Boeing, the snow storm and the 747
Published 11:46 am Friday, January 20, 2012
The Boeing Co.’s Frederickson and Renton sites are experiencing power outages Friday due to a winter snow storm.
Boeing’s 10-13 and 10-16 buildings in Renton are without power, the company said Friday. Employees in those buildings should contact their managers to arrange alternate work plans.
On Thursday, Boeing suspended work at its Frederickson site due to power outage there. On Friday, Boeing told first shift employees in Frederickson to also stay home.
Other than at those two sites, Boeing says operations are as usual at its Puget Sound area locations.
However, the storm apparently has delayed the 787’s trip to Wichita as part of its Dream Tour event, reports a Kansas TV station.
In non-storm related news, FlightBlogger had this piece Thursday on Boeing’s latest troubles with the 747-8 passenger plane, called the Intercontinental.
Operators of those initally delivered jets won’t be able to use the fuel tanks in the tail of the aircraft until Boeing comes up with a fix for a structural flutter that can occur when those tanks are in use. The FAA’s certification of the Intercontinental called for Boeing to deactivate the tail fuel tanks. Shutting off those tail tanks reduces the passenger plane’s range by 300 to 400 nautical miles. Boeing’s expected to come up with a solution for 747-8s delivered in 2013.
