MSN5 final-assembly started in Toulouse. It will fly in May/2014

Assembly of MSN5, the 5th and final member of the A350 XWB flight test fleet is now underway with the fuselage joining process. This follows the recent arrival of the 3 fuselage sections at the A350 XWB final assembly line in Toulouse, France.

MSN5 is the second of the A350 flight test aircraft that will feature a passenger cabin and will have the same paint livery than MSN2. This aircraft will fly for the first time in May/2014 and will be used essentially to perform cabin related flight tests.

It will also participate in the Early Long Flights where the “passengers” are Airbus employees. This allows the cabin and related systems to be submitted to near realistic operations in order to ensure a mature cabin at entry into service.

In addition, MSN5 will carry out Route Proving flights to demonstrate to the certification authorities that the aircraft performs perfectly in airport operations. MSN005 is also planned for ETOPS certification.

MSN5 is the first aircraft of the batch2 and several weight optimization modifications are already implemented. It will be the first A350 with nickel-cadmium batteries and although it will not fly too much in the certification program (around 4 months) the MSN5 is the certification standard aircraft.




Based on the press release published “Fifth and final A350 XWB test aircraft enters final assembly line”

GKN Aerospace wins award for A350 XWB rear wing spar.

The British Plastics Federation (BFP) and the Worshipful Company of Horners have awarded the 2013 Horners Award for Plastics Innovation and Design to GKN Aerospace for its 'highly innovative' Airbus A350 XWB carbon fiber rear wing spar.

This award recognizes the success of an intensive development and production program that has seen GKN Aerospace engineers, working closely with the Airbus team, achieve demanding goals for the A350 XWB wing spar that will help increase the aircraft's performance and reduce its weight, fuel consumption and emissions.

Each wing's 27m long rear spar is manufactured in 3 sections and forms the structural heart of the wing fixed trailing edge (FTE). The spar attaches vital parts including the main landing gear, to the wing. Its complex integral contours are achievable only as a result of manufacturing innovations introduced by GKN Aerospace and these contours provide the specific strength and flexibility required with minimal weight.

Once the spar is manufactured, GKN Aerospace is responsible for assembling the complete wing FTE and delivering this assembly to Airbus in Broughton ready for integration onto the wing.

Chris Gear, VP chief engineering, GKN Aerospace explains: “We have used methods developed by Airbus and validated by GKN Aerospace to optimize the complex spar structure to meet rigorous technical requirements for weight, strength, wing architecture and the main landing gear attachment, achieving this by precisely tailoring the layup of the composite material.”

To produce this complex spar structure and assemble the WTE, the company has created a totally new, advanced, automated manufacturing and assembly facility near Bristol, England, where it has introduced innovations across product design manufacture and assembly, including material deposition, tooling and forming, finishing, assembly and testing.

 Here, among many process innovations, advanced automated fibre placement (AFP) machines use robotic heads to lay down carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) material at more than eight times the maximum hand lay-up speed - and with a consistency and accuracy that is impossible to achieve manually. Using this new facility, the company can produce lightweight CFRP components with complex, bespoke geometries, and integrate complete assemblies swiftly, cost effectively and consistently.

Brotje Automation has supplied the robotic drilling cell on GKN Aerospace's moving assembly line for the A350XWB wing spar and trailing-edge assembly

Phil Swash, CEO and president, GKN Aerospace – Aerostructures, Europe explains: “We would like to thank all our suppliers, partners and especially Airbus for the vital part they have played in our winning this award. Our work on the A350 XWB program is the latest step in a journey that has seen us become a major supplier of critical wing assemblies for both the A380 and for the A400M. In every case we have worked with Airbus to introduce innovative and effective manufacturing solutions that enhance airframe performance. Our new facility will allow us to meet future demand for faster, more consistent manufacture of ever more reliable and environmentally friendly aircraft.”

The prestigious Horners Award, established in 1947, is thought to be the oldest extant award for plastics in the world. It is run jointly by the Worshipful Company of Horners (an ancient guild and livery company of the City of London) and the British Plastics Federation. It is awarded annually for entries demonstrating innovation in plastics design and manufacture or in the processing of plastics. 

Based on the article “GKN Aerospace wins award for A350 XWB rear wing spar” published in Advance

Spirit AeroSystems only delivers 4 shipsets in the first 9 months of 2013. Without reaching the rate of 1 aircraft per month, it could become the bottle neck for the A350-900 ramp up.

In the 3rd Quarter 2013 Financial Results reported by Spirit AeroSystems there are some key data concerning the A350 XWB Program. While Spirit has reported revenues of $1.504 Billion, they include also $124 Million in New Program Charges, primarily on the A350 XWB program.

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Spirit AeroSystems reported third quarter 2013 financial results reflecting continued strong demand for large commercial aircraft, solid mature program operating performance, and the impact of new program charges. Spirit’s third quarter 2013 revenues were $1.504 billion, up 10 percent from $1.365 billion for the same period of 2012, driven by higher production volumes.

“We are making progress but there is more work to be done. In the fourth quarter, we will have concluded our strategic and financial review and we will provide 2014 financial guidance with our fourth quarter and full-year 2013 earnings report,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Lawson.

“We had a productive quarter as we reduced costs and remained on track for our rate increases. Spirit’s strong third quarter performance across the mature programs demonstrates the predictable and consistent earnings and cash flow capability of this business. While we’ve made significant investments on next generation twin aisle aircraft, these programs position Spirit on the products which drive the long-term growth trends in this market segment,” Lawson continued.


“Looking forward, given our capability and affordability, we see continued growth opportunities in the large commercial aircraft and defense market segments as both commercial and defense OEMs seek the capable, cost-effective engineering and manufacturing capabilities that Spirit brings to the market,” Lawson concluded.

In the third quarter of 2013 the Fuselage Systems segment recorded net pre-tax forward losses of $112 million on the A350 XWB fuselage program which consists of $79 million on the A350 XWB recurring fuselage program reflecting early development discovery and changes and associated production inefficiencies, and higher test and transportation costs across the buy and $33 million on the A350 XWB non-recurring fuselage program driven by engineering efforts on the -1000 derivative.

The company’s credit rating remained unchanged at the end of the third quarter 2013 with a Ba2, negative outlook by Moody’s Investor Services and a BB, negative outlook by Standard and Poor’s.

But Deliveries figures state that in 2013 Spirit only has delivered 4 shipsets. Considering the 3 shipsets delivered last year, it seems that Spirit has delays and difficulties for the ramp up. It could become the bottle neck for the A350-900 Program ramp up.

Based on the “Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. Reports 3rd Quarter 2013 Financial Results”

A350 XWB Type Certification target: September/2014. And the first delivery to Qatar by November/2014.

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Airbus is targeting early September 2014 as the entry into service date for the A350-900. A350 program chief Didier Evrard says that the company has set that goal on the assumption that the flight-test program and production ramp-up proceed without serious unforeseen events.

Airbus has not specified exactly when the aircraft is to be delivered to its first operator, Qatar Airways, other than to say it is targeting the second half of 2014. The fact that Airbus is now committing to a more concrete date shows that the company is becoming more comfortable with the internal planning and the results of its flight-test program. “It was important to fly rather early to have some flexibility in the program,” Evrard says.

Airbus is progressing with final assembly of MSN002, the third flight-test aircraft and the first that will have a passenger cabin installed. The company has begun installing some cabin elements such as galleys and flight-crew rest compartments, but that work is ongoing. MSN002 is planned to be ready for painting before the end of the year and final preparations before first flight in February 2014. It is crucial for Airbus to maintain that schedule because the aircraft needs about six months of testing to get the cabin certified. A February first flight would therefore take certification into the August timeframe. Early long flights—simulating long-haul airline operations—are scheduled for spring of next year.


Based on the article “Airbus Sets A350-900 Service Entry Target, Expands Production Capacity” published in Aviationweek

“A bigger stretch of the A350 is in a pre-concept phase. We can certainly do it” Didier Evrard. “It's a question of market, of priorities”

Airbus is looking at developing an even larger version of its new A350 airliner than the stretched version that it aims to have in service in 2017, officials at the European aircraft manufacturer said last week.

Airbus would be responding to strong demand from airlines for fuel-efficient, twin-engine, wide-body planes as they try to maximize their revenue yield by carrying more passengers on single flights, hence growing orders for Boeing's new 787 jetliner and the Airbus A350.

Developing a longer model than the 350-seat A350-1000 that Airbus is planning to bring into service in 2017 is possible, Didier Evrard, head of the A350 program, told journalists.

"It's in a pre-concept phase," Mr. Evrard said. "We can certainly do it; it's a question of market, of priorities, and we will continue to listen to our customers about what's best for them."

Upgrading the A350 with a higher-capacity model could put further pressure on U.S. rival Boeing, which is expected to announce a decision to go ahead with an extended version of its 777-700ER in the coming weeks. The Boeing will be a response to Airbus's decision in 2011 to develop an upgraded version of the A350-1000, said Sophie Pendaries, head of product marketing at Airbus.


Airbus "isn't in a hurry" to develop more versions of the plane as it has 756 A350s in its order backlog for a plane that is undergoing flight testing before Airbus starts deliveries to customers next year, Mr. Evrard said.



Based on the article “Airbus Mulls an Extra Stretch for A350 Jetliner” published in The Wall Street Journal

MSN5 flight-test prototype will be the first A350 with Ni-cadmium batteries.

Last Feb/2013, Airbus announced that they were switching back to nickel-cadmium batteries for the A350 XWB as a risk-reduction strategy, but insisted the change will not affect EIS-entry into service dates.

Initial flight tests are being performed with lithium-ion batteries, because it was already too late in February to implement the change for the early part of the flight test program. However, the A350 will later be certified with Nickel-Cadmium batteries.

MSN1,MSN3, MSN2 and MSN4 flight-test aircraft are being equipped with lithium-ion batteries but the last flight-prototype, MSN5 will be equipped with nickel-cadmium batteries, used to complete the certification program needed for series aircraft, the first of which is due to be delivered to Qatar in the second half of 2014.

It was planned to equip with nickel-cadmium batteries the first 3 batches until MSN20 but it could be that the Ni-Cad batteries will be installed from MSN6, based on the news in La Tribune.

The series aircraft where the Ni-Cad batteries manufactured by Saft are installed will require specific electrical architecture changes.

Reverting to less volatile Nickel-Cadmium would mean sacrificing improvements in weight in the lighter Lithium-Ion batteries, equivalent to one adult male passenger out of between 270 and 350 passengers and cargo on board.

“The penalty in weight compared with the risks associated with Li-Ion is minimal,” said Nick Cunningham, an aerospace analyst at Agency Partners in London.

Airbus – like Boeing – is using lithium-ion batteries because they are smaller and lighter than equivalent devices based on nickel cadmium. Bombardier is using Nickel-Cadmium batteries for the Cseries.

“We confirm we are opting for nickel cadmium for the A350 main batteries to protect the programme schedule. This decision is about protecting the integrity of our program schedule… it’s not about any safety concerns about Li-ion batteries, we continue in parallel to mature for the A350. With so much uncertainty raised by the Boeing 787 investigation, we are being prudent in order protect our programme schedule. This is business as usual.”

 
Airbus said the concerns did not necessarily center around the technology as such, but were caused mainly by the regulatory uncertainty following the 2 Boeing 787 incidents. Airbus was worried about late additional compliance criteria that could have been introduced by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The company plans to mature the technology further nonetheless.


“We didn’t seek initial certification for the A350 with lithium because we didn’t want to take any risk of delay,” Evrard said in Toulouse. “But we think our lithium power design is sufficiently different” from its rival’s system, he said.


Based on the article “Premier vol sans problème pour le deuxième A350 d'essai d'Airbus” published in La Tribune

The airline interest has moved to the larger sizes and Boeing & Airbus are listening to their customers.

Airbus delivered an A350XWB program update last week in Toulouse. Clearly the company is feeling ever more confident in the program.

Airbus provided interesting data on the backlogs through October 8th.

Concerning the single aisles, notice how the market has swung from the current generation of single aisles to the new generation. Clearly Airbus has benefited from the first mover advantage.

Regarding the widebody category, Boeing benefited even more; the 787 is thrashing the A330 in backlog. The A350 has done remarkably well against the 777, but expect these numbers to change after the upcoming Dubai show, where the 777x is expected to pick up at least 150 orders.

Airbus shows how they see their product lining up against Boeing’s. The A330 is compared to the 787 and the A350 to the 777. But it’s more subtle than that.

Airbus makes the case that airline interest has moved to the larger sizes – over 300-seaters are now far more attractive to airlines. The facts seem to support his because Boeing is moving up the 787 and the 777 in size. The A330-300 is now getting more interest than the A330-200. Similarly, Boeing is seeing more interest in the 787-9 than the 787-8. Airbus says the 250-seat market has seen a backlog shrink by 402 while the 300-seat market is up 662.

Airbus explains that in developing the A350, they had lots of conversations with customers. Which is what Boeing said about the 777. Airbus has also seen growing acceptance of the A350 because of customer input. As in every business, listening to the customer is the smart thing to do.

Airbus notes its A350-1000 customers believe that this aircraft can replace the 777-300ER while being 40 tonnes lighter (savings of 20t in fuel and 20t in structure) on a 6,500 mile mission with 350 passengers. But Airbus then went to explain the nuance of seat count differences even though the A350-1000 and 777-300ER are the same size. The 777-300ER has five doors to the four on the A350-1000. At a standard nine-abreast seating the A350-1000 can fit a few more seats.

As a reaction to market acceptance of the A350-1000, Airbus believes Boeing had to stretch the 777 to the -9x variant. Airbus estimates the -9x will be 35t heavier than the A350-1000. Then Airbus made a very interesting calculation – they don’t think Boeing will increase the -9x MTOW over what the -300ER has now (351t). Therefore, given the higher weight of the -9x, Airbus thinks the -9x payload will be reduced. Even if the -9x has 35 more seats (10 abreast) Airbus thinks its fuel burn will still be 15% higher than the A350-1000 on a per trip basis.

Crucially, Airbus notes the per seat fuel burn on the -9x will be the same as the A350-900, but it will only be available after 2020 whereas the A350-900 will offer this in 2014. Lufthansa believes both aircraft will be at 2.9liters/passenger/100km.



Based on the article “A350XWB Update” published in AirInsight