March 2015 19 size since the Vought days. Engineers are arriving, too. Some, like Taurus Brackett, are here to design the engine nacelles for the new fuel-efficient 777X, which is under development and will be assembled in Everett. In May 2013, Boeing announced that an Engineering Design Center and propulsion operation would be established at Boeing South Carolina. At the time, Brackett was finishing his degree in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He had done a couple of engineering internships for Boeing in Seattle. He was hired full time in February 2014. “I love this,” he said of the 777X propulsion analysis work he’s now doing in North Charleston. “I was really worried that maybe as the new guy I’d be running out to get coffee for everyone. Instead, I’m running numbers. I love numbers. It’s awesome to think that the decisions I’m making today will be decisions that could last on this program for the next 30 years. That’s a cool feeling.” Engineers are also here to design the nacelle inlet for the new 737 MAX. The nacelles will be assembled on site. The nacelle work is being done at the recently completed Propulsion South Carolina, a 225,000-square-foot (21,000-squaremeter) facility located next to the Interiors Responsibility Center, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of the main Boeing South Carolina campus. At the Interiors Responsibility Center employees are producing 787 cabin interior components, including stow bins and closets. And just down the street from the Interiors and Propulsion buildings, Boeing has leased more than 100,000 square feet Photos: (Far left) Newly cured composite barrel sections in Boeing South Carolina’s Aftbody Operations await frame installation. (Left) Aftbody teammate Bryan Howell uses a power feed drill motor to drill the bulk cargo door on a 47 section barrel. Bob Ferguson | Boeing
Frontiers March 2015 Issue
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