First 787 Dreamliner built in SC rolls out today...
 

Standing on the flight line waiting for it to roll out...

Still waiting?

That's very cool.

It's over. Had to wait for the exec's and politcos to give their two cents.

Very cool plane!

Pix later, as I'm on my phone.

cough cough, I'd use the term "built" in South Carolina loosely........maybe "assembled", but certainly not built.

Debacle of international outsourcing of major components like complete wings and body sections = years of delays and stuff that just didn't fit nor work.

sources:

Business & Technology | Boeing 787: Parts from around world will be swiftly integrated | Seattle Times Newspaper

Cool.

So how much less does this one weigh than the first one that was just retired?

Yeah but at least they were able to 'break' those pesky unions! Good job furthering the downward spiral of skilled labor in this country and at the same time turning out a more expensive, lower quality product! Lets see you blame 'big labor' for this one. SmileWavy

Take your political views to PARF. This is not the place for it.

I work on my own Porsche, I like looking at the "made in X" when I replace a part, what was on the car, and what I'm putting in to replace it. Off the top of my head, this is where my "German" car is made.


Czechoslovakia, China, UK, France, Korea, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, USA, Italy, and a few parts are made in Germany to.

I have a feeling, that whether under unions or not, the quality of stuff in the USA is down, because a lot of workers don't care to do a good job, and if they don't care, then why pay them? Its a loop, and there is no motivation for a company to pay someone who is slacking more, so quality declines, and customer, worker, and employer satisfaction declines.

Did you read the Seattle Times article that Thom linked above? Marco and Willie... and let's not forget out old buddy Carl, who is not mentioned (for good reason)...

Both Dave and I have worked with/for/against the two men named in that article - Marco and Willie - and much of the engineering and management staff down there. It's simply amazing how many of my our buddies wound up in Charleston. Most of the engineering and management staff are transfers from up here. None the less, it is truly impressive how quickly they pulled it together.

I know Marco, as our sons swim on the same team. Never met Willie (although I work in mid-body).

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335587152.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335587199.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335587257.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335587303.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335587351.jpg

Since I know nothing about planes, what is the particulate in the air in the photo? Is it dust blown around by the turbines?

It's just fog from a fog machine. The plane was pulled out with a tug.

It's truly great to see Boeing do well. Seattle's loss is Charleston's gain. Kudos to Boeing.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335606390.jpg
I've seen this type of beveled jet intake step before, can anyone please explain to me why it is there?

Pictures I took in 2007 at the Williow Run air show.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335606531.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335606549.jpg

I was there... the sunburn will probably hang around for days. My pics are all from the other side - I was on the front row near the camera on a boom.

I'm hoping the heat yesterday isn't a sign of things to come anytime soon. :(

It's not beveled. The "ring" around the blades is rub-area which is made to be as near blades as possible. Blades actually rub/abrade this area during first start in order to make as small tolerance/distance as possible. The more air escapes between the case and the fan, the less efficient the fan gets. Thus they go great lengths to achieve small tolerances.

Darker area in front is, as far as I remember, perforated sheet metal. It helps dampen the noise. The profile from leading edge to fan should be smooth though...

What's the big deal on the craft ; anyway?

Lots of things. One of the biggest things is an all composite fuselage built has a series tubes, not sectioned/paneled like the aluminum skined fuselage. But to really understand what's going on:
Boeing's New Airplane - Design Highlights