Ethiopian 787 Repair...

[petermcleland]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57530104@N02/10341011313/
Saw this on Pprune today...Looks like they are now really ready to push ahead with the repair

[Garry Russell]

The word was a couple of weeks ago that it was to be parted out???

Looks like that to me

[NigelC]

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news ... maged.html

[NigelC]

Perhars they can have a shufti at this one too!

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/1 ... 2420131016

[Garry Russell]

The parting out and scrap theory was a repair plan in a sense

The two basic plans were either to try and repair...or part out and send all the good parts back to the line which in effect is repairing it by fitting it with a new fuselage.

This, as I mentioned before somewhere, has happened before where a new aeroplane has been written off when if it had been a little older would have been repaired but all the new parts on it make it cost effective to build into a new frame.

An example was Viscount G-APOX which was the crashed landing damaged G-AOYF.

In the case of the Dreamliner, it has many years...maybe thirty + of future life and a concern is repairing the frame with the max expected life span intact in what is an unknown field.

Personally I would put it all in a new fuse and repair the damaged one and use it for tests.

[DaveB]

I think I got this last week via the Brooklands (ex-BA) team. Their concern was how is the repair going to be made if they're to fly it back to Seattle and more to the point.. where.. at LHR? It raises as many questions as it answers

ATB
DaveB

[Garry Russell]

Before last week they'd already started engine removal

If it were to go back to Seattle it would be on a Dreamlifter although a Beluga would be more fun

If they do repair the patch, I wouldn't like to be the one to sign it off as fully fit for life.

[DaveB]

Indeed mate! I wouldn't fancy being the pilot flying it back to Boeing either

One suggestion I read was for a temporary patch to be made good for the ferry and the troops would do something permanent at Seattle. As they've already started stripping engines.. that seems unlikely.. unless they're going to tow it behind a 747

ATB
DaveB

[Garry Russell]

Air test at LHR yesterday (21 Dec) after repairs.

[TSR2]

Meant to say, when we were in London on the 23rd November they had the tail back on her at that point. Still not sure its an airframe I'd be comfortable flying on