Aircraft Construction: How are

airplanes made?
Aviation Facilities | December 04, 2018
  

An airplane is a powered aircraft that is propelled forward in the

air by thrust from an engine. We all know that, but how do we
come to this stage? How are airplanes made?
Are airplanes mass produced? Does the factory produce
hundreds of airplanes at the same time like small appliances? Or
does it produce one airplane at a time like handmade antiques?
Or is the truth a mixture of both statements?
It takes several stages of design and manufacturing to construct
something this huge and has the ability to fly in the skies. Let’s
take a look at those stages together and learn how are airplanes
made.

How are airplanes made:

The design stage

The objectives and specifications of the aircraft are established

during the design and planning process.
The first step is using drawings and equations. Computers are
used by companies during this stage to draw and plan the design.
Then comes the simulation stage, computers are used again to do
initial simulations of the aircraft. After that small models of all the
design or just certain parts of the plane are made and tested in
wind tunnels to tests and experience its aerodynamics.
The design and planning stage can take up to four years.

How are airplanes made:

The construction stage

An airplane comprises a number of major components, such as

fuselage, wings, empennage, undercarriage and one or more
engines.
Each and every one of these components consists of thousands
of small parts. The smaller parts are constructed individually and
then put together.
When two or more components need to be joined together by
welding for an airplane, the process must meet the most strict
and specific safety regulations and standards. The National
Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program
(Nadcap) sets global requirements for quality, quality
management and quality assurance for all aircraft construction.
Very few companies around the world produce airplanes on a
large scale. But aircraft construction is a process that usually
involves numerous other companies and plants in addition to the
main manufacturing company.
The other companies oftentimes produce the components that
go into the plane. Or just produce the parts that go into making
the major components. A company for instance can be
responsible for producing airplane windows. And as this process
is not limited to companies in the same city as the manufacturing
plant, or even the same country, sometimes airplane parts can
come from all over the world.
How are airplanes made:

The assembly stage

The finished and inspected parts are sent to the main plant of the
plane company, where the production line is located. The parts
are now ready to be joined together to form an airplane.
Sometimes there are production lines dedicated to the assembly
of certain parts of the plane, especially the wings and the
fuselage in case of very large planes.
After the whole airplane is put together, it is thoroughly
inspected to search for any imperfections or defects.
After the inspectors grant their approval, the plane is put through
a series of flight tests to assure that all its systems are working
properly and that the plane works smoothly without a hitch.
But that is not the final stage, after passing all these tests, the
plane is now ready to receive the "final touchups"  which may
include internal configuration or painting, or any cosmetic work.
After this stage the airplane is finally ready to be delivered to the
customer.