First serial A350 XWB final assembly started. MSN6 will be delivered to Qatar Airways before end of 2014.

Airbus’s first serial-production A350 aircraft MSN6 has started the final assembly in Toulouse.

The aircraft that is destined for launch customer Qatar Airways, is the first customer A350 airframe.  During Airbus´ annual orders briefing in Toulouse, Airbus chief executive Fabrice Bregier confirmed the initial sections' arrival at the final assembly line and that the join has started as planned.

Qatar Airways has 43 A350-900s on order and is scheduled to take delivery of the first aircraft in the fourth quarter of 2014. Doha-based Qatar Airways also has 37 orders for the larger A350-1000.

Based on the article “First serial A350 for Qatar enters final assembly” published in Flight International.

A350 XWB completes high altitude testing in Bolivia

The A350 XWB development aircraft MSN3 has completed in Bolivia a series of tests at the high altitude airfields of Cochabamba and La Paz.

Operations at such high altitude airfields are particularly demanding on aircraft engines, Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and systems.

The aim of these trials has been to demonstrate and validate the full functionality of engines, systems, materials as well as to assess the overall aircraft behavior under these extreme conditions.

A number of take-offs with all engines operating and with simulated engine failures were performed at each of the airfields to collect data on engine operating characteristics and compare with the same data from Toulouse tests. With these data, Airbus can validate the aircraft take-off performance and can be interpolated without penalty for airports worldwide.

More pictures available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/banzinho/11931953023/in/photostream/

The autopilot behavior has been also evaluated during automatic landings and go-arounds as well as avionics ventilation, APU bleed requirements, pax/crew oxygen systems and handling in flare.

Next stop; Martinique.

Daher-Socata designed and builds the A350 XWB Main Landing Gear Doors “warped”.

Of the hundreds of structural parts and hundreds of moving parts on a commercial airplane, there are very few that are both structural and moving that also face the aerodynamic and mechanical-performance demands placed on landing gear doors. Among the largest moving structures on an aircraft, they must perform flawlessly under all flight conditions and meet a host of contingency requirements in the event of aircraft power loss or landing-gear failure.

Daher-Socata (Tarbes facility) is the Tier1 in charge of the development, design and build the main landing gear door (MLGD) for the A350 XWB (4mx2,2m).

The MLGD solid laminate skin is layed up on this Coriolis automated fiber placement system mounted on the end of a KUKA robot.

The doors are hinged back-to-back in the center of the fuselage and open only when the landing gear are retracted or deployed. Located under each wing, adjacent to the fuselage, each landing gear levers inward for storage under the fuselage. The MLGDs are flat and rectangular except for a 0.9m wide curved tab that extends from the end opposite the hinges to conform with the fuselage curvature.

Daher-Socata made the decision to design the A350 XWB’s MLGD with warp built in to keep the door snug and rattle-free.

Engineers discovered that constantly changing air pressures as the aircraft changes altitude and airspeed cause the MLGD to change shape. Designers determined where and how these changes occurred and then used that data to optimize the design.

After several iterations, Daher-Socata designers settled on a final “warped” design that included an apparent gap of unspecified dimension at the door closure between the MLGD edge and the landing gear opening in the plane’s underside. To match both objectives: to properly stress the door and to meet aerodynamic requirements.



Based on the article “Main landing gear doors designed for all contingencies” published in High-Performance Composites

Final paint of the A350 XWB developed by Mapaero, optimizes the weight, fills composite microcracks and reduces the painting lead time.

MAPAERO is a French company created in 1992 (part of MAESTRIA group) and a premium specialist in aeronautical paints.

MAPAERO is a pioneer in the development of water based paint technology used in aeronautics. The research laboratory continues to provide solutions for paints, sealants and other innovative and performant coatings.

Mapaero is renowned for the quality, continuity, simplicity of their paints.

Jean-François Brachotte, president of Mapaero in Pamiers, started very modestly. "Our activity took off through the paint to water", he said. Because water is an advantage; it saves 20% of time and improves the industrial cycle in the final finishing flow of the aircraft.

Mapaero continues its international expansion with the opening of a site in Seattle, close to the headquarters of Boeing.

SQIP Golden Award for Best Improver in 2013. 

MAPAERO was awarded in December by Airbus Procurement with the SQIP Golden Award for Best Improver among their 47 strategic Materials & Parts suppliers.

"Airbus asked all its suppliers to optimize the weight on the A350, and we contribute to our level," assures Jean-François Brachotte, president and founder of the company with 100 employees and 17 million euros of turnover. "A single layer, which contributes to weight reduction", he explained.

The new paint developed for the A350 cockpit is without solvents -therefore more ecological- and it has welcome anti-glare properties in a cockpit. Additionally it is "auto-texturizing"; "Usually to get a grainy look you need to apply a first layer, let dry and later project drops of paint. Now everything is done in one operation, and this saves time in production", says Eric Rumeau, General Manager. Mapaero has signed an exclusive contract with Airbus for this painting.

Beyond the cockpit, the composite structures of the A350 has no issue with corrosion but in case of fire the paint must prevent the spread of fire and reduce the release of toxic fumes. New Mapaero painting also takes into account some microcracks of composite parts; "Our solution is to first apply a first layer acting as developer, which reveals all the cracks”, said Jean-François Brachotte. “Then, we apply a special sealant which fills the cracks and later we apply the final coat". After 8 years of R&D, this paint has been qualified by Airbus to be used in the A350 XWB.

Based on the article “Mapaéro : Brachotte peint le ciel” published in La Depeche

Airbus A350-900 Entry Into Service likely to slip to late-October or early-November from early September.

Aspire Aviation points out that the launch of the 777X appears to have halted much of the sales momentum that the A350-1000 had gathered, though there are marginal incremental orders to be gained, especially if Airbus formally moves the A350-1000 up in entry into service (EIS) of mid-2017 ahead of the A350-800′s in mid-2016.

In 2014, most orders will be for the A350-900, though there are not many major campaigns in progress at the moment for the type beyond Japanese ANA.

Additionally, further conversion action away from the A350-800 is very likely to be observed. Only 61 orders for the type remain, and Hawaiian Airlines and Asiana could very easily move up to the A350-900, as Aeroflot has already converted 10 of its 22 A350 orders to the -900 variant, making a further conversion seems likely and the new American Airlines (AA) converting all its outstanding or 18 -800 orders to the -900 variant.

Pictures available at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aircrafts/

Given the current economic situations in Yemen and Libya, Yemenia and Afriqiyah Airways seem unlikely to follow through on their orders at all.

Regarding entry-into-service (EIS), Airbus continues to aim for an early-September EIS for the A350, although Aspire Aviation believes that the A350′s service entry will likely slip to late October or early November.


Based on the article “Aerospace & Defence in 2014” published in Aspire Aviation.

Is there market for these 5 Airbus models? A350-800, A350-Regional, A350-900, A330, A330neo.

Based on the article published by Leeham, the possibility of Airbus launching an A330 new engine option appears to be gaining ground. Leeham´s Market Intelligence said that Airbus is considering a decision soon, probably next year, with a target entry-into-service date of 2018.

A decision to proceed with an A330neo would come after one to drop the A350-800, according to their information. Airbus has systematically switched -800 customers to the larger, and more profitable A350-900 and A350-1000.

The A350-800 is supposed to enter service in 2016, but it´s built is widely expected to shift to a 2018 EIS so Airbus can free up slots for the A350-1000 and -900.

VW Passat, Skoda Superb, Audi A4 and Seat Exeo.

Same Group (Audi-VW-Skoda-Seat) and different car models for similar market.

GE Aviation is said to be pushing Airbus hard to proceed with the A330neo, using the GEnx-2B engine now on the Boeing 747-8. The -2B is a bleed air engine, which the A330 requires, while the GEnx-1B used on the Boeing 787 is not. The Airbus GEnx could be a combination of the 1B and 2B technology, however. Expanding the 2B engine to the A330 would be one way for GE to recoup its development expenses for the 2B, a problematic situation today with the slow-selling 747-8.

Rolls-Royce is also said to be interested in powering the A330neo with its Trent 1000-TEN used on the 787, but like the GEnx-1B, this engine is not a bleed air design and would have to be modified for the A330. Although the Trent 1000 and 1000 TEN have a solid customer base with the 787, the program delays and constant engineering tweaks boosted research and development costs, prompting Rolls to look at new markets for the engine as a way to recoup the over-inflated investment, we are told.

Airbus wants to keep A330 in production into the next decade, and an A330neo would be the shot in the arm needed to do so. An A330neo—even with the huge investment required—will be a far less expensive airplane to acquire through purchase or lease than the A350-800. An A330-300neo would render the A350-800 superfluous because the A333neo has lower fuel burn per passenger than the A350-800, which at a much more expensive cost to acquire, offers little advantage beyond a significantly longer range



Based on the article “A330neo prospect gains traction” published in Leeham

A350 flies to Latin America as part of flight test campaign

The Airbus A350 XWB MSN3 prototype landed yesterday in Cochabamba - Bolivia during its first visit to Latin America as part of the A350 flight test campaign. The aircraft flight was the longest since the first prototype airborne on 14/June/2014, leaving Toulouse in the morning and flying through Spain, Morocco and later through Brazil as it can seen in the map below.

A350 MSN3, one of the five development aircraft, arrived in Latin America on 7/January to perform high altitude flight tests at Cochabamba, Bolivia, where the airfield is located at 8,360ft (2,550 m) above sea level. It will fly also from Cochabamba to La Paz, Bolivia, at more than 13,325ft (3,960 m), for further flight tests. 

Operations from high-altitude airports like La Paz are challenging because of the low air density. La Paz is one of the highest points on Earth served by a commercial aircraft, and it has a 13,125ft long runway.

High altitude testing is a critical part of the overall flight-test program which will ensure that Airbus deliver on their performance guarantees to customers.

It is planned that the MSN3 will spend at Bolivia around a week to carry out engine behavior tests at high altitude airfields. Within the prototype, in some rows of passenger seat fitted in the aft section of the fuselage, a small engineer-team has join flight test pilots onboard to support all activities scheduled.