The part will be shipped to Boeing's final assembly facility in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, early in 2013.
Spirit is responsible for the Boeing 787 forward fuselage section, pylon, and wing leading edge.
Using fibre placement equipment, the 787 composite forward fuselage is built as a single barrel at Spirit's Wichita, Kansas, facility. Once the composite plies are wrapped over the barrel's complex, compound contours, it is wrapped and prepared for curing in a 70 ft by 30 ft autoclave.
When completed, the 787 composite forward fuselage sections are flown onboard Boeing's Dreamlifter, a modified 747 cargo plane, to one of Boeing's final assembly facilities in either Everett, Washington, or Charleston, South Carolina.
The construction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is 50% composite, including the fuselage and wing.
