11/2010 | Frames from Premium Aerotec for the Super Star
Before the passenger doors on the port side of the aircraft can be installed in the fuselage, it is first necessary to close the two gaps left after removing the big cargo doors with new fuselage structural elements and part of the door frame. The exacting task of producing the frames necessary for this has been taken on by the highly skilled staff of the Nordenham plant of Premium Aerotec GmbH, which in this way is propelling the Super Star project forward in a big way.
On 1 January 2009, the former EADS and Airbus plants of Augsburg, Nordenham and Varel were united under the roof of Premium Aerotec, a fully owned subsidiary of EADS. The Nordenham plant, which has been manufacturing aircraft components and even complete aircraft and helicopters since 1935, is today a state-of-the-art centre for the production of large sheet-metal components and shells, primarily for Airbus aircraft types.
These days up to eight hand-picked employees of the Nordenham production facility are devotedly constructing no fewer than 30 Super Star fuselage frames and a door frame. Due to the dolphin-like curved shape of the fuselage, all the farmes have to be custom-built. Because of their different dimensions, they have to be adjusted to plot, i.e. into an exact fit with an actual-size outline and the profile gages specified by Lufthansa Technik. The raw parts are cut to size, heated to facilitate further processing, then edged into the profile, stretch-formed and aligned into shape. The next stage is to mill the recesses. This is followed by heat treatment to stress-relieve the material. All the work is carried out entirely by hand by workers with the appropriate qualifications and licenses. The first twelve frames for the Super Star project will be available at the end of October. The remaining components will follow at the beginning of next year.
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On 1 January 2009, the former EADS and Airbus plants of Augsburg, Nordenham and Varel were united under the roof of Premium Aerotec, a fully owned subsidiary of EADS. The Nordenham plant, which has been manufacturing aircraft components and even complete aircraft and helicopters since 1935, is today a state-of-the-art centre for the production of large sheet-metal components and shells, primarily for Airbus aircraft types.
These days up to eight hand-picked employees of the Nordenham production facility are devotedly constructing no fewer than 30 Super Star fuselage frames and a door frame. Due to the dolphin-like curved shape of the fuselage, all the farmes have to be custom-built. Because of their different dimensions, they have to be adjusted to plot, i.e. into an exact fit with an actual-size outline and the profile gages specified by Lufthansa Technik. The raw parts are cut to size, heated to facilitate further processing, then edged into the profile, stretch-formed and aligned into shape. The next stage is to mill the recesses. This is followed by heat treatment to stress-relieve the material. All the work is carried out entirely by hand by workers with the appropriate qualifications and licenses. The first twelve frames for the Super Star project will be available at the end of October. The remaining components will follow at the beginning of next year.
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The Super Star rib (in the foreground) seems almost dainty compared with those of the mega-Airbus A380, which are also produced in the Nordenham plant of Premium Aerotec.
Due to the dolphin-like curved shape of the Super Star’s fuselage, all the ribs have to be custom-built. Because of their different dimensions, they have to be adjusted into an exact fit with an actual-size outline and the profile gages specified by Lufthansa Technik.
