Smooth Landing for LFM
By Amy MacMillan, LFM-SDM Communications Assistant
March 9, 2005
In about three years, you may be lucky enough to be a passenger on Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner jet.
As you ride along comfortably at cruising altitude you'll relax knowing you won't feel dehydrated after the flight – the cabin will have higher humidity levels than other jetliners. You'll stretch out contentedly in the wider seats and aisles, and gaze out the larger windows, while enjoying state-of-the-art acoustics and innovative lighting.
You'll feel tranquil as the pilot lands you safely and quietly at your final destination – sans a stopover in a connecting city. You probably won't give much thought to the engineering and the years of work that went into such a smooth and comfortable plane trip. But, maybe you'll want to think about MIT's own Leaders for Manufacturing Program (LFM), and the contributions it has made toward your relaxed ride. Boeing's Commercial Airline team – which includes many LFM alums – is now putting the finishing touches on the super efficient 787's design. Boeing has already received orders for more than 190 Dreamliner jets, scheduled to go into service in 2008.
Boeing was one of the charter companies of LFM when the program launched in 1988. There are now 42 LFM grads employed by Boeing, and at least a dozen have made significant contributions to the 787's innovative design and production.
From nose to tail
LFMs have touched nearly every part of the plane, participating on the wing team, the systems team, the fuselage team, the payloads team, and the final assembly team. They have also served as support in the technology and engineering teams.
It's only natural that LFMers, with their emphasis on technical expertise and business acumen, have had such a collective influence on the ambitious 787 project. "The LFMers get called in for the big projects," says Mike Vander Wel, LFM '01. "There's a natural push and pull for these people. They seek out these kinds of assignments."
The new 787 will have a cruising speed of Mach 0.85 or 647 miles per hour; will carry between 200 and 300 passengers, and will have a range of 8,500 nautical miles, meaning it can fly directly from New York to Tokyo, or Santiago to Madrid, without stopping. The plane will also have 20 percent lower fuel consumption as compared to other airplanes its size.
Spanning the globe
Innovative features aren't the only things that make the plane stand apart. Much of the plane will be fabricated outside of the United States, says Lane Ballard, LFM '05, an eight-year Boeing employee, who works on the Dreamliner's Wing Life Cycle Product Team. Large parts of the jet will be manufactured in other countries before being assembled in the U.S. The advantage to this outsourcing is simple, he says. "You can only be a world-class producer in so many areas. Other companies are much more lean and nimble at producing individual components. Their overhead and infrastructure is less [than Boeing's]."
Fellow employee Linsey Rubenstein, LFM '06, who also works on the Wing Team, says leveraging global knowledge means Boeing will ultimately offer a world-class product. Rubenstein says it's no coincidence that LFMs have had a major collective impact on the 787's design. "When you are designing a project as complex as a new airplane, you need someone who has not only engineering expertise, but who can also analyze all aspects of the project," she says. LFM's emphasis on global exposure is one key facet in ensuring it's a success. This is what gives Boeing an edge, and correlates with LFM's goal of making American companies more competitive.
Boeing only introduces a new plane every 10 or 12 years, so it's crucial that the 787 is a success. It's only natural that with Boeing's longtime support of LFM, that LFMers have been crucial in the new airplane's design. "Boeing has high regard for the LFM program," says Mike Dickinson, LFM '99, who serves as director of the 787's Wing and Empennage team. "Boeing recognizes the leadership potential, and works to leverage the capabilities of LFMers."
Walt Gillette, vice president of Engineering, Manufacturing and Partner Alignment at Boeing, agrees. "The initial group of LFM graduates quickly established the value of the program…each LFM graduate already had substantial technical skill in their area of expertise…the LFM study gives them a much broader understanding of the fundamentals of manufacturing as a globally competitive business."
He says the 787 is an exciting project to be involved with, because it is the first new airplane created in the second century of flight. "In many ways, the Dreamliner is a breakthrough project for Boeing, and for the entire commercial airplane industry. It is the first large airplane with a high production rate that is made primarily of composites. As such, it needs entirely new processes for low cost yet highly exacting manufacture of very large pieces of airplane…LFM graduates are deeply involved in guiding the teams that are creating the details of how to do this large scale composites manufacturing, fast installation of new systems architectures, and this new benchmark for final assembly and delivery."
Boeing's LFMers are reluctant to take all of the credit for the project. Mark Jenks, LFM '91, says although LFM may have a collective influence on the 787, there are other equally important positions at Boeing that have contributed. "We have an informal network, and we speak the same language, but so do lots of others."
LFMers and the rest of the Boeing team and its partner suppliers still have a lot of work to do before the 787 takes off. But, we can all look forward to sitting back and enjoying the flight very soon.