Visiteur non identifié - Connexion - Inscrivez-vous
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. today delivered its first
composite sections for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, representing 23
percent of the airplane's entire fuselage structure.
"Today marks a historic milestone for Vought," said Vice President
of Vought's 787 Division Ted Perdue. "We've designed and produced a
major portion of the world's first all-composite aft fuselage for a
commercial airliner. Vought has once again demonstrated its expertise
as a leader in the development and production of large advanced
composite structures. Today is a testament to the capability and
excellence of our entire team, and we are extremely proud to be a
partner on the 787 program."
The two aft fuselage sections were initiated as "one piece
barrels," which were wound in Vought's state-of-the-art composites
facility here using advanced fiber placement technology. The barrels
were then "stuffed" with further structure and systems components, and
joined together with the aft pressure bulkhead to make the end portion
of the cabin and the structure that supports the tail.
A custom-made transporter will carry the sections about 200 yards
across the parking lot from Vought's facility to Global Aeronautica,
Vought's joint venture with Alenia North America. There, the completed
section will be wrapped and prepared for shipping before being loaded
onto the Boeing Dreamlifter and flown to Everett, Wash.
The delivery is the culmination of work that is traced back to
2002 when Vought was named to Boeing's development team to help
provide advanced materials technologies for its next-generation
aircraft. A year later, Boeing announced Vought as a structural
partner for the Dreamliner, responsible for designing and building aft
fuselage sections 47 and 48. Vought's production activities began last
June, on the heels of opening its new 342,000-square-foot
manufacturing facility adjacent to the Charleston International
Airport.
Aft fuselage section 47 measures 19 feet in diameter and 23 feet
long. It is the last passenger section of the 787. Section 48,
measuring 14 feet in diameter and 15 feet long, includes the pressure
bulkhead and is the first cargo hold section of the airplane.
Vought has fabricated seven aft fuselage production units and one
developmental unit since production began in South Carolina last year.
While the 787 is the first commercial airplane to be made
primarily of composites, the carbon fiber materials have been widely
used in military aircraft, including the B-2, which Vought helped
design and manufacture. Other composite structures that Vought builds
include the Global Hawk wing, the C-17 horizontal stabilizer and
nacelle, and the V-22 fuselage.
Vought has work share on every Boeing jetliner in production, from
the 737 to the 777, and has built major structures for the 747 since
initial production began in 1968. These include the main fuselage
section, doors and the tail section. Vought also builds large wing
flaps for the 777 and major subassemblies for the 767, including the
center wing section, horizontal stabilizer and aft fuselage.
Since the 787 program was officially launched in April 2004,
Boeing has won more than 500 orders from 44 customers. The order pace
is the fastest for any commercial airplane in history.
Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. (www.voughtaircraft.com) is one
of the world's largest independent suppliers of aerostructures.
Headquartered in Dallas, the company designs and manufactures major
airframe structures such as wings, fuselage subassemblies, empennages,
nacelles and other components for prime manufacturers of aircraft.
Vought has annual sales of approximately $1.6 billion and about 5,900
employees in nine U.S. locations.
Vought 787 production photos available for downloading at:
http://www.voughtaircraft.com/gallery/locations/locations.htm.
Sélectionnez votre lecteur de news préféré ci-dessous :
Ou bien intégrez le flux XML dans votre agrégateur RSS par défaut : 
