Spirit AeroSystems comprises the history of many aircraft and aerospace companies over the years, including industry leaders such as Stearman, Boeing, Rockwell and British Aerospace Corporation. Some of the company highlights include notable entrepreneurial endeavors and acquisitions:

 
1927 – Stearman Aircraft Company moves from California to Wichita
1929 – Stearman Aircraft Company purchased by Boeing’s parent company, then known as the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation

 
1930 – Stearman moves to south Wichita – the present site of Spirit AeroSystems headquarters
1935 – Pioneer David McIntyre set up Scottish Aviation Ltd and acquired 348 acres of Ayrshire countryside.
1938 – Stearman Aircraft becomes the Stearman Division of Boeing Airplane Company

Wichita produces 8,584 Stearman Kaydet Trainers

 
1940 – Manufacturing set up in “Palace of Engineering” in Scotland
1941 – Stearman Division becomes Wichita Division of The Boeing Company

	U.K. produces World War II aircraft
	Wichita produces 1,644 B-29 Superfortress Bombers

	U.K. designs and manufactures “Pioneer”
	Wichita produces 1,390 B-47s
	Wichita produces 467 B-52s

 
1962 – North American Aviation opens in Tulsa
1964 – North American Aviation opens the McAlester facility
1967 – North American Aviation and the Rockwell Standard Corporation merge and become known as North American Rockwell

	747 development
	First 737 body section
	KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft engineering
	C130 aerostructure and overhaul/repair of engines and airframes
	Saturn III/Apollo programs
	Hound Dog cruise missile for B-52 bomber
	747 wing
	Bell 301

 
1970 – Scottish Aviation acquired Beagle Aircraft Company
Early 1970s – Company acquired Jetstream Aircraft from Handley Page
1972 – North American Rockwell incorporated as Rockwell II International, Tulsa a part of Rockwell North American
1973 – Aircraft Nacelle Branch formed at Wichita Division
1977 – U.K. operation merged into British Aerospace Corp., becoming the Scottish Division of BAE

	Nacelle Noise Abatement project
	767 development
	AWACS struts/nacelles work
	Space Shuttle payload bay doors
	Peacekeeper Missile
	Jetstream development
	Bulldog

	757 development
	A-6 Composite Replacement Wing
	B-1B
	Air Force One replacement
	Joint Stars
	B-2
	777 slats
	777 floor beams
	X-31 aft inlet duct
	J31 launch (Jetstream)

 

1996 – Rockwell International purchased by The Boeing Company, Tulsa becomes known as Boeing North American

	777 development
	737NG development
	737 flaps/slats
	International Space Station
	X-33 Venture Star
	737 horizontal stabilizer/vertical fin
	Joint Strike Fighter
	J41 launch
	ATP/J61
	Avro structures
	Raytheon structures
	Lockheed structures
	Nimrod MRA4 (a maritime recon plane)

 
2000 - Boeing North American became The Boeing Company, Tulsa Facility
2002 – Service Center established at Wichita for the repair and overhaul of aircraft nacelles and composite structures
2005 – The Boeing Company's Wichita Division, including Tulsa and McAlester, is acquired by Onex and renamed Spirit AeroSystems; Tulsa becomes the Aerostructures Business Unit
2006 – Spirit AeroSystems acquires the BAE Systems Aerostructures business unit facilities Prestwick, Scotland, and Samlesbury, England; Spirit goes public in November with IPO
2007 – Spirit AeroSystems wins contract to build major composite structure for CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter; Malaysia was chosen for company’s first aerospace manufacturing facility in Asia
2008 – Spirit wins several contracts and announces an expansion for Wichita and a new facility in North Carolina. New contracts include fuselage structure and wing leading edge for Airbus 350 XWB; wings for Gulfstream G650 business jet and G250 super mid-size business jet; nacelle systems for Rolls-Royce BR725; and pylons for the Mitsubishi MRJ.

	787 development
	5,000th 737
	First 787 assembly
	787 leading edges
	Wing control surfaces for most Boeing commercial programs
	AWACS Radome
	AC-130U Gunship
	UCAV X45C
	Boeing 767 and 777 structures
	Raytheon Hawker 850XP
	Airbus A320, A330, A340 and A380
	Airbus 350 XWB fuselage structures and wing leading edges
	Cessna Citation Columbus fuselage and empennage
	Gulfstream G250 wings
	Gulfstream G650 wings
	Mitsubishi MRJ pylons
	Rolls-Royce BR725 nacelle systems

2009 – Spirit produced its first part in the new Malaysia facility, and won pylon work for the Bombardier CSeries commercial jet; ground was broken for Spirit's new A350XWB facility in Saint-Nazaire, France; Spirit opened a new MRO repair center in China.
2010 – Spirit opened the North Carolina facility on July 1; Spirit was named a member of the Boeing NewGen Tanker Supplier Team.