Enders EADS CEO regarding the A350 XWB first flight: “on track to perform its maiden flight LATER this summer”.

EADS has all but dismissed the possibility of the developmental Airbus A350 twinjet making an appearance at the Paris air show in June and stressed that the type is on track to perform its maiden flight later this summer.

MSN1 two weeks ago when it was in st.30

 

Airbus had previously said the first flight would simply be in "mid-2013", raising speculation that it could fly ahead of the Paris event.

"Paris is nice," says EADS chief executive Tom Enders, during a New York media briefing. "But it is more important that the aircraft is in its maturity to make its first flight."

Airbus is focused on its rigorous test programme for the A350 and is paying less attention to the "symbolism" of the air show, says Enders. First flight will come in July or August, he adds.

 
Nonetheless, Enders does not entirely rule out the possibility of the A350 being at Paris: "Miracles happen," he says with a grin.

 

Based on the article “Enders plays down chances of A350's Paris appearance” published in Flightglobal 

 

Qatar CEO: “Switch to A350-1000 in December was because Airbus told us they are not going to make the smaller A350-800”

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker commented to journalists at the ITB tourism fair in Berlin that he was told by Airbus that the smallest variant of its new A350 plane wouldn’t see the light of day and dropped his order, a claim the manufacturer disputes.

Qatar CEO  Akbar Al Baker

 Meanwhile, Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath said in a statement  that the A350-800 remains a “key member of the A350 family”.

Qatar, the first customer that will receive the first 4 A350 XWB in 2014, pulled out of its order for 20 A350-800s in December and switched into a bigger model. Airbus said at the time that dropping the smallest of its three A350 variants would leave it with an unprotected flank against Boeing ’s 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus had 92 A350-800 aircraft on its order book at the end of January, compared with 395 of the 314-seat A350-900, the main variant which is also slated to be the first to enter service in late 2014. Airbus has also sold 105 of its 350-seat A350-1000, a 350-seat long-haul jet expected to enter service in 2017.

Aircraft experts say the trend is towards larger airplanes within certain size categories to cope with increased traffic. Airlines can fly larger planes more cheaply if they can fill them -- but have to balance this against the risk of leaving empty seats while the larger plane consumes more fuel.

Until now, industry sources have reported little evidence that the A350-800 will be cancelled outright but many have questioned when it will enter service as Airbus focuses engineering efforts on the larger, more strategic versions.

The A350-800 is officially due to enter service in 2016.

Based on the article “Qatar Air Says A350-800 Has No Future as Airbus Vows to Proceed” published in Blommberg



Germany wants the second FAL for the A350 XWB in Hamburg to pay the €600 million loan under discussion since one year.

EADS has balked at the terms of a proposed €600 million ($784 million) loan from the German government to fund its new Airbus A350 XWB jetliner, and has no margin for error in keeping the multibillion-euro program on track, its chief executive said last week.

"If we were willing to fulfill all the wishes of the government, we could have the €600 million tomorrow," Chief Executive Tom Enders said in an interview. "The company can live without it."

Mr. Enders declined to specify the conditions, but other people familiar with the terms said they relate to German demands that EADS guarantee work and jobs in the country and place a potential second assembly line for the A350 at an existing Airbus facility in Hamburg.

As for German government support for the A350, talks are continuing, Mr. Enders said. "I can't say that €600 million is unimportant, but the conditions need to be right."

Germany has already provided EADS with a loan of €500 million for the A350, an EADS official said. Separate deals with the governments of Britain, France and Spain for additional loans of almost €2 billion are fully agreed on, the official said.

Germany wants a bigger say in future Airbus projects, Germany’s economy minister said on January, months after Berlin acquired a direct stake in Airbus’s parent company for the first time. “It is the goal of the government that the German aviation industry can take on a leading role in future Airbus programs,” Economy Minister Philipp Roesler said.

Germany does not want important Airbus projects to be centred solely in Toulouse, the southwestern French city where Airbus is based. “The successor program to today’s A320 family in particular is important for German locations. Even though this program will only enter the market in the next decade, the conditions for it must already be set today, both at Airbus and the supplier industry,” the Free Democratic minister said in a statement.

EADS executives have previously welcomed government money because they said it keeps politicians focused on Airbus, noting the support rival Boeing receives from the U.S. and Japanese governments. But they have recently been less enthusiastic about the terms of European financing.

EADS and German government officials have sparred since 2008 over how much work the company sources in the country as Airbus has increasingly spread its base of suppliers more widely.

French Prime Minister Mr. Ayrault (L) and Mr. Bregier, president and CEO of Airbus (R) in a recent visit to Hamburg FAL.

Germany's place within EADS's industrial map was a central point of contention between the company and officials in Berlin last year, when Mr. Enders proposed merging EADS with British defense giant BAE Systems German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked the deal in October, in part due to concerns that Germany would lose industrial work to France and Britain as a result of the merger.

Based on the article “EADS Sees No Room for Error on A350” published in the Wall Street Journal



From "Engine" to "Propulsion System"; The build up, podding and instrumentation of the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is undergoing in Toulouse.

 Before the Airbus A350 XWB can lift off for its maiden flight later this year, the platform's Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine must first undergo build up and podding -- the transition from bare engine to propulsion system -- as well as instrumentation. This process is now underway at Aerostructures' Toulouse site, following delivery of the first flight test program engine to the French facility on 16/Jan.

The engine received a lot of tender loving care upon arrival. It was delivered from Derby UK to Toulouse France on a special trailer resting on a separate transport berth that kept the engine extremely well protected. Special handling supervised by Aerostructures and Rolls-Royce engineering and quality personnel was required to unload the unit from its berth.

Once unloaded, the 9-ton engine was positioned on four pedestals. Under the pedestal bases were rollers allowing the special tooling to be positioned anywhere in the shop. Once in place on the pedestals, the mere weight of the engine pushes the rollers inside the bases, providing full stability and safety while enabling excellent access to all sections of the engine.

Waiting for the engine were all of its nacelle components Goodrich:

- The fan cowls came from Aerostructures' Riverside facility.

-The thrust reversers, made in Chula Vista, stopped first at the Rolls-Royce facility in Derby UK before traveling on to Toulouse.

-The exhaust nozzle assemblies, meanwhile, shipped from the San Marcos, Texas site (also passing through Derby first).

-The inlet cowls arrived from the Airbus plant in Saint-Nazaire, France.

The delivery date for the completed propulsion system for the first flight test aircraft is scheduled for early March.

Based on the article “Trent XWB engine arrives in Toulouse” published in Skylines Aerostructures

Leahy: "Why take a risk for 60 kilograms?”

Airbus said on 15/Feb it would revert to traditional batteries on the A350, dropping the lighter lithium- ion alternative that led to the 787’s grounding in order to protect the program schedule and avoid certification delays.

“It’s unfortunate that these things happen but safety is the most important thing,” Leahy said. “When incidents happen like what they had with the battery we have to put the fleet on ground till you get it fixed. We’re talking about going back to a proven nickel cadmium battery technology that would be about 60 kilograms heavier. Why take a risk for 60 kilograms?”

787 battery issue not fixed yet.

Boeing is offering a battery redesign for the 787 to answer safety concerns after the jet’s grounding on 16/Jan as a result of incidents in which lithium batteries smoldered and emitted smoke, people with knowledge of the plan said. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is reviewing the proposed redesign.

Based on the article “Airbus Plans A350 Assembly Boost as 787 Woes Fail to Dent Sales” published in Bloomberg

Head-up display HUD. Or how to reduce 15kg improving the safety

Qatar Airways, launch Customer for A350 XWB has included the HUD in the options selected

The cockpit design, currently being installed in the FAL, has six displays, with the HUD and the on-board airport navigation system integrated into the display system, which will host the software directly. This has allowed Thales to dispense with a separate processing unit for these systems, with some advantages:

- providing ample room to show all flight and system information needed

- with additional display area available for future requirements 

- reducing spares requirements (identical screens are fully interchangeable and have the same part number)

- cutting maintenance costs by up to 80 per cent because of their advanced design and mature technology 

- cutting electricity consumption by 150W.

- and the most important, reducing weight by about 15kg

The basic function of the HUD – which is available as an option in dual-configuration onboard the A350 - is to superimpose flight information onto the pilot’s external view, improving situational awareness and overall safety.

A HUD projects an image onto a glass combiner mounted in front of the pilots’ eyes. It displays flight information so pilots can look outside the flight deck, scanning for traffic or flying an approach, and simultaneously view primary flight instruments. The dual HUDs enhance safety in all phases of flight, in both good or poor visibility. HUDs also enable lower visibility takeoff minimums by integrating with the navigation radios and flight management system to provide low visibility takeoff runway centerline guidance. The dual HUDs allow the first officer to be proficient in HUD use when transitioning to captain.

HUD is a relative newcomer to commercial airline cockpits, although it has been used by military pilots for years. However, Airbus began using it in 2009, and included on its wishlist for the A350 XWB series from the start. “Thales’s HUD was part of the initial design of the A350 and will get certification when the aircraft enters into service, meaning quicker delivery for customers. HUD on commercial airliners is now a real trend. Our goal is for this type of product to become standard on all Airbus aircraft in the near term.”

The HUD provides pilots with essential, intuitive and immediate trajectory information through symbols presented on top of the pilot’s actual external view. It allows smoother transition as pilots switch between “eyes in” and “eyes out” operation. The HUD system also has the possibility to bring some operational benefits such as reduced minima on suitably equipped runways.

HUD is available for the A380 from Air France, Korean Air, Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines. And the 787 also includes the HUD, promoting “eyes out of the flight deck” flying for both pilots.

In the 787 the HUD is also included

MSN1 and MSN3 in the Roger Béteille Final Assembly Line in Toulouse

In this photo posted by Pizza In Motion, the first flying aircraft MSN001 is shown just prior to the roll-out to start the outdoors ground tests and the second flying aircraft MSN003 is shown in the fuselage joint station.

The 3 fuselage sections of A350 XWB MSN3 assembly has already started in station 50B.This aircraft does not have a cabin and is full of Heavy Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The flight test programme of MSN3 includes a high and medium altitude campaign, a cold weather campaign, a hot weather campaign and long system flights.



MSN1 was in this moment completing indoor ground tests in station 30 where some stability tests were performed on movable elements (spoilers, elevators, ailerons, rudder) and landing gear doors. 


There are also other pictures in the same blog of this aviation enthusiast and "Boeing guy" supporter ( I have a bumper sticker in my office that says, “If It’s Not Boeing, I’m Not Going.” ) that he got "from a good friend".

MSN1 is structurally completed but for the engines, currently replaced by loads in order to maintain the centre of gravity in the right place. Here arriving st.18