People have been talking about Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner for so long that first flight always seems so far away. That’s far from being the truth. Believe it or not, the first flight is scheduled for later this year, so they better be making some good progress on building the thing.

Pictures of the aircraft have been hard to come by, and many people have been wondering if delays are in store. Well yesterday, Scott Carson, President of Boeing Commercial Airplane, gave a presentation with a ton of photos.

How about this sexy shot?

Okay, so maybe that isn’t so sexy, but it is pretty important, as you can see by the velvet, uh, chain link rope. That’s the engine pylon – the thing that keeps the engine on the wing. Like I said, it’s pretty important.

Click here (PDF) to see the presentation with a bunch more photos. This plane is being assembled all over the world, so all you see now are bits and pieces being constructed. The biggest pieces will get a ride in that enormous modified 747 on slide 46 that looks like it has a massive tumor.

The bottom line is that the plane is still on time, and I can’t wait to see it roll out.