Spirit AeroSystems Projects

Spirit AeroSystems Paint Facility 

This project was an addition to Spirit’s Plant 2 manufacturing building and constructed adjacent to the prep-to-ship area. Due to the close proximity to the existing plant, major underground utility relocations such as water, industrial waste, sanitary sewer, electrical and data systems had to be relocated prior to starting the project. 

The building was a conventional steel frame structure, bearing on auger cast pilings and concrete pile caps. The exterior shell of the building was constructed of metal panels and standing seam metal roof. Inside the structure, a massive 150-foot long by 40-foot wide by 25-foot tall down-draft paint booth was constructed for painting Boeing 737 fuselages. The complex air handling system was equipped with thermal oxidizers to remove paint VOC’s from exhaust air.

Spirit CFF Addition

To facilitate increased production rates for the Boeing 787 program, the Spirit CFF (Composite Fuselage Facility) required an expansion of another 50,000 square feet. Eby Construction was tasked with the construction of the new addition, a 270-foot by 190-foot building standing 60-feet tall. 

The building foundation was supported on 325 auger cast piles (16-inch round by 40-feet deep), pier caps and grade beams. The frame of the building was designed with a conventional steel structure, consisting of 20-foot deep trusses that allow for a clear span in the working bay of 200 feet. The structure was also designed to carry the load of bridge cranes hung from the bottom of the clear span roof trusses. The exterior skin of the building is clad with 16-inch wide, concealed fastener metal panels and a rubber membrane roof system.

Spirit Storm Damage 

On the night of April 14, 2012, the Spirit AeroSystems manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas, took a direct hit from an EF-3 tornado. Throughout the first night, Eby Construction worked with Spirit and first responders from city and county law enforcement, fire departments and public and private utility providers to safely evacuate the site, shut down damaged structures and supports systems, secure the site from access and prepare for recovery. 

Early the next day, a site-wide assessment of damage was conducted and the extent of the damages included over 160,000 square feet of building structure completely destroyed, over 200,000 square feet of roof decking totally swept away from structures, which were still intact and damage, ranging from minor to extensive, touching all 41 buildings located on the campus. 

On Monday, April 23, just seven days later, the largest employer in the State of Kansas was able to resume operations and bring the 11,000 employees of Spirit Wichita back to work. The Spirit storm recovery project involved the repair of all or parts of every building on the campus, equaling over 500,000 square feet of building structure.