Boeing Starts Building the First 737 MAX

MIAMI— Boeing has started the building of its first 737 MAX on schedule at its Renton factory. Last Friday, employees started the assembly of the wings for the flight test airplane. Wing assembly is considered the official first step in building any aircraft. The wing load began in Boeing's new Panel Assembly Line (PAL) which began operation in February of this year. 4 of these 50 ton, 22 feet tall structures are in operation with a total of 9 in operation by 2016. Boeing bills the system as "a highly automated wing skin panel production system that consolidates assembly into an in-line flow using a pulsing line." The new PAL replaces the current system dating back to the 737's program launch in the 1960s.According to Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager of the 737 MAX Program “Employees in Renton are the best in the world at building single-aisle airplanes, and now this world-class team is building the future with the first 737 MAX.” Machine operators loaded last week the 737 MAX wing components—panels and stringers—into the new automated wing panel and spar assembly machines. With a assembly daily rate of 8 panels—currently at 75% of automation—each upper and lower wing skin panel will require 2,500 fasteners to be completed. 4 wings are produced each day with 84 per month.The wings will be attached to the first MAX fuselage on the also new Central line in Final Assembly in Renton in September. The new production line will allow the team to isolate the first 737 MAX build from the rest of the production in order to master the building process, while keeping the current monthly production rate of 42 airplanes, which increases to 47 per month in 2017 and eventually 52 per month. “Achieving this milestone on schedule is a testament to the success of the 737, and our integrated design and build team” added Leverkuhn.The 737 Max is due to roll out at the end of this year with first flight scheduled in 2016. into Launch customer Southwest, with 200 on order, will be the launch customer when the 737 Max is scheduled for first delivery in 3rd quarter 2017. As of the end of April, the 737 Max has achieved 2,724 orders from 57 customers. The Max's competitor, The Airbus A320neo has accumulated 3,794 orders and is due for its first delivery late this year to launch customer, Qatar Airways.