Boeing has selected Texas-based firm Leading Edge Aviation Services to paint all 787 Dreamliners assembled at the manufacturer’s South Carolina final assembly and delivery facility.
Specialising in commercial and military aircraft painting, Leading Edge will apply each South Carolina assembled Dreamliner’s final paint scheme and customer livery at its Amarillo, Texas facility.
Boeing South Carolina final assembly and delivery VP and general manager, Marco Cavazzoni, said lack of a suitable paint subcontractors in the South Carolina area saw the company look further afield.
“This paint process is the only difference customers will experience in 787 Dreamliner deliveries from South Carolina,” Cavazzoni said. “Airplanes built and delivered from both Everett, Wash, and North Charleston, SC, will be identical, as both sites use common quality management and production systems and meet the same US Federal Aviation Administration requirements.”
All South Carolina assembled 787s will make a 1200km flight from North Charleston to Amarillo for painting, after which the aircraft will return to South Carolina for final delivery to customers from around the world. Production in the new South Carolina 787 facility is on schedule to begin during mid-2011, with first deliveries scheduled for 2012.
