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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, July 8, 2007 Composite structure makes jet unique By Mike Benbow, Herald Writer The advanced materials that make up the majority of the Boeing Co.'s 787 aren't really new; they've been around for quite some time. You likely have composite materials around your house - in a tennis racket, a fishing rod, a skateboard, a kayak or another type of boat. Composite materials - think of advanced fiberglass - are exceptionally strong and light and have applications in a variety of products and consumer goods. They're especially good for a jet aircraft, which is why Boeing selected composites for its new Dreamliner. "We now see how all advanced planes will be built from this time forward," said Walt Gillette, who engineered the 787 for Boeing before retiring last year as the company's vice president of engineering. Gillette made his comments at the unveiling of the company's first fuselage section made of composites, a 22-foot-long barrel that he referred to as "a piece of aviation history". In the 787, composite materials replace much of the aluminum used in a typical jet. Here's why: * They reduce weight by 20 percent, increasing fuel efficiency by about 30 percent and lowering airport landing fees. * They allow bigger windows. * They lower the number of parts, making production simpler and faster. Essentially, Boeing just has to join three fuselage sections with the wings, horizontal stabilizer and the vertical fin. * They are more durable, requiring fewer repairs and less maintenance. They are less likely to corrode or develop fatigue. * They allow lower cabin pressures and higher airplane humidity, making flights more comfortable and leaving passengers less worn out. To build the sections, Boeing essentially lays down a combination of fibers embedded in plastic resins in a form to build a laminated structure that is manipulated by tools into the right shape, placed into vacuum-tight containers, then cured in a giant pressurized oven called an autoclave. In most cases, computer-guided machines will lay down tape-like strips of the fibers in a precise pattern. Boeing's key suppliers in Asia, Europe and North America will use exactly the same methods to ensure consistency, said Scott Strode, Boeing vice president of 787 production. "You really need to have a lot of consistency of process, both in design and build," he said. The new material will prompt new production methods that eliminate hundreds of rivets used in the jets built today with aluminum. Whole sections will be taped and baked as one-piece barrels, eliminating the need for the fasteners. Each section will be stuffed with wiring and insulation, then primed and painted before flown to Everett so that assembly is dramatically speeded up. The fabrication of composite sections is more complicated than it sounds, but one benefit from Boeing's use of composites is that the state and federal governments have provided Edmonds and Everett community colleges with grants to build programs and facilities to help train future workers in the field. Jerrilee Mosier, vice president for work force development and training at EdCC, said the school now has a materials science program that can train students to work in a variety of industries, not just aerospace. And it also has certificate programs in composites to help working technicians upgrade their skills. Mosier said getting out the word about her program has taken some time. "You say materials science to a lot of high school students and the general public and they say, 'What is that,'" Mosier said. "We've done a lot of work to educate students." The program should have about 30 enrollees next year, Mosier said. Mosier, who was part of the Snohomish County contingent at the recent Paris Air Show, said her program won some acknowledgement there. "We have a very strong education and training support system for aerospace and other manufacturing entities," she said. "An aircraft association in Hamburg saw what we were doing and wanted to partner with us." Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.

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