MSN2 cabin equipped A350 prototype in Hamburg for next 2 weeks.

The A350 prototype MSN2 has landed for the first time in Hamburg at 14:30h. For next 2 weeks, an extensive testing program of the cabin will be performed in Finkenwerder.

MSN2 is already equipped with an interior seats, kitchens and washrooms, which is however not customer-specific.

"During the test flights, we  will examine the numerous systems in the cabin as air conditioning, power supply of kitchens and seats or the consumer electronics", said Frank Daniels, responsible for cabin testing within the Airbus flight test team.

"Hamburg is our competence centre for cabin systems and design" said Dr. Jörg Schuler, head of Airbus cabin development.

Based on the article "Erste A350 landet in Hamburg" published in Flug Revue.  

ISAMI tool for detailed structural sizing in A350.

For the A350-900 structural development and certification, LMS Caesam -a Siemens business- provided the foundation for deploying Airbus harmonized methods to more than 2,000 stress engineers at more than 50 worldwide suppliers. LMS Caesam provides a single framework that integrates all Airbus processes, methods, tools and data libraries, replacing over 400 tools, officials said.

The A350-900 is the first Airbus aircraft developed using the company’s Improved Structural Analysis through Multidisciplinary Integration (ISAMI). The ISAMI environment ensures consistency in the A350 structural analysis and certification process.

ISAMI has helped Airbus tackle its 3 main challenges on structural analysis: harmonization, automation, and deployment. It manages and automates engineering processes for safety-margin calculation, giving a time-cost benefit over the full design cycle.

The framework allows the integration of harmonized sizing processes and tools, capitalizing on company know-how.

As a result of the LMS Caesam platform’s success with ISAMI, its use has been extended to perform detailed structural sizing and certification for the A350-1000 and the A320neo.

Based on the article “Siemens LMS software used for structural analysis of Airbus A350 XWB aircraft” published in Avionics Intelligence

Japanese humanoid robots will soon help in the assembly lines

The Airbus Puerto Real plant in Cádiz (Spain) where the A350 HTP boxes are assembled, is leading a project to expand the automation of its assembly processes with the use of 2 armed humanoid robots to perform repetitive tasks.

Click the picture to watch a video

The A350 manufacturing flow has several processes that have been “automated” but mainly related to drilling, lay-up, trimming, fiber pleacement, inspections, riveting and testing.

But this is the first time Japanese humanoid robots take part in the assembly process of an aircraft. The first robotic unit acquired by Airbus arrived in Puerto Real from its manufacturers, Kawada in Japan in January, and will be integrated at the A380 rudder spar assembly station, where riveting will be shared between human assemblers and the robot.

Click the picture to watch a video

Depending on the results of this research and technology project -called FUTURASSY- this experience could be used across other Airbus sites.

The aim of this project is to introduce a harmonized robotic solution designed to automate the aeronautical assembly processes freeing up highly skilled workers to work on higher value tasks.

The project lead by Airbus and supported by local partners as Tecnalia has two areas of research:

• The first area called ‘Airbus Standard Robotic Cells’, looks into the development of solutions to automate the aeronautical assembly processes by generating standard solutions. As well as looking for cost effectiveness, any solution will have to be flexible, multifunctional and autonomous.

• The second area of research is called the ‘Collaborative Robots’ project, which explores the use of two-arm “humanoid” robots, specifically designed to work in the same environment as human operators, sharing tools and production resources.

Based on the press release “Airbus invests in robotics as part of its commitment to innovation”

Finnair is not interested on the A350-1000 at the moment.

Finnair will be the first A350 operator in Europe in 2015.

Miika Haario, the A350 fleet manager of Finnair has updated the integration of the A350 and its future missions.

Finnair will receive the first aircraft in mid-2015. All of their 11 ordered aircraft will be delivered before the end of 2017. For 8 options, Finnair does not yet know. “We have 7 A340-300 at this time, the A350 will replace them.”  But Finnair also plans to launch new destinations and grow as a company. Therefore, the A350 is not intended to replace the A330, at least not yet.

Concerning the first destination on which the A350 will be placed, “we do not know yet but it will be one of those currently served by A340; Singapore, Nagoya, Shanghai, Bangkok, Hong Kong”.

When Finnair A350 fleet manager was asked about their interest in the bigger A350-1000, Miika Haario answered that they are not interested at the moment. “ Our orders are on the 900, only 900. We need to see if the traffic increases; only then we would need a larger device and we would of course interested in the 1000. But not at the moment.”

Based on the article “Finnair n’est pas intéressée par l’A350-1000 dans l’immédiat” published in Le Journal de l'Aviation 

ANA or the 2nd battle of Japan between 777X and A350

Boeing said it’s working “very hard” to secure an order from ANA after its decades-long dominance in Japan was challenged last year by a $9.5 billion aircraft deal for Airbus.

“There’s a campaign, and we are busy working very hard to win the battle,” Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president for sales and marketing for Northeast Asia, said in an interview in Singapore airshow.

ANA, the biggest Japanese operator of Airbus planes but whose fleet is dominated by Boeing aircraft, said last year it’s close to a decision on an order for 25 jets, pitting the 777X and A350-1000 against each other.

Airbus won firm contracts for 18 A350-900 aircraft and 13 larger A350-1000s, plus options for 25 more planes from JAL. The break in a country with one of the largest wide-body fleets came after Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner was delayed for years during development and then grounded for three months worldwide last year.

Based on the article “Boeing woos ANA after JAL chooses Airbus” published in Bloomberg

Qatar Airways: “A350 is ahead of schedule”

Airbus may be able to deliver the A350 before deadline as the manufacturer is ahead of schedule in testing, according to Qatar Airways CEO, the plane’s biggest and launch customer.

The A350 is due for delivery to Qatar Air in December/2014, Akbar Al Baker, the airline’s chief executive officer, said in Singapore. Qatar Airways has ordered 80 of the plane.

Based on the article “Airbus May Deliver A350 Ahead of Deadline, Qatar Airways Says” published in Bloomberg

Who is the first woman onboard the A350?

Sylvie Loisel-Labaste is the first pilot-woman at Airbus: "I entered at Airbus in 2000 as a flight test engineer. My first position as engineer was at the centre of test-flights in Bretigny sur Orge. Later at Istres I did the school for reception flight-testing personnel and I was the first woman in the EPNER to be graduated.”

Sylvie Loisel-Labaste was in the flight-crew of the first flight of MSN4 last 26/Feb

After her training in the ENAC in Toulouse, Sylvie has followed all the steps as a pilot; in 2003 she qualified to fly all Airbus aircraft. “Since November 2006 I fly the A380, an easy-to-fly aircraft. It is exciting to develop this aircraft by improving every day.”

This young mother of 3 children tries to find a balance between family life, work and life for herself (his favorite sport is swimming): "I am very helped by my husband, and I try to arrange my schedule to be more time with my children; the weekend is sacred.”

Sylvie onboard the A380

Sylvie is focused on a specific area of competence: avionics. She was flying A340-500 (the first woman crew member for a First-Flight at Airbus) and A380 prototypes before joining the first flight of the A350 MSN4 last 26/Feb/2014. She is part of the team that work out the reliability on the auto-pilot, the "third man" onboard, on which the crew relies heavily.

She loves flying her small single-engine aircraft, this time at the controls and not only as flight engineer.