In 1962, the Tulsa facility first opened its doors as North American Aviation. The original mission was to build the Hound Dog Cruise Missile for the U.S. Air Force. Minuteman ICBM missiles and specialized aerostructures were manufactured here. In 1963, the facility also built parts of the Apollo spacecraft and major structural sections of the Saturn Rocket’s second stage. In 1966, the Tulsa operation began working on fixed-wing leading edges for the Boeing 747, and eventually, the mid-fuselage section of that airplane.
In 1967, North American Aviation and the Rockwell Standard Corporation of Pittsburgh merged and became known as Rockwell International. In the 1970s, development work on the Boeing supersonic transport began in Tulsa, but was canceled just in time for NASA’s Space Shuttle program to come on board. The Shuttle’s composite payload bay doors were designed and produced here.
In that same era, 757 fuselage sections were built, along with fuselages for the XV-15 (tilt-rotor aircraft); large cargo doors for the YC-14 cargo plane; and the RCA radar on AEGIS ships, which received several Navy awards for excellence.
During the 1980s, more than 8,000 pounds of advanced composite structures were built each week for the B-1B Program. In 1991, Boeing awarded the Tulsa operation a contract for the 777 wing leading-edge slats and composite floor beams. In 1994, contracts for the 737NG wing slats, outboard flaps and fixed leading-edge kits were earned in 1998.
In December 1996, Boeing bought the operation from Rockwell International, and it became Boeing Airplane Company, Tulsa Facility. During this time, the facility manufactured the 116-foot Tier II (Global Hawk) composite wing; fabricated orbital replacement units; integrated equipment assemblies and connection structure for the International Space Station electrical power and distribution systems; as well as continuing to perform work on Boeing 747, 737NG and 777.
The Onex Corporation acquired Boeing’s Wichita and Tulsa facilities in 2005 and formed Spirit AeroSystems, of which Tulsa is now a part of the Aerostructures Business Unit. Spirit AeroSystems became a publicly-traded company in 2006. We competitively won contracts in 2008 to design and fabricate the wings for the G250 and G650, and we continue to perform on the Boeing family of products.