of the pandemic and the delivery halt, the company also slowed down the production line. According to Lisa Fahl, senior quality manager, Boeing is targeting a completion rate of five Dreamliners per month.

The route peaks at 14 new planes a month between Charleston and Everett, Fahl said, suggesting that output could increase in the future.

It’s unclear when production will pick up, but as United’s order shows, there’s great demand for new Dreamliners – and likely will continue to do so for years to come.