The A350 XWB wingtip deflects more than 5 meters after ultimate load application

Airbus successfully performed the ultimate load test of the A350 XWB’s wing in December/2013, applying loads up to 1.5 times higher than those the aircraft would ever encounter in its entire in-service life.

At ultimate load, the A350 XWB wingtip deflection exceeds 5 meters.

This test was performed on A350 XWB static test airframe that was built specifically to demonstrate the structural integrity of the airframe. The strains induced into the airframe are measured and monitored in real time using more than 10.000 measurement channels. The huge volume of data recorded is analyzed and correlated to the structural computer models which have been used to design the airframe

Airbus already passed the last of the ultimate load tests for the A350 XWB fuselage in early December 2013 in the MSN500 prototype that has been tested in the L34 building that is in the AéroConstellation site in Toulouse.

The same test with the 787 static test airframe. It looks like more flexible.

These successful ultimate load tests are important milestones for type certification and another step on the road entry into service of the A350 XWB in Q4 2014.

 

Based on the press release “A350 XWB passes ultimate load wing test”