Latitude buildup

The Latitude assembly line has 11 main stations; this photo shows five of them. Tailcone assembly happens at the rear wall, where two vertical jigs hold the tailcones so that workers can stand while riveting. Larger fuselage sections are built, then mated. Wing assembly happens in a huge bay to the right, out of the photo, and then the fuselage is lowered onto the wing assembly. Engine installation comes next, followed by final assembly and checks of all systems. The airplane is the foreground, Serial number 15, is about to go out the door and off to flight test, interior completion, the paint shop—and the customer. Photography by Mike Fizer

At aircraft assembly lines, cranes rule. Above, assembled wingsets are hoisted and taken to their next stations, where the landing gear are installed. After that, the wings are “plumbed” with electrical, fuel, and hydraulic lines. Now the wing is said to be “stuffed.” The internal fuel compartments are sealed, filled with a nonvolatile liquid medium, and pressurized to check for leaks.

Meanwhile, “fuse-mate” brings all the fuselage sections together.

Next stop: a drama called “wing-mate,” where three tons of completed fuselage is gently lowered onto the wings by a team led by a crane operator using a handheld controller.

Yet another crane lowers one of the Pratt & Whitney PW306 engines toward a worker who will attach it to the engine mounts. Others then help to connect fuel, electrical, and hydraulic lines. This is one of the final steps in the airplane’s completion, along with the installation of the ailerons and their flight control runs, the cockpit’s Garmin G5000 avionics, and all other flight deck hardware. Then it’s testing and more testing before the flight department receives the airplane for in-flight and other operational tests. Hey, anybody got the keys?