Unpopular opinion: the switch to composite materials on the 787 made my job way harder, not easier.

When we started working on the 787 at our hangar in Everett about five years ago, everyone said composites were the future. The before-and-after difference was real: less corrosion checks, sure, but the repair process is a beast. You need a controlled environment, specific curing equipment, and the training took me three full weeks. Now a simple skin repair that used to take a day with aluminum can stretch to three. Has anyone else found the learning curve on these new materials to be a serious time sink?

3 comments

3 Comments

jana_hayes3115d ago

My old foreman in Tulsa used to say the only thing harder than fixing a composite panel was finding the coffee he hid from us.

rileynguyen15d ago

Our shop got a portable vacuum bagging setup and it cut down on the time we spent moving planes. Getting certified for scarf patch repairs was a pain, but now we can do most jobs right on the hangar floor. The initial training was rough, but having the right gear on hand made the biggest difference.

alice_mitchell1d ago

Man, our training guy brought in a burnt pizza to show us what a bad cure looks like.