US aircraft giant Boeing (Seattle,Washington; www.boeing.com) has completed a full-scale composite fuselage section, 7m long and almost 6m wide, for its 7E7 “Dreamliner” programme. This is the first major development piece manufactured to demonstrate concepts for the super-efficient airplane capable of carrying more than 200 passengers over distances up to 15,700 km.

Boeing vice president for engineering, manufacturing and partner alignment Walt Gillette said that using composites had allowed the creation of optimised designs produced through efficient processes. “We now see how all advanced airplanes will be built from this time forward,” he added.

The single piece composite structure reduces the section´s weight by almost 20% while significantly reducing the number of parts. Gillette said: “This will mean lower costs for the airlines while for passengers it enables us to have bigger windows, lower cabin altitude pressurisation and higher cabin humidity.”

The barrel section was constructed in December 2004, following months of development work. Building the piece began with automated lay-down of composite tape on a barrel-mounted mould rotated as the tape was applied. The structure was then wrapped and cured in an autoclave before unwrapping, inspection and tool removal. Windows and doors were subsequently cut, followed by structural integrity testing and paint process analysis.

Seven additional development sections will be built using the process during 2005, according to Boeing.

The barrel section of the Boeing “7E7” jet is built completely of
carbon-fibre reinforced composites (Photo: Boeing)