Flying high with outsourcing

The stakes are big with the Boeing 787. An article in the recent issue of Forbes magazine points out that for the first time, Boeing is outsourcing more than half the structure of the plane, pieces of which will be manufactured in six different countries. The Chicago aerospace company is billing itself as a systems integrator, the way Dell Computer integrates components into a mail-order computer. Except that an airplane is trickier to put together. Not to scare you, but here's why:

Vertical tail
USA
Boeing Frederickson

Horizontal stabilizer
Italy/USA
Alenia/Vought

Fixed trailing edge
Japan
Kawasaki

Movable trailing edge
Australia
Hawker de Havilland

Center fuselage, aft fuselage
Italy/USA
Alenia/Vought

Wingtips
South Korea
Korean Air Lines

Wing-to-body fairing
Canada
Boeing Winnipeg

Cargo doors, access doors
Sweden
Saab

Leading edge
USA
Spirit AeroSystems

Wing box
Japan
Mitsubishi

Center wing box
Japan
Fuji

Nacelles
USA
Goodrich

Engine pylons
USA
Spirit AeroSystems

Passenger doors
France
Latecoere

Engines
USA
GE

Engines
UK
Rolls-Royce

Fuselage, wheel well
Japan
Kawasaki

Forward fuselage
USA
Spirit AeroSystems

Landing gear
France
Messier-Dowty