The 777 uses alot of composites but the fuselage is mostly Aluminium. The plastics are used in the wings, tail/vertical stabilizer, nose, rear of fuselage, and in other sections such as small doors, etc.

Ben, LOL it was a nice beaver :)


Mr. C,
No ignorance there at all. It's a pretty regular question from spotters.
In a nutshell....

Commercial airplane skin panels arrive at Boeing covered with a temporary protective coating to protect the metal from damage or corrosion during the manufacturing and assembly processes, this is where the term 'green airplane' comes from; it references the green protective coating and implies that the product is unfinished, awaiting paint.

Paint shop employees first use a hand-sander on a completed airplane's previously primed surfaces, then tackle the green skins. They then mask off areas that need protecting, such as landing gear and engines, and apply detergent to the airplane to remove the coating. Next they wash the aircraft with a fire hose spraying water heated to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C) to remove the green color. This leaves the natural, silver-colored aluminum skins.

Once the jet is clean, painters sand or abrade the surface of the panels to ensure the primer coat adheres to the metal. They apply primer and then mask off areas of the jet and paint it in various stages, depending on the process for each customer's livery. They apply hand-detailing or decals last, prior to preparing the plane for delivery to the customer. The time needed to complete a paint job depends on the size of the airplane and the complexity of the livery. For example, while painting a typical livery on a 737 requires two to three days on a two-shift operation, the Qantas design (Yananyi)required six days on a two-shift operation.


It's basically peeled on and blasted off. Sometimes it starts to fall off in patches and exposes the bare aluminum but the main aim is to prevent scratches and nix in the body to reduce the prep time in the paint shop.
1 in about 6-8 frames are painted at RNT with the 737's, the rest are done in the shops at BFI. While it may stop scratches for the most part, a fuselage comes from Wichita on the back of a train and will quite often be riddled with bullet holes. :eek::eek::p
Hope this helps and here is a shot of a Wedgetail as a 'greenie'

http://flickr.com/photos/bfiguy/2116549715/sizes/l

And a closer look:

http://flickr.com/photos/bfiguy/2236130514/

Cheers,
Scott.

Thanks agan Scotty for the great post. Learning bucket-loads from you lately :D

As for those bullet holes, I've read about that quite frequently, but I've always wondered what Boeing does with those fuselage sections?
Do they simply do some patch-up work (my concern here would be that the bullet holes would affect the structural integrity of the fuselage even with the patching-up) ? .... or is there another way Boeing gets around a fuselage riddle with bullet holes?

I guess no amateur hill-billy can take a shot at the Dreamlifter..thank goodness :D

Shameel, I'm out of knowledge now :D
The bullet holes are repaired that's all I know. The fuselages are not discarded that's for sure. I don't think it happens that often but from time to time they find them. When I see a train roll past I look for them but I've never seen one. I can just picture this Po-dunk white trash Nebraskan hill-billy sitting out on his porch with a white singlet, bud light and a gun as the 737's rolls past half a mile away.......;):rolleyes:

Hi Scott

Thanks for the comprehensive reply. Greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Bob

Looks like we've met the same bloke :D ...we're you at a Jerry Springer Show or something.. just kidding! :p

I tried doing a google search on this issue, but no luck

Snip - Not appropriate for this forum Shameel -mod

A QF 737 in Oneworld colours perhaps????

Jal, LAN and now finnair all have them.... it must only be a matter of time :)


http://www.planepictures.net/netshow.php?id=761336

Good thinking Michael, but one quick question: why put such a livery on a 737?

I know LAN and Finnair have put the oneworld livery on narrowbody aircraft, but would it not be smarter and more beneficial to slap on the oneworld titles on an aircraft used on international routes like the 747, especially since QF's 744s are progressively receiving their New-Roo livery updates?

Nonetheless, I'll go with Michael and suspect it's probably a QF 737 in OneWorld titles,... but if this is the case, I sure hope they go for something a little more visually exciting than just what LAN and Finnair have done. Something more along the lines of JAL's creativity would be great! :)



10-4. My apologies :)

Bobby C,
No problemo.

Michael,
No but good guess - that may happen soon too!

Been to busy in the past few days to notice but it would appear the VA 773ER is already in the paintshop. :mad:
There goes my chance of shooting her nude first :mad::mad:
Ah well they'll be more chances to get her in full scheme I guess. The countdown is on and some of the PAE regulars should bring it to the internet within minutes for you.:)
Scott.