http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-mct-bc-boeing-787-repair-20131022,0,4678279.story
"Behind scaffolding erected more than a week ago at London's Heathrow Airport, where the Ethiopian Airlines plane has been idled since summer, a repair team will glue a giant composite plastic skin patch into the burned crown of the fuselage, said two people with knowledge of the details. Boeing has scheduled five weeks for the repair, one said."
"It's a very complicated procedure, but less so than the alternative option that was suggested by some observers: pulling out and replacing the entire aft fuselage section, which Boeing fabricates as a single-piece barrel."
"Fixing it is the first major test of the repairability of Boeing's Dreamliner, so it's vital to giving airlines confidence the jet will prove robust in service."
"Boeing's repair is going to be pushing the limits of what's been done in the past," said Casterline. "This needs to be done right. The aerospace community needs the assurance that this can be done." If the jet's fuselage were a traditional aluminum one with aluminum skin panels riveted together, this repair could be done relatively easily by replacing any damaged panels."
"Behind scaffolding erected more than a week ago at London's Heathrow Airport, where the Ethiopian Airlines plane has been idled since summer, a repair team will glue a giant composite plastic skin patch into the burned crown of the fuselage, said two people with knowledge of the details. Boeing has scheduled five weeks for the repair, one said."
"It's a very complicated procedure, but less so than the alternative option that was suggested by some observers: pulling out and replacing the entire aft fuselage section, which Boeing fabricates as a single-piece barrel."
"Fixing it is the first major test of the repairability of Boeing's Dreamliner, so it's vital to giving airlines confidence the jet will prove robust in service."
"Boeing's repair is going to be pushing the limits of what's been done in the past," said Casterline. "This needs to be done right. The aerospace community needs the assurance that this can be done." If the jet's fuselage were a traditional aluminum one with aluminum skin panels riveted together, this repair could be done relatively easily by replacing any damaged panels."
