Aerospace industry is green. Last 3 European Green Capitals have production facilities of the A350 XWB

The European Green Capital is an award that has been conceived to promote and reward the efforts to resolve environmental challenges of European towns & cities, bringing together commitment and innovation.

  

European Green Capital 2011: Hamburg. Situated on the banks of the river Elbe, has a population of about 1.8 million -Germany’s second largest city- and it has a strong commitment towards a “green” vision.
Hamburg has the final assembly of the Rear Fuselage (section 16 and 19) and the systems installation of the Forward Fuselage. Section 16-18 manufactured & assembled by Premium Aerotec in Nordenham, Germany is joined to the section 19 manufactured & assembled by Airbus in Getafe, Spain.

 

European Green Capital 2012: Vitoria-Gasteiz. Founded in 1181 has some 240,000 people currently inhabiting this gem in northern Spain. Vitoria-Gasteiz is the capital of the Basque Country and it is comprised of concentric circles, with the city itself at centre. The “Green Belt”, a semi-natural green area surrounds the centre and brings nature into the city.

The assembly of the Rudder and the Elevators is done by Tier1 Aernnova Aerospace, with headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz, delivering them directly to Airbus plants of Stade and Getafe.

European Green Capital 2013: Nantes. Situated on the Loire River, close to the Atlantic coast, Nantes is a green wonder of western France. It is France’s sixth largest city, and has a metropolitan area comprising some 600,000 inhabitants. In 2004, Time Magazine named Nantes ‘the most liveable city in Europe’.

The keel beam + air inlet + centre wing box + aft lower shell s15/21 manufacturing and assembly is done in the Airbus plant of Nantes.

 

These are only three examples of industrial ecoeficient plants involved in A350 XWB program of Airbus and other Tier/suppliers.

Happy New Year 2013

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2013

ASCO Industries from Belgium Belairbus consortium designs and builds slat support mechanisms and other Titanium Parts of the Main Landing Gear Attachment

ASCO is known in the aerospace industry because of its background and capabilities in research, design and manufacturing of high lift mechanism devices & complex precision mechanical subassemblies.

Asco has 2 different work packages in the A350 XWB program:

-the first one includes 44 subassemblies of slat support mechanisms, from which 26 slat tracks, 10 hinge arms, 4 drive lever assemblies, and 4 strut assemblies. Asco has applied one of its patents to design the slat support mechanisms, taking into account that the leading edge high lift mechanisms design is a critical key for the performance of the aircraft on take-off and landing.

-the second one includes eight machined parts –made from titanium- for the main landing gear attachment; 2 cantilever fittings, 2 pintle fitting outboards, 2 pintle fitting inboard and 2 side stay fitting. After production, parts are sent to Premium AEROTEC in Augsburg for assembly of the main landing gear attachment, which is finally delivered to Airbus UK.

Asco, which employs 1,300 people, is a proven technology specialist and supply chain integrator in design, development, precision machining, processing, and certified assembly of complex high strength metallic aircraft components (high-lift devices, landing gear components, and engine attachments).

Headquartered in Zaventem Belgium, Asco has 3 manufacturing plants in Belgium, Canada and Germany, an engineering office in the United States, a procurement office in Brazil and a commercial office in France. Asco has recently acquired a manufacturing plant in Oklahoma, which will be developed over the next years.

If American Airlines and US Airways merge go ahead, no cancellation of A350´s are expected

American Airlines and US Airways are moving closer to a merger, and a decision could come early next month, people familiar with the matter said. The push follows American’s efforts to reorganize in bankruptcy court before a merger and US Airways’ quest to lead a takeover creating the world’s largest airline.

Analysts says there is not foreseen US Airways canceling its A350 orders in favor of American Airlines’ outstanding 777 order.

US Airways is one of the remaining A350-800 customers and this might be upgraded to the A350-900, allowing the airline 60 seats more per aircraft in economy class (from 36 Envoy Class / 234 Economy Class in A350-800, to 36 Envoy Class / 294 Economy Class in A350-900)

 

The airline has 18 A350-800 aircraft and 4 A350-900 aircraft on order for delivery from 2017 onwards and the upgrading of 18 A350-800 to bigger A350-900 will not be a surprise.

A combination of American, the 3rd biggest U.S. carrier, and No. 5 US Airways would surpass United Continental as the world’s largest airline, based on passenger traffic.

  

Based on the article “AMR Said to Take Steps Nearing Merger With US Airways” published in Bloomberg

A350 XWB one step further in the EFB (Electronic Flight Bag). Flexibility + Integration = class 2-plus. And available in the iPad

Airbus aims to revolutionize electronic flight bag philosophy with the A350 XWB. It will offer a system that combines integrated hardware with the ability to dock a laptop computer or an iPad, which is operated using the aircraft's on-board controls. The EFB will offer typical applications like E-documentation - for example flightcrew operating manual or minimum equipment list -, as well as performance programs and mission management support.

 

Dubbed a "class 2-plus" EFB, the system has been evolved from the A380's on-board information system (OIS), which is a fully integrated class 3 EFB, says senior Airbus test pilot Jean-Michel Roy. "What we wanted to do is to combine the benefits of a class 2 EFB and a class 3 EFB, by having a fixed integrated keyboard and screen, but with an easily removable central processing unit and memory," Roy says.

Click the image to watch Mr. Roy explaining the AFB class 2-plus; "The benefit of having fixed and removable parts is that it is open and flexible," he said.

 

"Unlike the A380's class 3 solution, where computers that are part of the aircraft are connected to flightdeck screens, the A350's class 2-plus EFB enables a pilot to connect his laptop or iPad into the docking station and control it using the KCCU [keyboard cursor control unit] on the pedestal or the keyboard and touch panel integrated into the table, and it will be displayed on the lateral outer screen."

 

"If an airline - for example Lufthansa - likes to give a laptop to each of its pilots, he can plug it into the aircraft's docking station, it will be displayed on the flightdeck screens, and can be removed at the end of the flight," he says. "Another configuration could be an airline that keeps it on board and removes it just for updates."

Airbus’ EFB content available in the iPad.

Airbus has become the first aircraft manufacturer to provide its Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) performance-calculating applications for Pilots on iPad. Airlines will soon be able to download the first apps as part of its “FlySmart with Airbus” EFB portfolio from the App Store. Pilots will be able to compute performance calculations and also consult Airbus’ Flight Operations Manuals from a light hand-held device.

 

Didier Lux, EVP of Airbus Customer Services says: “15 years ago Airbus was the pioneer in providing the first EFB applications with the goal of creating the ‘paperless’ cockpit. Today we go a step further: By combining our EFB content with the world’s most versatile mobile digital device, the iPad, airline pilots will be able to optimize aircraft performance in the palm of their hand, while obtaining savings in cost, weight and time.”

 

Airbus’ new iPad solution has been tested by Airbus pilots in order to ensure its compliance with Airbus EFB standards. Moreover, Airbus has already ordered iPads for its Flight Test and Training Department who will use of FlySmart with Airbus on iPad as standard practice from now on. Licenses for the EFB apps are available exclusively to Airbus customers.

Spirit AeroSystems’ Kinston plant approved a 12-year labor agreement.

Production and maintenance workers at Spirit AeroSystems’ Kinston plant approved their first contract last week. But this but this would not be a remarkable story if it wasn't for the agreement signed is for 12 years.

 

The 500,000-square-foot plant, which opened in 2010, builds fuselage and wing components for the Airbus A350 XWB.

 

In April, production and maintenance workers voted in for representation by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union represents 150 of the plant’s 375 employees (40%). And in December, 85% of those voting approved a 12-year labor agreement with Spirit.

 

“We are very pleased with this ratification vote of what is a highly innovative agreement,” Spirit AeroSystems spokesman Ken Evans said in a statement. “Rather than legislate, the agreement provides a simple framework for problem-solving among the partners.” It’s a living agreement to keep the facility productive and efficient, Evans said. It allows the two to work out any needed changes together. “We believe this agreement is historic in nature, setting a new bar for company/union partnerships,” Evans said.

 

Organizing the Spirit plant was an important win for the Machinists, Ron Eldridge, the union’s aerospace coordinator, said in a statement at the time. “It allows us to build on the partnership with Spirit that the IAM has in the Wichita, Kan., facility. We can show other aerospace workers in the South how beneficial an IAM contract is for working families.” Eldridge said it was important that workers get thorough, professional training when a new plant opens and workers are hired.

 

 

Based on article “Spirit workers in North Carolina approve first contract” published in The Wichita Eagle

A350 XWB; the first curved windows Airbus is using in a cockpit design.

There are different requirements directly conflicting when windows configuration is defined.

Fuel efficiency is drive on the A350 XWB design, so aerodynamics and weight requirements are the first in the list.

Aerodynamics departments don't like flat surfaces in general. But there is also another key factor; visibility for pilots; they hate not being able to see.

Airbus made in 2008 a revision -that re-named the aircraft as XWB Xtra Wide Body- and the nose fuselage, that was similar to the A380, changed the shape of the upper radius and upper shell of the fuselage for aerodynamic reasons. Airbus refined the six-windscreen layout and worked to minimize the centre post to improve the pilots' visibility.

Glass makers –in this case Saint.Gobain- hate not-flat surfaces and the cost is higher because of complexity of the manufacturing process for a transparent laminate with rounded corners to prevent/mitgate against stress points in the cutout.

Structural engineers include an important and challenging requirement: to resist a birdstrike. The nose fuselage is one of the critical areas in the aircraft that must be certified against a bird impact test.

Manufacturability and birdstrike requirements defined the dimensions of the windows; smaller than a typical commercial jet and significantly smaller than windows on the 787, making them easier to certify for birdstrike and easier to manufacture as well.

In 2008 was also decided to remove the opening direct vision cockpit windows for flightcrew emergency evacuation and was included an escape hatch in the flightdeck roof instead; weight reduction and structural requirements optimization with low risk as it was the result of a trade off after benchmarking the configuration Boeing was using in the 787.

A big challenge in the 787 and A350 XWB going to curved windows is that curved windows are much harder than flat windows to optically match to the HUD (Head Up Display), which both these aircraft offer. The optical quality controls on the curved glass are extraordinarily tight, to be able to certify the HUD for takeoff and landing.

Finally, other tests like UV radiation, cold & hot temperature tests and ice balls firing tests are performed in the manufacturer facilities located at Sully sur Loire (France)