After the first fuselage arrived on Aug. 21 from
Spirit Aerosystems in
Wichita, Kan, mechanics began installing flight
systems and insulation blankets. “It’s an honor.
There is only one crew that gets to be that
first crew that builds that airplane. I’m really
excited,” said Sean Christian, 737 MAX
Electrical team lead.
Crews next moved the fuselage to the
wing-to-body join position on the new production
line where the first MAXs will be built.
Mechanics then attached the wings to the body of
the airplane. The wings feature Boeing’s new
Advanced Technology winglets. Designed
exclusively for the 737 MAX, they will give
customers up to 1.8 percent additional
fuel-efficiency improvement over today’s inline
winglet designs.
“Seeing the new winglet design we validated in
the wind tunnel years ago now on the first new
airplane is incredible,” said Leverkuhn. “It’s
just one of the features that differentiate the
737 MAX and make it an amazingly fuel-efficient
machine.” Boeing will build the first 737 MAXs
exclusively on the new production line in the
Renton
factory. Once mechanics prove out the production
process, the team will extend MAX production to
the other two final assembly lines in Renton.
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