A Busy Weekend Ahead

There's a busy weekend ahead for the LCFs. N747BA (LCF1) was spotted at PAE on Friday loading shipping fixtures for this weekend's trip to Japan and N780BA (LCF2) is in Charleston prepping for it's trip to Italy. Both LCFs are expected to leave their respective bases Saturday or Sunday and are scheduled to return around 1pm on Monday, September 17 in Charleston.

LCF2 will deliver Sections 44 and 46 from Grottaglie. Look for the outbound leg to operate as EIA5162 and return as EIA5127.

LCF1 will deliver Sections 45, 11 and 43 from Nagoya. The outbound leg to Japan should operate at EIA5109 and return as EIA5186.

When assembled together, these sections will make up the center fuselage of Dreamliner Three. Currently fuselage parts are scattered across the US. Section 41 is under construction in Wichita and Section 47 and 48 are being assembled in Charleston.

In addition, the center fuselage for Dreamliner Two is making great progress in Charleston. Work continues installing the key ceiling brackets that will hold the wiring, environmental control systems and ducting. Delivery to Everett is set for those first two weeks in October. Keep an eye out for Dreamliner Two to possibly be the first to fly, followed very closely by Dreamliner One. I am working to confirm this.

I too will be busy this weekend and don't anticipate being able to update in a significant way for several days. Feel free use the comments section here as an open thread for discussion. Not to worry, I haven't forgotten, the 747-8 update will be arriving shortly.

LCF Flight Numbers Explained

I had previously posted on the relative regularity of the LCF flights from here on out as they are operated by Everegreen. The flight numbers are fixed and will be consistent. However, not in the way I previously thought. In fact, there is a specific logic and formula to each flight number. Within each flight number lies a great deal of information about the flight. The formula is as follows:



Airports
PAE - Snohomish County / Paine Field, Everett, WA
TAR - M.A. Grottag Airport, Grottaglie, Italy
IAB - McConnell AFB, Wichita, KS
CHS- Charleston AFB/International Airport, Charleston, SC
NGO - Chūbu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, Japan

There are many different combinations.
Here are some examples:

NGO-PAE-CHS
Eastbound Flight
EIA5186
Delivery of section 45/11, 43

TAR-PIK-CHS
Westbound Flight
EIA5127
Delivery of section 44/46

TAR-PIK-PAE
Westbound Flight
EIA5121
Delivery of horizontal stabilizer

NGO-PAE
Eastbound Flight
EIA5180
Delivery of wings

Finding Regularity

It appears as though the LCF routes operated by Evergreen (previously BOE632 and BOE876) are going to have consistent flight numbers than previously thought:


PAE-IAB - EIA5104
PAE-NGO - EIA5169
PAE-CHS - EIA5106
PAE-ANC - EIA5109
ANC-NGO - EIA5109
IAB-CHS - EIA5146
CHS-PAE - EIA5169
CHS-TAR - EIA5162
NGO-PAE - EIA5180
TAR-PIK - EIA5127

JFK was used on July 24 as a WX diversion from CHS
PIK-JFK - EIA5127
JFK-PAE - EIA5161

EIA5169 left Everett for Japan at 5:25AM PDT this morning. Anyone know what it's going to pick up? Wings for Dreamliner Two?

LCF1 Returning to the US

BREAKING NEWS

The first large cargo freighter, N747BC will return on July 18, 2007 as BOE876 leaving Taiwan at 3:15 GMT and coming back to Everett by way of a fuel stop in Anchorage. LCF1 had been undergoing final modifications and received a full Dreamlifter paint job in Taiwan following the extensive metamorphosis over the previous year. N747BC will join its hard-working sister ship N780BA on normal rotations very soon as a transporter of 787 parts as the program moves toward first flight, flight testing and production ramp up.

UPDATE:
LCF1 snuck into the continental United States this afternoon as EIA574, arriving in Portland where it will undergo bridge work for the next several days before returning to Everett.

Changing Flight Numbers

Flightblogger has learned that the modified 747 LCF2 has changed its call sign from Boeing 632 to Evergreen 5146 and Evergreen 5104. 5146 represents the leg from Wichita to Charleston and 5104 represents Everett to Wichita. Flightblogger is working to confirm the permanent change in LCF flight numbers. Either way, it looks like Section 41 for ZA002 should be coming to Everett very soon.

UPDATE: LCF2 will return to Everett tonight as Evergreen 5169 with an estimated arrival at 6:12PM PDT.

A Busy 747

While all eyes were on Dreamliner One heading to the paint shop yesterday, LCF2 was busy working overtime.

N780BA, Large Cargo Freighter 2, returned to Charleston Tuesday from Italy (after a fuel stop in Scotland) with Section 44 and 46 in tow for the second flying test frame ZA002. After arriving in Charleston just before 5pm EDT on June 26, LCF2 turned around two hours later and departed on its way to Everett.

LCF2 arrived in Everett around 9:30 PDT June 26. The full scale static test rig will be assembled and put through its paces in Building 40-23, two bays down from the location of the 787 assembly line.

The modified 747 turned around and departed from Everett (this morning) at around 4am on June 27 for Japan. LCF2 should return to the Pacific Northwest by Thursday.

Boeing 632 Flight Plan
Everett (KPAE) to Nagoya (RJGG)

TOU TR13 SPONJ ORNAI 5200N 14000W 5400N 15000W 5500N 16000W CDB A342 OLCOT R580 OATIS OTR3 GOC W18 SWING

Update: LCF2 returned to Everett without the center fuselage for ZY9997 as previously reported. The center fuselage for the static test rig continues to be assembled in Charleston. On its way back from Japan, the 747 stopped in Everett for fuel and continued on to Charleston with Section 43 and 11/45 for ZA002 aboard, not the wings as previously thought.

Where in the world is the 787 Dreamliner?

UPDATED: May 16 - 4:56pm EDT (updates are in blue)
The manufacturing of the 787 is truly a global effort, with parts from suppliers for the Dreamliner being created on either side of the planet. As the roll-out of the 787 approaches on the 8th of July, all parts will find their way aboard three modified 747-400s (N780BA and N747BC, N249BA) to the Boeing Factory in Everett for final assembly. This particular post will be periodically be updated leading up to 7-8-07 to provide updates on the manufacturing and delivery of major Dreamliner parts.
UNCONFIRMED: Main landing gear will be delivered the week of May 14. Main landing gear will be delivered to Everett by May 18th at the latest. Trent 1000s should be delivered by June 1.

The first 787 will be painted in the house Dreamliner livery with the tail painted in the ANA livery.

Section 41
Manufactured at Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita, KS, the forward nose section of the 787 was presented to the public on the 24th of April. 4/24 Photos here LCF2 was seen departing Everett at 10:30 am PDT to fly to Kansas on May 9. (Photo 1, Photo 2) Section 41 was picked up in Wichita on May3 9 by LCF2 N780BA on Boeing 632 then flown to Charleston. Section 41 arrived in Everett on May 11.

Section 44 and 46
The center fuselage barrels (section 44 and 46) were produced in Grottaglie, Italy at Alenia Aeronautica and delivered by N780BA on March 23, 2007 to Vought Global Aeronautica’s facility in Charleston. (Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4)

Section 45/11 (Center Wheel Well/Center Wing Tank)
Section 43
Section 43(Photo 2),45/11 arrived from Nagoya, Japan (Photo 2) on Dreamlifter N747BC on January 15, 2007 in Charleston, SC.

Center Fuselage (Assembled Section 11, 43, 44, 45, 46)
Flown from Charleston and delivered to Everett on May 16. Photo and video of the unloading from KIRO. Boeing release and photo.


Section 47 and 48
Completed production at Vought in South Carolina, Section 47 and 48, the aft part of the 787 is scheduled to be shipped to Everett in early May. Vought rolled out (Seattle P-I Article) completed Sections 47 and 48 on Tuesday May 8 in preparation for delivery to Everett. (Photo Courtesy Vought Aircraft Industries) (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5, photo 6, photo 7) After picking up Section 41 in Wichita, LCF2 flew to Charleston to load Section 47/48. Departure from Charleston was at 4:49am EDT on May 11 on Boeing 632, with a touchdown at Paine Field at 6:48am PDT. Sunrise arrival! Watch the arrival video.

1st Unloading shot from Matt Cawby
2nd Unloading shot from Boeing
Associated Press Photos (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)

Tail Cone
Korean Air Aerospace (KAL-ASD) is manufacturing the tail cone in Busan, South Korea. It will be shipped from South Korea to Everett, and will be joined with Section 48 and the Hamilton Sundstrand APU which finished cold weather testing in Alaska in early March 2007. The tailcone was delivered to Everett on the evening of May 9.

Wings
"We're at the final stage of completing the first wings," says Takashi Fujimoto, head of 787 production at Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Delivery from Nagoya to Everett is planned for mid-May. (Photo 1, Photo 2) The wings were presented in a ceremony at MHI in Nagoya and loaded onto the Dreamlifter on May 13. (Photo 1, Photo 2) Wings were delivered to Everett on the morning of May 15. Image courtesy KIRO and 16 shot slideshow. Boeing news release and photo.


Wingtips
According to Boeing, the wingtips have arrived in Everett after delivery from KAL-ASD in South Korea.

Landing Gear
Nose gear currently installed in Section 41 in Wichita. Nose gear was revealed April 13. Body gear most likely at Messier-Dowty awaiting shipment to Everett and installation in Section 45 from Montreal, Canada.

Horizontal Stabilizer
Arrived in Everett as first major assembly piece to be delivered to the Boeing Factory in Washington. The tail, which was built by Alenia, was shipped using N780BA from Grottaglie in southern Italy via a refueling stop in Scotland on April 24, 2007.

Vertical Fin
Tail fin presented to an audience in Frederickson, Washington on March 14, 2007. (Photo 1, Photo 2) The vertical fin was shipped down the road from Frederickson to Everett on the evening of May 7 for eventual mating with the rudder.

Engines
The first Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines are set to fly on a 747 test bed in mid-May. The first prototype test engines have successfully undergone testing, including the crucial blade-off test in mid-April. The first certified pair will be delivered in time for final assembly.

BOE632 filed KPAE -> EGPK

Scheduled: Depart KPAE at 09:30AM PDT -> EGPK (ETA 12:29AM GMT)
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/BOE632

Expected route: PAE YDC J503 YNY J527 YMM NCAC CANEL 6800N 05000W 6700N 04000W 6500N 03000W 6300N 02000W ERAKA UP58 ETSOM UN580 BRUCE W958D TRN