Skip to main content

First flight nears, A350 could make Paris show flypast

Airbus ( id="symbol_EAD.PA_0">EAD.PA) could steal the Paris air show with a flyby of its newest passenger jet, the A350, as confidence grows over a maiden flight some four weeks away.

The timescales of its previous airliner launches suggest the European manufacturer could be ready to fly the aircraft in mid-June, depending on weather and ground trials, giving pilots a narrow time window to test the plane's basic characteristics in flight before the June 17-23 air show.

 

With just a few hours in the air, industry sources say it is unlikely that the first completed A350, rolled out of the Airbus paint shop only last week, will actually land at the show.

But if the first handful of flights go to plan, a 600-km (400-mile) trip to Le Bourget for a brief roar over its American rivals would ratchet up the PR war just as Boeing ( id="symbol_BA.N_1">BA.N) aims to recover from a three-month grounding of its 787 Dreamliner.

Airbus reiterated it plans to fly the A350 around the middle of the year and declined further comment on the plane's debut.

However, the prospect of Airbus flaunting its newest jet from the air increased as photographs of an A350 logo painted on the plane's belly circulated on the Internet. Such belly markings are typically used for branding in air show flyby.

Media were kept away from a staff-only unveiling last week, but a corner of what looked like an A350 logo was just visible on official video that otherwise showed little of the underside, tweeted David Kaminski-Morrow of aviation website Flightglobal.

A flying debut is the signature moment in the development of any new plane, when the industry goes into publicity overdrive.

The first tests may also give Airbus the first indications of whether a $15-billion gamble on an aircraft to rival Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has paid off. The A350 is designed to offer airlines big savings on fuel thanks to a lightweight structure that follows on the heels of Boeing's carbon-composite 787.

"If everything goes well, you can do a quick check of cruise performance even on the first flight," said Claude Lelaie, who was head of flight testing at Airbus before he retired.

"Everyone is usually anxious to have a very preliminary idea of performance, and especially fuel consumption," he said. He declined to comment specifically on the A350.

UPBEAT MOOD

Airbus is keeping a tight lid on the A350's progress ahead of the maiden flight and broke with tradition by deciding not to hold a lavish "roll-out" party for its new model.

But suppliers say the mood emanating from the A350 design team is notably more upbeat than the painful launch almost a decade ago of the A380 superjumbo, the world's largest airliner.

Before flying, the A350 must pass a series of ground tests.

"No machine as complex can be perfect straight away," said Lelaie, who took the A380 on its maiden flight in April 2005.

_0">

The timing of the equivalent first flight for the A350 will depend in part on when Lelaie's successors in the flight team agree to take the aircraft from the developers.

_1">

That is a decision not even top managers can impose on the elite corps of pilots and flight test engineers who, with their own lives at stake, have final say over whether to accept delivery of the jet, just as though they were outside customers.

_2">

"It is another world. Flight Test do not think about shows. They fly when they are ready," said an industry executive.

_3">

The A380 debut was delayed when crew rejected the double-decker plane until a landing-gear problem had been addressed.

_4">

FLIGHT TEST SCRUTINY

_5">

Based on past launches, the timing of last week's unveiling is consistent with a handover to test crews near the end of May and a maiden flight two weeks later, but the schedule is tight.

_6">

The A380 was handed to the Flight Test Centre on April 6, 2005 after a two-week handover process and first flew on April 27 - about 35 days from the start of the handover. Eight years on, the A350 left the paint shop on May 12, leaving a total of just 28 days before the start of the air show.

_7">

In a book last year, Lelaie described how a year of flight testing on the A380 was complicated by mistrust between pilots and management. Analysts say such tensions have eased, however.

_8">

Following delays on civil and military projects worldwide, Airbus slowed development of the A350 to avoid skating over problems that might end up costing more and taking longer to fix. Even so, analysts say intense scrutiny of the A350 will not go away until well after the first jet enters service in 2014.

_9">

Performance tests at cruising altitude will be vital. That height is where the industry's big jets spend most of their economically useful career of 22-23 years and fuel is the major factor in deciding whether to buy a long-range airliner.

_10">

While dedicated fuel-burn tests come later, Airbus will be looking to early flights to check the credibility of guarantees it has given on fuel consumption to the 35 customers which have already placed orders for 617 of its new twin-engined jet.

_11">

Its rival, the 787 first flown in 2009, is now returning to service after battery overheating caused a worldwide grounding and Boeing is expected to give it a big publicity push at Paris.

_12">

(This story has been refiled to fix syntax in paragraph two)

_13">

(Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

_14">

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o