Official 777 Flight Testing/Production

Boeing stopped loading new airplane sections onto its 777 assembly line Tuesday as workers scrambled to catch up on a growing amount of unfinished work. The stoppage will not affect deliveries, according to a company spokeperson.

Tasks not completed in the assigned order typically get fixed farther down the assembly line. However, that practice can produce a cascading effect in the event of additional work delays.

The amount of unfinished—or traveled—work on the 777 line at Boeing’s plant in Everett, Washington, has grown in recent months as the company continues to implement new automation into the widebody’s fuselage assembly process. Boeing developed the automation for its new 777X airliner. To work out kinks and avoid the production delays that beset the 787, the company introduced it on the 777, which went into production in the early 1990s.

That transition has proved rockier than the company has publicly acknowledged, said several Boeing employees who work on the 777 program and agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.

“We’re about 3,000 jobs behind,” said one worker.

The moving assembly line would stop for four days this week to catch up on the unfinished work. The company also has required employees to work overtime on the weekends.

https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news ... ork-mounts

KarelXWB · Sat Oct 28, 2017 4:20 pm

First Eva Air Cargo departing on its first flight:

Uploaded by Matt Cawby https://twitter.com/mattcawby/status/924307613608689664

audidudi · Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:17 pm

KarelXWB wrote:
First Eva Air Cargo departing on its first flight:

Uploaded by Matt Cawby https://twitter.com/mattcawby/status/924307613608689664

Wouldn't an aircraft be landing normally in a pic taken in this location, as it looks like it's about to go over the threshold, but I see the landing gear is starting to retract, so now I'm somewhat confused! Perhaps it's doing a go-around?

N14AZ · Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:23 pm

I also think it’s a go-around.

CX Flyboy · Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:04 am

This is the VTOL version Boeing have been secretly developing.

KarelXWB · Tue Oct 31, 2017 3:54 pm

CX Flyboy wrote:
This is the VTOL version Boeing have been secretly developing.

What does VTOL stand for?

Slug71 · Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:08 pm

KarelXWB wrote:
CX Flyboy wrote:
This is the VTOL version Boeing have been secretly developing.

What does VTOL stand for?

Vertical Takeoff and Landing.

ikolkyo · Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:11 pm

Slug71 wrote:
KarelXWB wrote:
CX Flyboy wrote:
This is the VTOL version Boeing have been secretly developing.

What does VTOL stand for?

Vertical Takeoff and Landing.

He knows what it means he was just saying it to the other guy because VTOL was the wrong term to use. Should have said STOL.

Slug71 · Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:14 pm

ikolkyo wrote:
Slug71 wrote:
KarelXWB wrote:

What does VTOL stand for?

Vertical Takeoff and Landing.

He knows what it means he was just saying it to the other guy because VTOL was the wrong term to use. Should have said STOL.

Yeh i figured he was being sarcastic after. lol

MileHFL400 · Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:26 pm

audidudi wrote:
KarelXWB wrote:
First Eva Air Cargo departing on its first flight:

Uploaded by Matt Cawby https://twitter.com/mattcawby/status/924307613608689664

Wouldn't an aircraft be landing normally in a pic taken in this location, as it looks like it's about to go over the threshold, but I see the landing gear is starting to retract, so now I'm somewhat confused! Perhaps it's doing a go-around?

Man those engines look massive on the 200's

CX Flyboy · Wed Nov 01, 2017 2:30 am

ikolkyo wrote:
Slug71 wrote:
KarelXWB wrote:

What does VTOL stand for?

Vertical Takeoff and Landing.

He knows what it means he was just saying it to the other guy because VTOL was the wrong term to use. Should have said STOL.

Can't be STOL because the 777 is already above the threshold. vertical would be the only way to achieve this hence VTOL.

Anyway......

KarelXWB · Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:29 am

Boeing delivered just 2 777s in October (2x 777F), thus zero 77Ws. That must be a first since a very long time. Clearly the increased traveled work must be the result of this.

Slash787 · Fri Nov 10, 2017 12:23 pm

What is the production rate for the 777 at the moment?

Stitch · Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:11 pm

Slash787 wrote:
What is the production rate for the 777 at the moment?

Five per month as of August 2017, though once the 777X enters the line, the effective delivery rate will be 3.5 per month as the 777X frames will be allowed additional time to complete, effectively negating 1.5 slots per month.

Slash787 · Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:07 pm

Stitch wrote:
Slash787 wrote:
What is the production rate for the 777 at the moment?

Five per month as of August 2017, though once the 777X enters the line, the effective delivery rate will be 3.5 per month as the 777X frames will be allowed additional time to complete, effectively negating 1.5 slots per month.

Thanks! what has been the highest rate for the 777?

ikolkyo · Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:10 pm

Slash787 wrote:
Stitch wrote:
Slash787 wrote:
What is the production rate for the 777 at the moment?

Five per month as of August 2017, though once the 777X enters the line, the effective delivery rate will be 3.5 per month as the 777X frames will be allowed additional time to complete, effectively negating 1.5 slots per month.

Thanks! what has been the highest rate for the 777?

I believe 8.3/month if I remember correctly.

Boair · Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:58 pm

Is that a Photoshop ? Never heard about TK getting 777F:
https://twitter.com/AnalystTK/status/928845826402717696

ikolkyo · Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:24 pm

Boair wrote:
Is that a Photoshop ? Never heard about TK getting 777F:
https://twitter.com/AnalystTK/status/928845826402717696

1st of 2 777Fs they converted from 77Ws.

Boair · Fri Nov 10, 2017 11:39 pm

ikolkyo wrote:
1st of 2 777Fs they converted from 77Ws.

Thank you,didn't know about it !

Heavierthanair · Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:10 am

G'day

I knew Turkey was planning to start-up their own car production, but I would never have imagined it could be done that fast and that a Turkish Car would look like that! A job well done :duck:

Cheers

Peter

ikolkyo · Sat Nov 11, 2017 8:15 am

Heavierthanair wrote:
G'day

I knew Turkey was planning to start-up their own car production, but I would never have imagined it could be done that fast and that a Turkish Car would look like that! A job well done

Cheers

Peter

Exact same photo was posted 3 replies up...

Momo1435 · Sat Nov 11, 2017 9:08 am

KarelXWB wrote:
Boeing delivered just 2 777s in October (2x 777F), thus zero 77Ws. That must be a first since a very long time. Clearly the increased traveled work must be the result of this.

Boeing rolled out 3 77Ws for Qatar Airways in September which could all have been delivered in October. But all of Qatar's 77Ws deliveries so far this year took much longer from the roll out then other 77W deliveries. So this looks much more like Qatar Airways delaying deliveries then traveled work. Unless Boeing plans the traveled work to be just for the Qatar and Emirates frames, so that they won't have to delay other deliveries.

The reason for the traveled work was the transition of the production line for the 77X introduction onto the line. Boeing clearly also planned the 77F production right into this period of transition. In the first 7 months of the year Boeing just rolled out 1 77F, but since late August they rolled out 7 freighters. So they already anticipated some delays as the production of a 77F is somewhat less complex then building a 77W.

boefan · Sat Nov 11, 2017 10:20 am

Momo1435 wrote:
Boeing rolled out 3 77Ws for Qatar Airways in September which could all have been delivered in October. But all of Qatar's 77Ws deliveries so far this year took much longer from the roll out then other 77W deliveries. So this looks much more like Qatar Airways delaying deliveries then traveled work. Unless Boeing plans the traveled work to be just for the Qatar and Emirates frames, so that they won't have to delay other deliveries.

The reason for the traveled work was the transition of the production line for the 77X introduction onto the line. Boeing clearly also planned the 77F production right into this period of transition. In the first 7 months of the year Boeing just rolled out 1 77F, but since late August they rolled out 7 freighters. So they already anticipated some delays as the production of a 77F is somewhat less complex then building a 77W.

Actually Qatar Airways and Emirates frames were delayed because the airlines decided to introduce a new interior product straight from the factory .

1) Qatar introduced the Qsuites but the supplier wasn't able to deliver on time (similar to the Uniited/Polaris situation) . The difference with United is that Qatar didn't accept the frames until they were ready for service. Boeings practice is to complete the customer acceptance flight even without interiors and later install them . After completion an FCF/C2 must be performed before the title transfer ,

2) Emirates introduced new first class seats + other tweaks that needed certification so Boeing had to make a series of EWA (engineering/FAA) flights to test and certify the interior . The delay was planned as Emirates didn't need the frame until DAS mainly for promotional and publicity reasons .

77X transition has already started months ago so it didn't cause the delay nor the need to stop the FAL for 6 days . Other reasons that im not allowed to say were causing planes to roll out half finished

Momo1435 · Sat Nov 11, 2017 1:34 pm

Going from this kind of information I was under the impression that big work was going on at the factory.

https://twitter.com/AvWeekGuy/status/924047599337795584

This dismantling of large machinery which is not needed anymore did happen during the 6 day stop. I doubt that it was just coincidence.

bigbird · Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:03 pm

I believe that the first 777X is going to be line #1562. Is this correct?

boefan · Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:12 pm

Momo1435 wrote:
Going from this kind of information I was under the impression that big work was going on at the factory.

https://twitter.com/AvWeekGuy/status/924047599337795584

This dismantling of large machinery which is not needed anymore did happen during the 6 day stop. I doubt that it was just coincidence.

No it was not.
Transition was part of it but was scheduled for a single day only . Boeing stops the line every now and then (2-3 times per moth) in order to make changes for the 77X but the previous 6 day stoppage was mainly due to unfinished work at each station .

In general you are correct but transition started way earlier when production dropped to 5/month . Tiny steps at the beginning but crucial ones . Everything is back to normal now with only small issues that can be covered during pre-flight prep . Remember 40-23 is no longer available for post assembly work due to Qatar frames getting interior installation (will go on for several months) + KC-46 rework

Planesmart · Sat Nov 11, 2017 9:51 pm

boefan wrote:
Actually Qatar Airways and Emirates frames were delayed because the airlines decided to introduce a new interior product straight from the factory .

1) The difference with United is that Qatar didn't accept the frames until they were ready for service. Boeings practice is to complete the customer acceptance flight even without interiors and later install them . After completion an FCF/C2 must be performed before the title transfer

The difference is a function of how and when the aircraft are funded, and not necessarily anything to do with the customer.

audidudi · Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:10 pm

The latest EK B777ER, A6-EQH, which was delivered on Nov. 3rd, is the first to have the new First Class Suites installed.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com ... ing-weeks/

KarelXWB · Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:10 pm

audidudi wrote:
The latest EK B777ER, A6-EQH, which was delivered on Nov. 3rd, is the first to have the new First Class Suites installed.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com ... ing-weeks/

Would it go on display at the Dubai air show?

audidudi · Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:14 pm

KarelXWB wrote:
audidudi wrote:
The latest EK B777ER, A6-EQH, which was delivered on Nov. 3rd, is the first to have the new First Class Suites installed.

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com ... ing-weeks/

Would it go on display at the Dubai air show?

Yes it's there!

KarelXWB · Sun Nov 12, 2017 4:18 pm

audidudi wrote:
Yes it's there!

I see. I presumed the unveiling of the new F class was just a mockup.

audidudi · Sun Nov 12, 2017 5:21 pm

KarelXWB wrote:
audidudi wrote:
Yes it's there!

I see. I presumed the unveiling of the new F class was just a mockup.

It looks like the unveiling was probably a mockup, Sir Tim Clark did say that the plane on display at the air show "was flown in from Seattle brand new."

KarelXWB · Tue Nov 14, 2017 11:43 am

A Turkish Airlines 777F emerged from paint. Will be registered TC-LJL.

https://twitter.com/AeroimagesChris/sta ... 251883521/

VirginFlyer · Tue Nov 14, 2017 4:42 pm

KarelXWB wrote:
A Turkish Airlines 777F emerged from paint. Will be registered TC-LJL.

https://twitter.com/AeroimagesChris/sta ... 251883521/

You've been beaten to this image by a few days:

Boair wrote:
Is that a Photoshop ? Never heard about TK getting 777F:
https://twitter.com/AnalystTK/status/928845826402717696

V/F

qf789 · Thu Nov 16, 2017 4:04 am

FedEx 777F N897FD returning to PAE after test flight

https://twitter.com/JenSchuld/status/930921315090841600

qf789 · Sat Nov 18, 2017 4:02 pm

Another Emirates 77W (A6-EQI) on its B1 flight

https://twitter.com/JenSchuld/status/931635095533846528

qf789 · Sat Nov 18, 2017 4:05 pm

FedEx 777F N897FD on a low approach/do around during test flight

https://twitter.com/JenSchuld/status/931637094270648320

qf789 · Tue Nov 21, 2017 2:48 pm

Turkish Airlines 777F TC-LJL undergoes taxi test

https://twitter.com/JenSchuld/status/932711548732108800

jetmechanicdave · Sun Nov 26, 2017 8:48 pm

QATAR AIRWAYS B777-300ER A7-BEN - Headed out this morning for a test flight from Boeing Everett.

qf789 · Fri Dec 01, 2017 8:59 am

Emirates takes delivery of another 77W, A6-EQI

https://twitter.com/AeroimagesChris/sta ... 1888444416

Turkish Airlines takes delivery of 777F TC-LJL

https://twitter.com/mattcawby/status/936377861744635904

https://twitter.com/AeroimagesChris/sta ... 0203024387

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