Boeing has retarted 787 structural deliveries following a two-week halt, after the airframer opted to prevent any workmanship issues with the 30th Alenia-built horizontal stabiliser from traveling to final assembly.
One of Boeing's four modified 747-400 Dreamlifters operated by Atlas Air, touched down at Paine Field in Everett, Washington 5 November carrying a set of wings for the 31st 787.
The wings, built at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Oye facility in Nagoya, Japan, were flown from Chubu Centrair Airport to Everett with an intermediate technical stop in Anchorage, Alaska.
The arrival of the wings for Airplane 31 comes one day after the 787 line advanced, making way for the loading of the structural sections for Airplane 29, an aircraft that will eventually be delivered to Japan's All Nippon Airways.
The advancement of aircraft on the line marks the first time in just over a month the line has moved forward. Boeing announced on 25 October it had temporarily halted deliveries.
The forward and aft fuselages and wings for Airplane 30 arrived the third week of October prior to the delivery halt.
Yet to arrive in Everett is the horizontal stabilizer for the 30th 787, which is set to be delivered to final assembly ahead of the next line move, scheduled for the middle of November when Airplane 30 will be loaded into position one for the wing and body joins.
Boeing is aiming to deliver the first 787, Airplane Seven, to ANA in the middle of the first quarter 2011.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
