A350 completes the cold weather tests and returns quickly to Toulouse because it was not enough cold ... and to avoid a winter storm at Iqualit, Canada

Airbus’ A350 XWB MSN3 development aircraft with a team of 48 Airbus specialists has completed cold weather trials at Iqaluit, Canada. Temperatures reached down to -28°C. The scope of the trials included: APU and engine starts after cold soak; verifying system behaviour; low-speed taxi and rejected take-offs.

 It also performed a local flight as planned.

A crew from Airbus cut short their intended 5-day visit the A350-900, on 26/Jan, when temperatures hit a balmy -18 C.

That was more than 7 degrees too warm to continue any further, and the crew of 48 engineers, mechanics and test pilots had to pack up and return to base in Toulouse, France.

Click on the picture to watch a video

“If we stay one night we’re going to lose time,” flight operations manager Pedro Dias said at the start of an unseasonably mild Sunday afternoon.

“We have other flights to perform just after, so if we can save one day, it’s better to save it in Toulouse than in Iqaluit, because we’re not going to work.”

Warnings of an incoming blizzard (wind speed more than 125km/h), expected to hit Iqaluit in the next 12 hours, were not the deciding factor, Dias said.

Flight test engineers decided all mission objectives were covered by day three of the mission, after two full days of work at ideal temperatures measuring -25 and below.


“Things must have gone really well,” said Juan Solano of Honeywell, the principal project engineer for the plane’s air conditioning systems.

With that, the international crew gathered boxes and bag loads of equipment and personal effects at the airport’s forward base operation facility in the afternoon, and reloaded the plane for departure. And off they went, Europe-bound, at around 5:00 p.m.

Based on the press release "A350 XWB MSN3 completes cold weather testing in Iqaluit Canada" and on the article " Airbus crams Iqaluit cold-weather tests into one short weekend" published in Nunatsiaq online.

“The A350-800 is not selling because we’re not selling it”, Airbus COO Customers, Leahy said.

Airbus has not logged any sales for the -800 since 2009 and it has been encouraging customers for the type to convert to the -900.

Airbus chief operating officer for customers John Leahy insists that the lack of sales for the -800 is due to the company’s opting to extract higher value for initial slots by using them to deliver larger aircraft including the -900 and -1000.

Airbus has been lobbying its customers for years to drop orders for the -800 in favor of commitments for the larger -900 or even the -1000. While progress has been slow and talks have been dragging on for a long time, the manufacturer last month convinced the newly merged American Airlines to change an order for 18 -800s originally placed by US Airways into -900s. The American decision reduces the -800 backlog to 61 aircraft.

Leahy says that Airbus is now “in discussions with Hawaiian Airlines,” which has bought 6 of the smallest A350s and has so far been adamant that it has no requirement for a larger aircraft.

According to Leahy, Airbus is presenting the remaining customers for the type 2 choices. Either the existing version of the aircraft is delivered if airlines are insisting on the specification, or a larger -800 version is developed and that would mean a delay of “a couple of years.”

Over the years, the -800 backlog has reduced by more than half. In addition to Hawaiian, the most important remaining customers are Aircraft Purchase Fleet with 12 orders, Asiana with 8, Yemenia with 10 and Aeroflot with 8.

Based on the article “Airbus considers stretching A350-800” published in Flight International

How a single pedestrian operator can move heavy components in the A350 XWB manufacturing and assembly process?

Wing assembly plant in Broughton is responsible for manufacturing the wings on nearly all Airbus aircraft, from the company’s popular A320 to the A350 XWB.

The complex manufacturing and assembly process involved in building a wing requires the fast, safe and effective transportation of components and tooling around the factory.

MasterMover has supplied models from its MasterTug range as a solution for moving everything from stringers through to complete wings for the A320. As demands on the Broughton operation have grown, so has the role for the MasterTug. Today, the tugs can be found not only moving wing parts but also moving support equipment, including mobile working platforms, production tooling, kitting trolleys and test equipment.

Designed and manufactured by MasterMover using the principle of weight transfer, electric tugs enable a single pedestrian operator to move heavy components (from 4Tn to 15Tn) with relatively small equipment by generating tractive force from the load itself. As components can be moved in a safe and controlled manner without the need for forklifts or cranes, Airbus is able to organize its assembly layout to suit its specific working practices.

The expansion of MasterMover’s involvement at Airbus Broughton has been a continuous process from A320 wing assembly moving-line to A350 assembly line, as Hugh Freer, sales director at MasterMover explained:   “As one department begins to use the MasterTug, their neighbors decide it will also be ideal for their purposes, and so on. The initial proposition proves itself very quickly.”

Based on the article “Airbus is using pedestrian electric tugs from MasterMover as an integral part of its wing assembly plant in Broughton “ published in Aerospace Manufacturing

A350 in Canada ready for cold weather testing.

The Airbus A350 MSN3 prototype will spend around 5 days in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius to prove full functionality of its systems under extreme weather conditions. 

Test campaign includes aircraft de-icing, engine start-up and landing gear operations tests in the freezing environment.

The A350 engine manufactured by Rolls-Royce was previuosly tested in the same site -northern Canada at Iqaluit- during the certification test campaign developed for Trent-XWB.

Airbus’s second flight-test A350 aircraft departed Toulouse on a transatlantic sortie to Canada on Friday. 

Based on the article "A350 heads to Canada for cold-weather tests" published in Flight International.

Singapore Airshow will get the A350's full debut on the ground and in the air display.

Airbus will present the A350 XWB at the Singapore Airshow in February, marking the first full display of the aircraft at an international air show. The flight test aircraft participating in Singapore will be MSN 003, which will be on static display 11th – 12th February and will also take part in the flying display on both days.

This prototype is the same that has been in Bolivia and Martinique last week and will spend this week in Canada.

The aircraft’s participation at Singapore will enable visitors to get a close-up look at the aircraft both on the ground and in the air, with a flying display that will demonstrate its manoeuvrability, sleek design and exceptionally low noise levels.

“I am very pleased to announce that we will bring the A350 XWB to Singapore,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest growing market for the air transport industry and will drive future demand for widebody aircraft in all seat categories. The A350 XWB will set new standards in the mid-size category and will consolidate our position as the provider of the world’s most modern, comprehensive and efficient widebody product line.”

Carriers from the region that have already ordered the aircraft include AirAsia X, Air China, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways International and Vietnam Airlines.

To date, firm orders from the region for the aircraft already total 244, representing 30% of total A350 XWB sales.

Based on the press release “A350 XWB to take centre stage at Singapore Airshow”

The A350-800 is too small and it has more range than required by most of the market. Larger A350-800 to be considered.

Airbus is quietly moving away from the current design of the A350-800 and is considering changes that would make the aircraft larger and likely more economical to operate.

There is a “distinct possibility” that Airbus might make the smallest of the three A350 versions larger than currently planned, according to Chief Operating Officer Customers John Leahy. The change would lead the aircraft to “sit right on top of the Boeing 787-9.”

Many in the industry have doubted that Airbus will ever build the -800. If the plans are firmed up, the aircraft maker will not build the currently conceived version, but a yet-to-be fully defined aircraft.

Leahy argues that “we are production constrained until beyond 2020” and Airbus wants to use the available slots for the larger versions, which are generating higher revenues.

However, since the last of several fundamental design changes in the A350 program, the -800 has become a shrunken version of the -900, at a size that is not economically optimal. The aircraft also has more range than required by most of the market. Some of its disadvantages could be addressed by shrinking the -800 less.

Airbus is not saying when the current version of the -800 would be available, but Leahy wants to deliver the -1000 before the -800. The -1000 is to enter service in 2017.

The -800, as currently planned, has space for 276 passengers in typical three class layout. It is 60.54m long and has a range of 8,250 nm. By comparison, the A350-900 is 6.3m longer and seats 315 passengers. The baseline A350 has a range of 7,750 nm, according to Airbus.

Leahy makes clear that even if changes are decided, Airbus will not go for an all-new design of the -800 and that it will still be a shrunken version of the -900. The redesigned -800 would likely move close to just under 300 seats while its range would be below the current target, but still above the -900, if no other changes are incorporated. Leahy says that since talks with customers are continuing it has not yet been decided how many rows of seats would be added.

Based on the article “Airbus Considers Larger A350-800” published in Aviation Week

Airbus thanks the British government´s support … while there is no news from the “new” German government concerning the pending payment of a loan of 623 million € for the A350 XWB development.

The French president of Airbus, Fabrice Brégier has only praise for the British government’s support of the aviation industry.

“The A350 program is progressing well,” he said. “We are on track with our ambitions.”

While the first delivery is on schedule, Brégier maintains a hint of caution and says 2014 will be a “very big challenge” and a “very intense year for the program”.

The president and chief executive of Airbus, Fabrice Brégier actually goes one step further and hails the British government’s support of industry. “I must say the UK has an approach which is to support industry, to support the economy and to be very pragmatic,” he said.

“We would like at times for other parts of Europe to have the same pragmatism and support.”

In fact, so happy is he with the British government, that when asked if there was more the UK could be doing for Airbus, he replies: “No. I’m happy with the support. I have no specific requests.”

“The transformation of our company into a simpler, more agile and faster one is clearly taking shape,” Brégier said.

Airbus is an important employer in the UK; Airbus employs 6,000 people at its factory at Broughton in North Wales and 4,000 people at Filton, near Bristol.

As well as using the cash on its balance sheet to expand its fleet on offer, Airbus is also a key player in investing and developing the aerospace industry and it works closely with the Government in the UK to do this. Brégier explains that the British government “brings very good support to innovation”, in particular noting the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), which he describes as a “recipe for future success”.

The ATI was a key outcome of an unprecedented £2bn, 7-year investment program into UK aerospace, announced by Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, last August. The money is provided equally by the industry and the Government.

Last December, it opened a £70m state-of-the-art Airbus Aerospace Park at Filton, which focuses on design and manufacturing, as well as support roles such as finance and customer services.

The 700-acre Broughton site, where the wings for all Airbus planes are manufactured, including the ones of the A350, has also been heavily invested in, with nearly £2bn spent on the Welsh facility over the past decade.

The UK is just one of the 4 countries where Airbus has a manufacturing base, the others being Germany, France and Spain.

“One of Airbus’s greatest strengths is the partnership we have from our 4 home countries and other partners in Europe – and the UK is a key part of this partnership,” he says.

“And Airbus is the most successful example of European industrial collaboration and a stronghold for employment.”

What he wants to focus on, he says, is winning the “battle of competitiveness in Europe against the rest of the world”. “This battle is very tough, in particular with Boeing,” he explains.

“But in our market there are also newcomers to watch out for, like the Canadians, the Chinese and the Russians. “So we need to continue to be more innovative and more competitive.”

Meanwhile there is no news from the German government concerning the pending payment of a loan of 623 million € for the A350 XWB development that was discussed one year ago and the French government has lowered its Airbus shares by 1% with 451 million-euro sale.

Based on the article “How Britain lifts Airbus to record sales high” published in The Telegraph