I just read not even a week ago, that they said it was still on schedule?

Just curious. Obviousely six months isn't like how long the A380 was delayed but still. Why not set a late date and deliver before it?

These dates may have been set 6 years ago. Just like most software projects, they take longer to make than they estimate because the gestation period is so long, new technologies come out that the designers want to or have to incorporate that they didn't necessarily plan for.

Investors...

Better than having it fall out of the sky.....

however much time you give an engineer, you can be sure he'll need more. There's always another calculation to perform, another process to optimize. setting a shorter time and accepting (and plan for) delays is more effective in getting a product out on time than just giving the engineers all the time they really have.

This delay is not because of fastner shortages, it's because the software isn't done yet.

Whatever company provides the cabinets(main flight computers) also provides the software for them. Chances are, they have a ton of glitches with the new setup.

This type of thing is very tough to get fixed, and they can only really find these problems by finding the plane. I read the plane is grounded until they get more parts in so that would be a big problem.

Building a large jet like that is very difficult. Especially when you numerous companies making different parts that are all supposed to communicate with each other and work within specified tolerances.

There is really so much involved, and it takes so long to work the bugs out of a plane if this size that I would be extremely surprised if they didn't delay it a little bit.

The first 80% of the job takes 80% of the time.
Finishing the job takes the other 80% of the time.

[Quoted by Yogi Berra, no less! "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." -Rick]

Boeing is the leading manufacture of aircraft. If you ever had the chance to visit any of their assembly facilities you will see they have it down to a science.

However, composites manufacturing is still new and growing; unlike metals, nearly all the work is done by hand (lay-up, Autoclave Cures, routing and trimming, then detailing).

Typically metal manufacturing is done by machine and the tolerances are much easier to meet. Versus composites which are more operator intensive. Simply improperly debulking during the lay-up sequence introduces voids, resin starvation etc.. =P

I am sure that they are having difficulty in keeping consistency with parts that they manufacture on site.