No redesign for side of body fix – Tinseth

Randy Tinseth, Boeing’s vice president of sales and marketing, has hit back at claims that the company has been forced to redesign part of its fix for the side of body issue which has delayed the first flight of the 787.

Tinseth was responding to claims made by Flightblogger that sources within the 787 program had indicated that engineers had to redesign part of the side of body reinforcement on the first four 787s after it was claimed that reinforcing stringers did not meet certification margins in computer modelling.

In a blog post dated October 17, Tinseth quoted 787 program head Scott Fancher who said that the claims of a need to redesign the fix were “off centre”. “On the contrary, the design of the side-of-body solution is on track, Scott said. Installations of the fittings are proceeding well and the program is pleased with the progress,” wrote Tinseth.

He added that the 787 was still on track to fly by the end of the year, noting that the company would provide more details about the fix during its earnings presentation on October 21.