Hi everyone,

Aircraft such as the 767 is still in production, almost 40 years since the first flight. They currently only produce the 300F at the moment. The question I have is the suppliers that make parts, bits in the electronics bay, circuit boards, even down to the throttle lever clutchpacks! are they the same as the ones that were made on the first aircraft? Im sure they have been revisions over the years, FADEC control etc, but the overall aircraft surely has to be the same.

I know a lot of 777 technology was transferred over into the -400 series, how come the current 767 the 300 is now made and not the 400, which is a step backwards in comparison?

Cheers

I’m sure multiple suppliers have changed, merged or offered improved products over the life of the type. The parts have to meet Boeing standards and FAA Part Manufacturer Approval. The -400 didn’t sell, so it was ended. Avionics have been upgraded over the years. This is normal for any program.

As GalaxyFlyer says, upgrades are common. For example, our newer A330s ("newer" meaning made after about 2007) have upgraded standby instrumentation, FM, displays, and many other bits and bobs. Older frames also get upgrades during their service like, for example with RNP AR capability. And if something needs replacement, like a radio panel or MCDU, they'll get a new one. It's not uncommon in the same cockpit to see one newer MCDU with an LCD and the new style toggle switch for brightness, along with two old ones with a CRT and the old style rotary brightness knob.

Suppliers of avionics also tend to "hoard" parts like CPUs. Intel may have stopped making Pentiums decades ago but I bet they're still in stock at Honeywell.

On the 767-300Fs they now have the Rockwell Collins Large Display Systems and associated avionics installed. They were originally installed a few years ago after the aircraft was delivered using a Supplemental Type Certificate by Rockwell Collins at UPS and Fedex but Boeing and Rockwell Collins have now got approval from the FAA to install them on new aircraft right on the assembly line in Everett. Before that there were CRT displays on the 767 built by another manufacturer "Honeywell" I believe. It is possible to upgrade and improve items after the aircraft has been manufactured for a few years to upgrade.

Not aware of any 767s with FADEC, ours had overboost and overspeed protection but not FADEC

Max Q wrote:

Not aware of any 767s with FADEC, ours had overboost and overspeed protection but not FADEC

GE CF6 FADEC airplanes had engine start panels with Single/Both positions. Non-FADEC CF6 and PW4000 planes had 1-Both-2 switch positions.



Regarding updated avionics, later 767s had the EICAS crew alert function which sounded when no button was pressed in the cockpit after a certain time period. This was used to theoretically wake a sleeping crew.

DL_Mech wrote:

Max Q wrote:

Not aware of any 767s with FADEC, ours had overboost and overspeed protection but not FADEC

GE CF6 FADEC airplanes had engine start panels with Single/Both positions. Non-FADEC CF6 and PW4000 planes had 1-Both-2 switch positions.



Regarding updated avionics, later 767s had the EICAS crew alert function which sounded when no button was pressed in the cockpit after a certain time period. This was used to theoretically wake a sleeping crew.

I've always wondered on the 757 and 767 there were two types of throttle lever design. A slimmer grey set, tended to be on earlier builds and a bulkier burgundy set on later builds. Was this dependent on engine type? I know the the RR on the 757 and earlier builds the engines were mechanically linked to the throttle levers.

williamraffoul wrote:

I've always wondered on the 757 and 767 there were two types of throttle lever design. A slimmer grey set, tended to be on earlier builds and a bulkier burgundy set on later builds. Was this dependent on engine type? I know the the RR on the 757 and earlier builds the engines were mechanically linked to the throttle levers.

I think it was a direct changeover, as no airplanes were delivered (to my airline) with the grey throttles after the burgundy anodized throttles started to appear. The anodized finish is actually starting to wear off on the older planes, revealing the grey finish underneath.

CanukinUSA wrote:

On the 767-300Fs they now have the Rockwell Collins Large Display Systems and associated avionics installed. They were originally installed a few years ago after the aircraft was delivered using a Supplemental Type Certificate by Rockwell Collins at UPS and Fedex but Boeing and Rockwell Collins have now got approval from the FAA to install them on new aircraft right on the assembly line in Everett. Before that there were CRT displays on the 767 built by another manufacturer "Honeywell" I believe. It is possible to upgrade and improve items after the aircraft has been manufactured for a few years to upgrade.

I fly the LDS system on the 757/767, and it's a major step forward in terms of situational awareness. I'm spoiled now, and I'd hate to have to go back to flying the classic flight display!

DL_Mech wrote:

williamraffoul wrote:

I've always wondered on the 757 and 767 there were two types of throttle lever design. A slimmer grey set, tended to be on earlier builds and a bulkier burgundy set on later builds. Was this dependent on engine type? I know the the RR on the 757 and earlier builds the engines were mechanically linked to the throttle levers.

I think it was a direct changeover, as no airplanes were delivered (to my airline) with the grey throttles after the burgundy anodized throttles started to appear. The anodized finish is actually starting to wear off on the older planes, revealing the grey finish underneath.

A bit of nitpicking, but if that is actually anodized coating wearing out, "grey finish underneath" is a bare aluminum alloy...

CanukinUSA wrote:

On the 767-300Fs they now have the Rockwell Collins Large Display Systems and associated avionics installed. They were originally installed a few years ago after the aircraft was delivered using a Supplemental Type Certificate by Rockwell Collins at UPS and Fedex but Boeing and Rockwell Collins have now got approval from the FAA to install them on new aircraft right on the assembly line in Everett. Before that there were CRT displays on the 767 built by another manufacturer "Honeywell" I believe. It is possible to upgrade and improve items after the aircraft has been manufactured for a few years to upgrade.

L/N 1068 C/N 42223 B767-3KYER P4-KEC AIR ASTANA (VT033), was the last 767 delivered with the old CRT based cockpit.

The following LDS equipped 767-32SF’s were produced at the FAL , with the LDS certified according STC ST01750WI

L/N 1070 C/N 42709 B767-3S2F N106FE FEDEX (VT560) “Evelyn”
L/N 1071 C/N 44377 B767-3S2F N107FE FEDEX (VT561) “Grayson”
L/N 1072 C/N 44378 B767-3S2F N108FE FEDEX (VT562) “Lucia”
L/N 1073 C/N 42710 B767-3S2F N109FE FEDEX (VT563) “Stephanie”
L/N 1074 C/N 43542 B767-3S2F N110FE FEDEX (VT564) “Margo”
L/N 1075 C/N 43543 B767-3S2F N112FE FEDEX (VT565) “Jordan”
L/N 1076 C/N 42711 B767-3S2F N113FE FEDEX (VT566) “Brandon”
L/N 1077 C/N 42712 B767-3S2F N114FE FEDEX (VT567) “Jade”
L/N 1078 C/N 42713 B767-3S2F N115FE FEDEX (VT568) “Rosabella”
L/N 1079 C/N 44379 B767-3S2F N117FE FEDEX (VT569) “Rylee”
L/N 1080 C/N 42714 B767-32SF N118FE FEDEX (VT570) “Emilee”
L/N 1081 C/N 44380 B767-32SF N120FE FEDEX (VT571) “Brianna”
L/N 1082 C/N 43545 B767-32SF N121FE FEDEX (VT572) “Kylah”
L/N 1083 C/N 42715 B767-3S2F N122FE FEDEX (VT573) “Josephine”
L/N 1084 C/N 43546 B767-32SF N124FE FEDEX (VT574) “Quinn”
L/N 1085 C/N 42716 B767-32SF N123FE FEDEX (VT575) “Schuler”
L/N 1086 C/N 42717 B767-32SF N125FE FEDEX (VT576) “Claudia”
L/N 1087 C/N 42718 B767-32SF N126FE FEDEX (VT577) “Josie”
L/N 1088 C/N 43547 B767-32SF N127FE FEDEX (VT578) “HaileyAnna”
L/N 1089 C/N 42719 B767-32SF N128FE FEDEX (VT579) “Jaxon"

L/N 1090 C/N 43548 B767-32SF N129FE FEDEX (VT580) “Carina” , First LDS factory certified installation (as a 767 subtype at the Type Certificate.)

All 767-300F built after L/N 1090 are equipped with LDS and built as a 767-300F subtype.

Note : the first 4 Fedex 767-300F aircraft (ships 101,102,103 and 104) were factory delivered with the old CRT flight deck, but already wired for easy LDS installation, after certification of the above mentioned STC. All are converted at the first maintenance visit to the LDS installation..

kalvado wrote:

A bit of nitpicking, but if that is actually anodized coating wearing out, "grey finish underneath" is a bare aluminum alloy...

Fair enough. That got me thinking, does the anodized finish provide some kind of protection to people who are allergic to handling aluminum? Just a thought.

On the topic of 767 construction, our new 767-300F's are experiencing a lot of cracked parts on the wing fixed leading edge and trailing edges. This is on planes with very low flight hours. On the fixed leading edge which is a composite construction, the nose former angles are breaking. They are located just to the side of the slat track cut-outs, made of .040" aluminum, and installed with Cherry blind rivets. The rivets work lose and then gouge the trailing edge of the slats. This leads to replacing the angles and doing a metal-to-metal hot bond on the slats. The maintenance visit then goes from about eight to ten hours to two days. We remove the blind rivets and install screws with steel self-locking nuts. A design revision was made by Boeing apparently and our new arrivals come with the screw/nut setup. On the trailing edge, we began to see what is called the "wiggle panels" that hold the lower fixed trailing edge to the aft spar area. Again, a modification was made and we now install these as soon as we get a new plane from Boeing, this is done during the HUD modification.
I know other carriers are getting the 767-300F and I wonder if they are seeing the same situation?