Randy's Journal: Archives

23 June 2006

Big airplanes

There's a saying we hear a lot in the business: big airplanes are hard. Meaning, it's very challenging to build a large commercial airplane.

And in the past week or so, we've all been reminded of this simple truth. In the competitive back and forth between Boeing and Airbus, it's all too easy to overlook the fact that what we do every day - building commercial airplanes - is an extremely complex and demanding endeavor.

And building an all-new airplane is the most challenging of all. Any number of things can happen during development and initial production. Big commercial jetliners are complicated feats of technology. It all has to be done just right.

You may have read media reports about a recent challenge with one of the composite fuselage barrels we've built during the development phase of the 787 Dreamliner. We built eight test fuselage barrels successfully, and with improving quality. And then, as part of our continued efforts to optimize our processes, we tried out a ninth barrel on an experimental tool and with different materials.

This ninth finished barrel was found to be unacceptable, due to some excessive porosity, or trapped gas or air in the fuselage material. Our study of the root cause clearly points to differences between tools and processes used on this barrel compared to the eight others.

So we learn as we go along. And in fact we're moving forward in the certification process for the 787 by producing two additional barrels with the previously proven production method. And the program is progressing on schedule. But this is all part of building a new airplane. We develop solutions during the development phase that ensure success during the production phase.

Now, you may also have read about some problems with Airbus' production and delivery schedule for the A380. They've hit a tough patch. But Airbus has a long history of achievements. They'll work through it and will continue to be a formidable competitor.

As I mentioned, as difficult as airplanes are in general, we know from our own experience that big airplanes are the hardest. All of the typical challenges are only magnified as the airplane's size increases. Creating a new airplane is complex, challenging work. Not everything goes as planned. You expect that issues are going to arise and you expect to deal with them.

Clearly, many in the industry and the media can get so caught up in the competitive "race" that they lose sight of an important fact. While the marketing and selling of an airplane is very visible and can get a lot of ink, it's just part of the story.

The important part of the story is delivering high-quality airplanes. And sometimes getting there can be hard.