Boeing will conduct final assembly of the 787-10 at its facility in North Charleston, South Carolina beginning in 2017.
"We looked at all our options and found the most efficient and effective solution is to build the 787-10 at Boeing South Carolina," says Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager of the 787 programme. "This will allow us to balance 787 production across the North Charleston and Everett sites as we increase production rates. We're happy with our growth and success in South Carolina, and the continued success at both sites gives us confidence in our plan going forward."
Design of the 787 family's largest variant is taking place at Boeing's faciliities in Everett, where the 787-8 and 787-9 are assembled.
Boeing says the 787-10 midbody fuselage is too long to be transported from North Charleston to Everett for final assembly. "In addition, introducing the 787-10 in North Charleston takes advantage of that facility's capacity while allowing the Everett facility to continue improving productivity as it focuses on the 787-8 and 787-9," says the airframer.
The 787-10 is 5.5m (18ft) longer than the 787-9, and 3.05m (10ft) of that additional length is in the midbody section.
Boeing has three production lines for the 787 - two in Everett and one in South Carolina - producing 10 aircraft a month. This will increase to 12 in 2016 and 14 by the end of the decade.
Everett will continue to assemble seven aircraft a month, while the South Carolina final assembly line will grow to five aircraft each month in 2015 from three currently, and then up to seven each month by the end of the decade.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
