About 100 employees at the 777X Composite Spar Shop in Everett, Wash., cheered on Monday as Casey McDowell operated the controls to drill the first hole into a wing spar for the 777-8 Freighter.
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Airlines and cargo operators have ordered 59 777-8 Freighters since Boeing launched the program in 2022. Boeing has said it is working to deliver the first 777-8 Freighter in 2028.
For Robin Thorning, an automation manager with 38 years at Boeing, this milestone was particularly poignant. “I helped build the very first 777 – WA001 – early in my career, and it’s exciting to get to start our newest member of the 777X family,” said Thorning. Thorning and his father, son and daughter also share nearly 100 years of Boeing service. “To touch these incredible airplanes and help bring them to life is a privilege and really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We take our work seriously as we continue to drive to build safe and more-efficient airplanes,” Thorning said.
Teams at the nearby Composite Wing Center fabricated the spars, along with skin panels and stringers. Each wing has two spars – front and rear – that measure 108 feet (33 meters) long. Fabricating a pair of spars for each wing requires 392 miles of carbon fiber tape – the length of the drive from Everett to the state of Montana. The combined weight of a pair of spars is 2,500 pounds.
Teams will move the finished spars to the main factory, where they’ll be assembled into the first 777-8 Freighter wings with the CWC parts and other components. The 777-8 Freighter is one of three members of the 777X family, which also includes the 777-9 and 777-8 passenger airplanes.
