Engine blade-off test indoor for first time.

Certification of the Trent XWB was awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency on 7 February following successful completion of the critical full engine blade-off test, conducted using 58 Bed at Rolls-Royce's factory in Derby, UK. This was preceded by a blade-off test using only a fan module at the company's Dahlewitz site in eastern Germany on 2/Nov/2012, which provided the "data and confidence" to move to the full engine test in the UK on 29/Nov/2012.

"It's lots of millions of dollars to do [the full engine test], and we like to make sure that we're completely confident in the successful outcome of that test before we go into it," said R-R Trent XWB Program Director Chris Young, adding that the fan module test is conducted to identify any "last-minute design tweaks" that may be required.

Conducting the full engine blade-off test inside 58 Bed threw up a host of technical challenges, as the Trent XWB has the biggest fan built by Rolls-Royce, as well as the biggest individual blades. The high energy levels involved meant the company's engineers had to be sure 58 Bed - the newest and most modern test facility on the Derby campus - was structurally capable of hosting the demonstration.

 

"That was the first time we've done a big fan indoors - it had always been an outdoor test before," says Young. The move inside was necessitated by the UK company's decision to decommission its outdoor test facilities at Hucknall in Nottinghamshire, UK, which had been encroached by housing estates in recent years.

"It means that we can do everything that we want to 24 hours a day and be more effective in our operations rather than just do it a few hours a day when we're not annoying the neighbours too much," says Young.

In the event all went well as the blade was released at the root and the engine ran down, and was then shut down, in the presence of representatives from Airbus and EASA.

The blade was released at the "absolute maximum, red-line N1 speed, and then we actually add a little bit of margin to make sure that we're comfortable that we have some growth capability on the engine if we ever need it in the future", says Young. "It's a very arduous test that really proves the robustness and overall capability of the engine. We effectively do it at a higher speed than would ever occur in a service environment. The good news is it went very well and delivered all of the evidence that we needed for certification," he adds.

The blade-off test involved the baseline 84,000lb-thrust Trent XWB-84 for the ­A350-900. The more powerful, 97,000lb-rated XWB-97 in development for the stretched A350-1000 will require another test as it features stronger, heavier fan blades which rotate at a higher speed.

"At the minimum, we'll do a full-fan rig test," says Young.

Endurance tests.

Among the final certification tests performed for the XWB-84 was a second 150h endurance test to clear modifications designed to provide higher turbine temperature margins to extend service life. "The low-pressure turbine rotor dynamics was one last test that we had to do, again successfully completed," says Young.
 

Based on the article “All eyes on XWB” published in FlightGlobal

The grounding of the 787 may provide an opportunity for Airbus in Japan.

 

Airbus has had decades of poor sales in Japan. But with the 787 impact to Japanese airlines JAL and ANA, things could begin changing as JAL said that unique sourcing is not preferable.

The compensation that JAL and ANA will ask to Boeing the first day the 787 returns to the operation will be for many $ millions; "Rather than negotiations with Boeing, the important thing now is getting the 787 flying again safely as soon as we can," said JAL's president Yoshiharu Ueki. "However, when the situation has settled down we can and are preparing to begin those talks."

Rival All Nippon Airways, which has more 787s than JAL, said last week it would seek compensation from Boeing once the amount of damages was clearer.

 

The chairman of Japan Airlines (JAL), which has had to ground its entire fleet of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft after a battery fire, said he had reservations from the start on relying on one vendor. "When I first became chairman of JAL in February 2010 I found out that 100 percent of Japan aircraft were made by Boeing - I felt that was abnormal."

 He added, "In a normal market there is tremendous risk from relying on one vendor. In order to provide good products at good prices, at lower prices a dual vendor system is a must."

The carrier operates 7 of the 50 Dreamliners in service around the world and its entire fleet of 217 aircraft comes from Boeing. The JAL chairman said he was involved in discussions about introducing another vendor when the accident occurred in January.

"This is not to say there was anything wrong with Boeing but a dual vendor situation is preferable. We were just in the midst of deliberating on this when this thing happened," he said.

"We should have been much, much more careful. The only consolation is that there has been no grave accident," he added.

Inamori said balancing the risk of testing out new technologies with safety regulations was a challenge specific to the aviation industry.

"It is unacceptable to jump at every advance of new technological breakthrough. Technology used in aviation must be proficient, endurable and confirmed to be extremely reliable," he added.

Based on the article “JAL Chairman: 100% Reliance on Boeing 'Abnormal'” published in CNBC

A350 XWB Winglet painting pictures. A real work of art.

New pictures of the MSN001 winglets´ installation process. As the VTP, the winglets are painted before installation on the aircraft.

For MSN001, the winglets have been customised with a nice gradation of blue which has required a special mix of colours, a real work of art for the painters.

 

Painting takes place in a new facility at Clément Ader site. In this new paintshop, there are specific equipment to support the new shapes while allowing the best ergonomic position for the painter.

The A320 sharklets are also painted in the same hall by the same team.

Pictures from SkyscraperCity Aviation Blog

Enders EADS CEO regarding the A350 XWB certification: “authorities are probably a little bit nervous”.

Boeing's recent problems with the 787 Dreamliner aircraft have likely left regulators "a little bit nervous" about approving other planes, the chief executive of EADS said.

"I think the certification authorities, whether it's the FAA or any other, are probably a little bit nervous about these new planes now coming in, about the materials and the systems and the processes," said EADS chief executive Tom Enders.

"This is why we have refrained from... any schadenfreude about the problems in the 787, because we have had similar problems in the past," Enders said in a breakfast meeting with reporters in New York.

Any new technology incorporated on the aircraft is likely to face increased scrutiny from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency as a result, he said.

"If industry runs into trouble, particularly as certification is concerned, that affects not just one manufacturer, but others as well," Enders said.

Enders said one lesson from the 787's problems is that there may be a benefit to upgrading existing aircraft rather than embarking on entirely new designs. "It's not completely risk-free" to modify existing designs, Enders said. "But it's of course much less risky than developing new aircraft and it comes for the fraction of the cost."

Enders said that Airbus had not gained business due to Boeing's problems with the 787 Dreamliner.

Based on the article “Tougher certification after Boeing 787 woes: EADS” published in Economic Times.

Next battle between A350 and 787 will be in Australia.

Virgin Australia expects to choose between the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 by year’s end, anointing one of the fuel-efficient aircraft as the big birds in its post-2017 fleet.

But despite the well-documented woes of the Boeing 787 that remain grounded worlwide, Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti says the Dreamliner remains a contender for Virgin’s future fleet.

“It hasn’t dented my views on how good I think the 787 is” Borghetti said. “I think the 787 is a wonderful airplane, just as much as I believe the A350 will be.”

Borghetti says the Boeing-or-Airbus question “will be more an end-of-year decision”, despite indicating in August last year that “sometime within the next 12 months we’d like to make a call.”

“We don’t have to rush into this” Borghetti stresses. “We’re talking about fleet composition beyond 2017. Admittedly we have to make a call soon, but we’ve still got a year or so up our sleeves.”

Whichever of the two next-gen jetliners gets the nod, it will take over from Virgin Australia’s current mix of Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s, which respectively fly on the transcontinental coast to coast route as well as internationally to Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi, the hub of partner Etihad.

Based on the article “Virgin Australia’s big call for 2013: Boeing 787 or Airbus A350?” published in Australian Business Traveller.

Lithium-ion batteries back on the A350 "somewhere in the future" should the technology mature.

 Airbus is leaving open the possibility of returning to lithium-ion batteries on the A350 XWB, once the uncertainties regarding the technology are resolved.

Airbus has switched to nickel-cadmium batteries, in the wake of the problems which grounded the Boeing 787 in January, to reduce the risk of delaying the program.

EADS warned again, during its annual conference in Berlin, that there is "no room left" in the A350 schedule.

Chief executive Tom Enders says the switch to nickel-cadmium was a decision "taken out of prudence".

"We all know the root causes for the events on the 787 remain unknown," he says. "We have always had a 'plan B' because we knew this was new technology."

Enders says the company has an "obligation" to de-risk the program. "I think we owe it to our customers," he says. "Quite a few airlines have commended us for this decision."

He says Airbus engineers remain "confident" that the lithium-ion batteries on the A350 - which are sourced from a different supplier than the 787's, use a different chemistry, and are located differently in the A350 - are safe.

Nickel-cadmium technology is "well-proven", he says. But he does "not exclude" the possibility of putting lithium-ion batteries back on the A350 "somewhere in the future" should the technology mature.

Enders says he does not expect a delay to the A350 as a result of the change. "This is exactly why we've taken the decision now," he says. The weight difference is just 60kg, he points out: "That's one passenger. The risk-to-reward ratio is certainly intact."

Based on the article “A350 could revisit lithium-ion batteries in future” published in Flightglobal

Tom Enders: A350 XWB program remains “inherently risky”.

EADS warned last week that Airbus’s new passenger jet program is “inherently risky”, as the European aerospace and defence group reported a strong increase in underlying earnings in 2012.

EADS, whose largest subsidiary is Airbus, recorded €3bn of earnings before interest, tax and exceptional items for the year to December 31, compared to €1.8bn in 2011.

“Good progress is being made on the A350 . . . but it remains challenging and there is no room left in the schedule [to accommodate further delays],” it said.

Tom Enders, EADS’ chief executive, described the A350 program as “inherently risky”, partly because the aircraft is mainly made from lightweight carbon composites rather than traditional aluminium.

The A350 is therefore a potential source of one-off charges in 2013, together with the A380, because Airbus is having to fix a wing-cracking problem on the superjumbo.

However, EADS is aiming to increase its earnings before interest, tax and exceptional items to €3.5bn in 2013.

Based on the article “EADS flags lingering challenges for A350” published in Financial Times