UK380
First Flight
Posts: 788
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Post by UK380 on Apr 13, 2013 21:36:04 GMT 1
XWB , Great post
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Apr 14, 2013 10:21:02 GMT 1
I fully agree with XWB : aircraft production is an industrial process which sticks to plan. There is no flexibility after production of a frame has started.
However, when part of an airframe is delayed (like the wings last year), a convoy can still be sent to TLS with the remaining parts. This helps suppliers (they can be paid), but it probably does not do much to speed up final assembly.
As regards MSN 117, didn't we see a picture of a full fuselage sub-section ?
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Post by FabienA380 on Apr 14, 2013 11:09:42 GMT 1
- MSN1, 90% complete - MSN2, 70% complete - MSN3, 50% complete - MSN4, 30% complete - MSN5, 10% complete These wings will be carried on the the following future convoys: - MSN1, convoy 2013/15 - MSN2, convoy 2013/16 - MSN3, convoy 2013/17 - MSN4, convoy 2013/18 - MSN5, convoy 2013/19 I think the situation is more complex than you might imagine it is..... We had evidence in the past of MSN031's Forward Fuselage section, clearly completed with a white sheet on the cockpit window, waiting several months in XFW to be set in a convoy. Also, storing parts (at least for short times) is clearly showed by previous convoys more than 6 parts : 2 Forward Fuselages, 2 Rear Fuselages... Fabien
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Post by Jkkw on Apr 15, 2013 11:47:56 GMT 1
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Post by eastmids13 on Apr 15, 2013 12:44:54 GMT 1
- MSN1, 90% complete - MSN2, 70% complete - MSN3, 50% complete - MSN4, 30% complete - MSN5, 10% complete These wings will be carried on the the following future convoys: - MSN1, convoy 2013/15 - MSN2, convoy 2013/16 - MSN3, convoy 2013/17 - MSN4, convoy 2013/18 - MSN5, convoy 2013/19 I think the situation is more complex than you might imagine it is..... We had evidence in the past of MSN031's Forward Fuselage section, clearly completed with a white sheet on the cockpit window, waiting several months in XFW to be set in a convoy. Also, storing parts (at least for short times) is clearly showed by previous convoys more than 6 parts : 2 Forward Fuselages, 2 Rear Fuselages... Fabien In the early years of the A380 programme I think we had up to 6 wing sets stored outside the West factory, the cost of this was significant to Airbus & the suppliers - also if wings are going to be stored for any period of time then they have to be weather proofed so back in the mid 2000's this was done with a plastic wrap (again at a high cost cost to: purchase, man hours to cover & uncover the wing & also the cost of disposing of the 'shrink wrap'), additionally in the early days engineering changes & part shortages were still being dealt with so there was a large team of Broughton employees in Toulouse carrying out retrofits & modifications (my big question had always been why have different wings for freighter vs passenger variant as this was a huge drain on resources for A320 the A318,A319 & A320 are the same withe the A321 being different (but with a large number of common components)). With the programme being more stable & ramp up plans in place I would imagine that the plan will be to have an effective buffer stock of 1 at the end of the line - this being prepared for shipment. As soon as this is put on the barge I'd be expecting the next wing set to be more or less coming out if the jigs. The constraints in the UK should remain the barges & the heavy lifting team in Broughton, it is more or less impossible in the A380 factory to expedite wing sets past another wing set due to the factory lay out & size of the product. Wings could possibly be swapped between MSNs but there would be a lot of paperwork relating to traceability, concessions etc I would imagine. I'll try & find out next time I'm in Chester.
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Post by addasih on Apr 16, 2013 20:03:17 GMT 1
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rapoc
Final Assembly Line stage 1
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Posts: 235
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Post by rapoc on Apr 19, 2013 9:44:18 GMT 1
Is it possible to make an overview of the frames that have their wings fixed?
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Apr 19, 2013 9:57:19 GMT 1
Hmm I'm not sure if we can track those frames.
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rapoc
Final Assembly Line stage 1
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Posts: 235
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Post by rapoc on Apr 19, 2013 12:24:44 GMT 1
Maybe these frames that haven't flown since 2 months ... I think when they will have a big check, they will also fix the wings.
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Apr 21, 2013 16:58:54 GMT 1
MSN144 is on its way to TLS and the delivery is scheduled for January 2014, it therefore must also have the new wing design and this only strengthened my theory. But if has the new wings, why it will be convoyed now? We know frames are taken less than a year to complete now Convoy 2013/13 now also answers you question
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