Aircraft
Paris 2011: Boeing’s 747-8 On Track for Summer Certification
The so-called “pause” or “rebalance” of the Boeing 747-8 production li

The so-called “pause” or “rebalance” of the Boeing 747-8 production line officially ended on June 7 as the company prepared to bring both new versions of its venerable jumbo jet–the Freighter and the Intercontinental–to Paris for this year’s salon. The main reason for the issues was a large backlog of out-of-sequence work had accumulated due to certain flight-test discoveries and engineering changes associated with the Intercontinental.

Although it never stopped work on the line, Boeing instituted the “rebalancing” to prepare for an eventual rate increase from one-and-a-half airplanes to two per month, starting this September or October with “on the job training.” According to Elizabeth Lund, 747-8 vice president and general manager, the actual rate break will happen in December at the beginning of the production line in the wing spar shop, and the first delivery at the new rate will kick in next May.