Spirit Concern continues in the A350 XWB

Airbus CEO Frabrice Bregier said that although the A350 XWB itself is on track, with two aircraft built -one to be used on the ground to assess the airframe and the other the first test plane- there are concerns about program-management issues at Spirit Aerosystems.

 

Airbus is working closely with the company, which took around $600 million in charges in 2012 related to difficulties in developing parts for more than one new plane. Next 12/February is scheduled the presentation of the 2012 Financial Results by Spirit AeroSystems CEO Jeff Turner.

Spun off from Boeing in 2005, Spirit is the largest U.S. supplier for the A350 structure.

Spirit manufactures the centre fuselage section 15 (AFP) but also another critical work-package like the wing spar manufacturing in composites.

 

Based on the article “Airbus Says A350 Design Is ‘Lower Risk’ Than Troubled 787” published in Bloomberg

A350 XWB emergency power system tests undergoing in the 21-year-old A340-300 MSN001

The Ram Air Turbine emergency power system, known as RAT, is one of the backup power sources that are designed to automatically engage to ensure that those systems needed for continued safe operation of the airplane are powered, in case a failure of the power from both engines and the aircraft speed is above 100 Knots.

Theoretically, there is no time limitation for flying with the RAT. The Emergency Generator should remain supplying until touchdown; so the aircraft should never become 'Batteries Only'.
 

This small generator is required in the event of power failure and should be tested before the first flight

A ram air turbine (RAT) is a self contained turbine unit with a hydraulic pump attached that are generally only used in emergency situations.

RAT is deployed automatically when main system pressure drops below a predetermined value, and could also be deployed into the airflow by selection of a switch on the flight deck.

The RAT must be capable of operation over a broad speed range, maintaining normal hydraulic pressure, whether the aeroplane is at maximum speed and height or slowing for landing.

A volumetric flow control valve is usually fitted to the RAT allowing the propeller to attain operating speed, before being loaded by the pump, this allows full system pressure to be achieved approximately 4-5 seconds after deployment into the air stream.

 

In the 787 (above) the RAT is stowed in the flap track fairing. In the A350 XWB, the place of stowage was initially under the left wing as shown in this old image below, but currently is under the fuselage fairing (belly fairing).

 

In the extremely rare loss of power from the engines, the RAT deploys into the airstream and produces power for the cockpit and flight controls to safely land the aircraft.

 

The RAT is designed&manufactured by American supplier Hamilton Sundstrand Electric Systems (a subsidiary of UTC) located in Rockford Illinois (USA) that also provides the A350 XWB’s Electric Power Generation System.

“We are proud to support Airbus’ latest advanced commercial aircraft. As the world’s leading RAT systems supplier, we strive to provide the best competitive and technical solutions for our customers, and we’re pleased to be selected for the A350 XWB.”

 

Airbus is using the same 21-year-old original A340-300 as development testbed for its investigation of acoustic transmission after installing a carbonfibre fuselage panel that could be seen in the same photo.

 

 

Based on the article “Airbus teste la RAT de l'A350 sur son A340-300 d'essai ” published in AeroWeb-fr.net

Securing the future while Boeing won in 2012 on aircraft new orders. Airbus has a backlog for 8 years of production.

Aircraft sales fell in 2012, as the company had predicted. It blamed the fall in new orders, down from 1,419 in 2011 to 914 in 2012, on customers choosing to purchase aircraft from Boeing. Its market share on new orders fell from 64% in 2011 to 41% in 2012.

John Leahy, chief operating officer at Airbus, slammed Boeing over its unstable production pattern.

Mr Leahy said that Airbus has managed to stabilize and keep increasing levels of production, even when order levels drop, as it has created a backlog of work so that it can continually increase production levels.

Airbus has a backlog of 4,700 aircraft, which equates to eight years worth of production.

“Don’t paint us with the same brush as Boeing,” he said. “We have taken the cycle out. The cycle isn’t there as production doesn’t drop when orders drop.”

Airbus said that it will target the Asian market, commercial jet lessors, and airlines in the US. Leahy believes Airbus can make headway in the US market after authorities declared some of the subsidies provided to Boeing and US airlines as unfair and requested that amendments be made to level the playing field.

“We are pleased to see that the European Commission has taken steps to address this important issue,” said Mr Bregier on the new rules given to Boeing regarding subsidies.

“Hopefully there will be some international progress and this will help us to sell lower range aircraft in the US,” he added.

Based on the article “Airbus to create 300 UK jobs” published in The Manufacturer

A350 XWB passenger cabin windows manufactured by GKN, as for other Airbus LR, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft.

The GKN Aerospace’s CrystalVue II™ cabin windows are already installed in the MSN001 aircraft at the FAL Toulouse. It is not a risky or new window, as more than 2 million CrystalVue II™ windows are in service worldwide on aircraft operated by major and regional airlines and 800,000 more windows are manufactured each year. GKN Aerospace’s passenger windows have been standard fit on many Airbus aircraft and on all Boeing aircraft, for many years. The CrystalVue II is the cabin window selected for both Boeing 787 and A350 XWB.

CrystalVue II is a hard coated stretched acrylic passenger window pane which offers greater abrasion and chemical resistance than any other acrylic cabin window currently available, maintaining visibility through the window pane. In addition, the window's service life without interim maintenance actions is typically 3-4 times longer than other products on the market, substantially reducing maintenance activity and costs.

In 2005, GKN Aerospace was selected by Airbus, under a cooperation agreement, as the preferred vendor of passenger cabin windows for the A330 & A340. As part of this agreement with Airbus, GKN Aerospace is providing 'Vendor Managed Inventory', ensuring Airbus has quick and immediate access to window supplies for each aircraft at all times. GKN Aerospace manages the inventory, restocking to agreed minimum/maximum levels to ensure parts are always available.

For example, GKN Aerospace has an agreement in place for distribution partner A J Walter Aviation Singapore (AJWS) to stock a full inventory of CrystalVue II passenger windows at their Changi facility. The target is to have an efficient and timely product distribution to airlines in the Asia Pacific region.

The passenger window is a complex item regarding materials, design and processes with different technologies, patents and requirements involved, like UV protection, stealth requirements, moisture barriers, abrasion resistance, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding technologies, aero design, anti-fog requirements, hydrophobic, ice phobic, damage detection, acoustic, etc.

The main advantages are related to Improved light transmission and optical clarity as well as related to solar heat management (CrystalVue Solar Control) and to prevention of electromagnetic interference (passive coatings or micro screens).

GKN Aerospace has a more critical involvement in the A350 XWB program with the manufacturing of thrust struts, inner core fairings and blisks for R-R Trent XWB. In the structures work packages, GKN Aerospace invested over £170m to create a new facility in the UK where the rear wing spar is manufactured and the fixed trailing edge of the wing assembled. Additionally, the company also invested in its Munich facility where the inboard and outboard flaps (including skins, spars, ribs and leading edges) are manufactured.

If you want to buy a A350-900, you are late; one month ago it was 10 million US$ cheaper.

As every 1st of January, Airbus has updated the list price with on average a 3,6% increase over 2012 prices.

Here it is a comparison between last years´ prices and current prices

 model (million $)        2012                          2013            
A350-800                245.5 USD                 254.3 USD
A350-900                277.7 USD                 287.7 USD
A350-1000              320.6 USD                 332.1 USD

"Our new pricing reaffirms the value of our modern, fuel-efficient aircraft,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “Our products consistently help our customers cut their operating costs and reduce their environmental footprint.”

“A350 XWB is on track” and 4 Lessons-Learnt by Fabrice Bregier.

Fabrice Bregier said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos that “the A350 XWB is on track” and that it has time to make changes that may arise from an investigation into the fault that grounded Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

• Lesson learnt 1: supply chain.

Bregier, said Airbus had learned lessons from its troubled launch of the A380 superjumbo, including the need to limit the amount of work outsourced to other companies. "Sometimes we went too far on outsourcing work," Bregier said. "We need to make sure we control the architecture of the aircraft so as to have the safest and best aircraft."

• Lesson learnt 2: personal involvement in the challenges.

Mr. Bregier said he was taking personal charge of ensuring the success of the A350, which is due to make its first flight in the middle of 2013. He also said that certifying any new aircraft is “very difficult” because of “more and more stringent” rules applied by the authorities.

• Lesson learnt 3: Don´t panic. First maturity, second schedule.

"If I take the A350, we drew all the possible lessons from the A380," Bregier said. "And if by chance there is a decision regarding the 787 which would impact us, we would of course embark on that. And we have plenty of time."

• Lesson learnt 4: the launch customers are in the Middle East (Qatar Airways) and Asia (Singapore Airlines).

Bregier said the global environment was challenging, but growth in markets for new fleets in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America was more than making up for the recession in Europe.

"We are in a growing market and if I could deliver aircraft faster I would have more customers," he said. "Europe is now only 14% of our backlog, it was 50% 15 years ago."

 

Based on the article “Airbus CEO says A350 on track” published in CNN

Airbus CEO: we need to inject the aerospace virus to the younger generations. Target of 3.000 new jobs for 2013.

“There are 3,000 people to recruit around the world in 2013,” declared Fabrice Bregier, president and CEO of Airbus, at the company’s annual press conference in Toulouse, France.

Mr Bregier stated that Airbus is “bringing a lot to the European economy and will continue to recruit”.

However, recruitment will be at a slower pace than in the previous two years when Airbus employed 4,500 new people in 2011 and recruited 5,000 employees in 2012 increasing the global employee figure to 59,000

Regarding the breakdown of recruitment by Nations, for this target of 3.000 new jobs needed to support all programme developments (and based on different articles published) could be some similar to:

• France: 1.100

• Germany: 1.000

• Spain: 400

• UK: 300

• Other: 200

Airbus, which employs more than 100 different nationalities, has the target of hiring around 20% non-national candidates. Another target is hiring of 25% women & 20% female Engineers annually.

 

As Airbus says in their presentations, "Diversity is important to us because It reflects our diverse customer base + It increase our resource and talent pool + We benefit from the richness of diverse backgrounds. It is our differences that make the difference “

 

The younger generations are the future for Airbus, linked to Innovation. And Airbus is working with the challenge to "recharge the young´s aerospace batteries" as said in some forum.