THE POWER WITHIN Boeing expands Propulsion Systems to bring design and build expertise in-house 10 | BOEING FRONTIERS BY DAN RALEY | PHOTOS BY BOB FERGUSON A 10 | BOEING FRONTIERS GE90 engine, the largest in service in the aviation world, hangs from an overhead boom at the Propulsion Systems Division factory in Everett, Wash. For two and a half days, Boeing mechanics crowd around this imposing piece of machinery and install component parts. Once complete, it moves by oversized forklift to the 777 jetliner assembly line next door. Within minutes, another engine arrives to start the process again. This same rhythm and processes occur in nearby Renton as the Propulsion team prepares CFM56 engines for installation on the 737. It turns out 84 engines per month, one every four hours. On the opposite side of the country, Boeing technicians manufacture inlets, or nacelle front-leading edge, at Propulsion South Carolina in Ladson, outside of Charleston. When at full rate in 2018, the new facility will produce an inlet every two hours for the 737 MAX—while drilling 18,000 fastener holes per day. “There’s a lot going on under the hood,” said Charlie Hix, Propulsion South Carolina director. From coast to coast, Boeing is pursuing ambitious schedules and expanding operations in propulsion, an area that consists of the engine, fan cowl, inlet, pylon, strut and thrust reverser, all parts either tucked inside or connected to a shell-like nacelle. In short, everything beneath the wing of a large commercial jetliner in flight. There’s also the related fuel systems and the auxiliary power unit, an additional jet-engine power source found in the tail of the airplane. Propulsion accounts for 40 percent of the maintenance cost of an airplane over its lifetime, according to Nicole Piasecki, Propulsion Systems Division vice president and general manager. “As we look to the future, I expect propulsion systems and fuels to play only a bigger role in terms of the total technology that goes on an airplane toward life-cycle performance,” she said. With new commercial airplane models headed to the factory, Boeing has brought propulsion-related design and build work in-house in
Frontiers November 2016 Issue
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