Smooth

Smooth:
Here’s a very visible sign of progress on the 787-9. The first major piece—the horizontal stabilizer— has arrived in our Everett factory some three weeks early. The horizontal stabilizer was built and assembled by the Boeing Advanced Developmental Composite team in Tukwila, Wash., with final installations and paint by the Boeing Salt Lake team.

Dave Effner, 787 final assembly, readies the first 787-9 horizontal stabilizer for its move into tooling within the Everett factory. Matthew Thompson photo.

This is the kind of performance we’re seeing across the entire 787-9 supply chain. Since major assembly began in August of last year, the 787-9 build process has gone smoothly, on or ahead of plan in many cases.

787 final assembly employees help load the first 787-9 horizontal stabilizer into tooling. Matthew Thompson photo.

The 787-9 will seat 40 more passengers than the 787-8, with a range of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles. The first 787-9 will enter final assembly at midyear. First flight is scheduled for the second half of 2013 and first delivery is set for early 2014 to Air New Zealand.

The 787-9 is the second member of the 787 family.