Boeing Dreamliner’s next stop: Power on

When Boeing executive Pat Shanahan arrives to work at 5:30 each morning, he has only one thing on his mind: “Power on, power on, power on.” And when the chief of the company’s long-delayed 787 Dreamliner program leaves his office around 10 each night, he’s usually still silently chanting the “power on” mantra.

The long-awaited 787 milestone — activating the jet’s extensive electrical systems for the first time — is on target for next month, Shanahan told reporters Monday during a “kick the tires” tour of the cavernous airplane factory where four Dreamliners are lined up in various stages of production.

Shanahan, who seven months ago inherited a program plagued by parts shortages and embarrassing production snafus, tried to dispel skepticism about the program, which is 15 months behind schedule. Airplane parts that for months were being delivered from worldwide suppliers incomplete are now arriving fully assembled, said Shanahan, vice president/general manager of the 787 program.

The factory tour was the first time the media has been allowed to see the 787 since its elaborate rollout ceremony July 8, 2007, when the airplane was basically an empty shell. Since then, that same jet — dubbed Airplane No. 1 — has been undergoing months of rework. It still sits at the front of the assembly line in the Everett, Wash., airplane factory, which is big enough to house 75 NFL football fields.

“Powering up the airplane and looking at the integrated systems will allow us to retire a lot of risk,’’ Shanahan said as dozens of assembly workers and mechanics swarmed over the airplane Monday in a beehive of activity. They were installing wiring and preparing the airplane for next month’s systems startup — a crucial task that was supposed to have happened months ago.

Unlike the last six months, when morale on the factory floor sunk to its lowest levels, Shanahan said the mood among workers is “energized” these days. “I’ll be walking through the factory and a mechanic comes up to me and says ‘you gotta see this.’ Two months ago, it was: ‘I sure hope this works.’”

But Boeing still has a long way to go before the airplane can take its maiden flight. And its game-changing manufacturing approach, in which worldwide partners and suppliers are responsible for producing and testing major airline components, has yet to prove successful.

Last month, Boeing announced its third delay on the 787 program, postponing the airplane’s debut in commercial service until the third quarter of 2009. The airplane originally was slated to be delivered to Japan’s All Nippon Airways this month. It was Boeing’s third delay since October, putting the Dreamliner 15 months behind schedule.

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