Patent ID: 8016236

Claim:
A method for assembling an aircraft, the method comprising: connecting a wing spar fitting to a spar in a wing for the aircraft, the wing spar fitting being a bottom portion of a mechanical joint for attaching the wing to a body of the aircraft; connecting a body frame fitting to a frame in the body of the aircraft, the body frame fitting being a top portion of the mechanical joint, the body frame fitting forms a bottom portion of a body bulkhead member such that the body bulkhead member does not abut the wing without the body frame fitting, and the body frame fitting located and oriented such that the wing spar fitting is vertically attached to the body frame fitting when the wing is positioned for attachment to the body of the aircraft; positioning the wing with respect to the body of the aircraft for attachment to the body; and attaching the body frame fitting and the wing spar fitting to each other with a set of fasteners without penetrating any sealed boundaries for a number of fuel tanks in the wing and a pressurized area in the body after the body frame fitting is aligned to the wing spar fitting, the wing being attached to the body by a mechanical joint formed by the body frame fitting and the wing spar fitting, the fasteners vertically connecting the body frame fitting directly to the wing spar fitting as the wing is raised to the body, the set of fasteners passing through only the body frame fitting and the wing spar fitting.