Community Forums

Wayne M · 02-09-2015, 04:22 PM

Three and a half minutes. (fast time)

Boeing Assembly Line

denlock · 02-09-2015, 04:33 PM

Pretty cool.

corjaguar · 02-09-2015, 05:21 PM

Can relate to the assy line....after 4 years active, I went to work for Grumman Aircraft Co. on the assembly line as a hydraulic mechanic....got a degree going to night school and became an Industrial engineer. I was able to work on almost every aircraft that we made for the Navy....A6E, EA6B,E2C, C2A,F-14, Mohawk , X-29, Lunar Module from it's inception to the end of the program. Total time with Grumman was 32 years.
When we visited the Winnebago Factory assy line, it was reminiscent of those days of old. I can say that our tolerances in building aircraft were a bit more precise....but I would bet that they were just as proud of the end products.

Bigd9 · 02-09-2015, 05:39 PM

Two questions:
1. How on earth did they motivate those workers to move so fast???? I tried every reward system I could find and my team members only moved half that speed!

2. They get the paint in 1 gallon sized containers? I would have thought it came in 55 gallon drums!

Great clip. Thanks for sharing!

rodeobumm · 02-09-2015, 06:16 PM

I also am an old Airframer. Over a period of 30 some yeaars I worked for Boeing, Lockheed , Northrup, Aerostar. Had a wonderful time and worked on lots aircraft. I must say that the Boeing 747 program was the most fun. Long hours and few days off till we got the first ones out the door. Good times and good money.

Borderbuster · 02-09-2015, 06:45 PM

Count me in, I worked for Boeing from 1961 to 1971. Minuteman, B-52, KC-135, 707, 727, 737, 747. Boeing was pretty good to me, I learned a lot about building airplanes. I elected termination during one of the many industry downturns and went to work for Uncle Sam for the next 34 years. I always wondered if I made the right move.

PushedAround · 02-09-2015, 07:30 PM

Great find Wayne. If they would only build our coaches as meticulously as those planes, we'd all need petro dollars to afford them.

Wizard · 02-10-2015, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corjaguar

Can relate to the assy line....after 4 years active, I went to work for Grumman Aircraft Co. on the assembly line as a hydraulic mechanic....got a degree going to night school and became an Industrial engineer. I was able to work on almost every aircraft that we made for the Navy....A6E, EA6B,E2C, C2A,F-14, Mohawk , X-29, Lunar Module from it's inception to the end of the program. Total time with Grumman was 32 years.
When we visited the Winnebago Factory assy line, it was reminiscent of those days of old. I can say that our tolerances in building aircraft were a bit more precise....but I would bet that they were just as proud of the end products.

corjaguar, I bet you worked at Bethpage, I put in 20 years at Milledgeville. Building those Boeing parts didn't seem that fast at the time. I too worked some of all of those except the LM. Mohawk was at Stewart FL.

MSHappyCampers · 02-10-2015, 09:09 AM

Amazing!

Jpony56hd · 02-17-2015, 11:47 PM

I recently retired from Boeing after 18 years. That video is of the 737 line in Renton, Wa. I was working on the 787 line in Everett, Wa. when I retired. Anyone visiting Washington state should take the Boeing Everett Tour. You just can't believe the size of the plant (the largest in the world) we can have 24 completed aircraft on the floor at one time. That would be a mix of 747's 767's 777's & 787's although it never works out that way, it's just that the production slots are there. Then add four more in the join areas (where the main sections are put together) assembly, storage areas, etc. It's truly a sight to see. It used to take me 10 minutes just to walk out to the parking lot.

PushedAround · 02-18-2015, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jpony56hd

I recently retired from Boeing after 18 years. That video is of the 737 line in Renton, Wa. I was working on the 787 line in Everett, Wa. when I retired. Anyone visiting Washington state should take the Boeing Everett Tour. You just can't believe the size of the plant (the largest in the world) we can have 24 completed aircraft on the floor at one time. That would be a mix of 747's 767's 777's & 787's although it never works out that way, it's just that the production slots are there. Then add four more in the join areas (where the main sections are put together) assembly, storage areas, etc. It's truly a sight to see. It used to take me 10 minutes just to walk out to the parking lot.

I took that tour 20 years ago. The facility is vast and the shear size of it makes those planes look like toys.

frankdamp · 02-18-2015, 08:22 AM

I worked for Boeing for almost 30 years. I joined in mid-1968 after they paid the cost of emigration from the UK for me and family. At that time, the payroll was 103,000 people. By Easter of 1971, it was down to 36,000 and I got laid off then.

After three years with a contractor at NASA Langley, slowly melting in the Virginia heat and humidity, they called and invited me back. I went back in August 74, and finally retired in Sept 1998. My final few years had way too much overseas travel, most of it to the Islamic world, and I couldn't get my management to find an alternative. Retiring just before my 58th birthday seemed like a dumb idea, but it has worked out just fine.