MHI Ships Composite-material Wing Box for 100th Boeing 787

To commemorate the shipment, a ceremony was held on December 18th at the Oye Plant attended by numerous concerned parties. These included Jack Jones, Vice President of Boeing Company, George Maffeo, President of Boeing Japan , and Yoichi Kujirai, Executive Vice President of MHI.

The Boeing 787 is the first airliner to adopt composite-material wings. The composite material used for the wing boxes is carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). CFRP is superior in strength, rigidity and corrosive resistance compared with conventional aluminum or titanium alloys. According to Boeing, lighter airframes enabled by the adoption of composite material, in combination with newly developed engines and an airplane design that achieves minimal drag based on today's most advanced aerodynamics, have enabled 20% improvement in fuel efficiency and superior environmental performance.

In reflection of these outstanding features, demand for the Boeing 787 has been increasing stably, and as a result MHI has been called on to expand its production of composite-material wing boxes. In response the company has installed a second unit of the world's largest-class autoclave, which is used to bake and cure composite-material to form wing boxes; the first unit has been in operation since 2006. MHI has also been endeavoring to increase its production rate through measures including the introduction of automatic riveters enabling further enhancement of productivity.

In tandem with its pursuit of higher productivity going forward, MHI plans to use the shipment of the wing box for the 100th 787 as a springboard toward establishing unrivaled technological expertise in the design and manufacture of large-size composite-material wing boxes, as one way of contributing to the development of new airframes for tomorrow's aerospace field.