The Airbus A350 Thread

One very interesting thing the engineer pointed out was with traditional aircraft, when they get a dent (happens now and again) it's a simple task to replace the panel, not an easy task at all with composite aircraft, not to mention the composite material will Crack or shatter whilst aluminum will bend or dent
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The pros and cons of composites vs. aluminium are at the core of the design trade-offs. The aluminium panels are easier to de-rivet and replace when someone drives into the aircraft with a fork lift. The composite structures on the other hand are resistant to corrosion damage. In an aluminium airframe corrosion can grow in difficult to inspect spots until it causes a failure. One job I had was to characterise the corrosion in different aircraft to determine the maintenance intervals required to catch something before it got bad. Crawling around in barely accessible regions impressed on me just how difficult it can be to detect some of the potential damage.

Another advantage of composites is that it is not prone to fatigue damage. Between this factor and the reduced corrosion in the aircraft the time between structural inspections can be doubled. Another advantage of the two factors is that the air inside the cabin can be at higher pressure and also at higher humidity (less dry throat).

The way that the physical properties of the composites can be fine-tuned allows for some other advantages. For example, the stiffness of the wing is tailored so that it is less prone to vibration and subsequently disintegrating if the aircraft goes into an over-speed situation.

Additional advantages are that the manufacturing costs are lower and the fuel burn of the aircraft is less due to the lower weight.

This still leaves the problem of accident repair. The vulnerable areas have increased thickness and damage can be repaired by bolting on metal patches. This allows for standard repair facilities at maintenance depots around the world to be used.

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Five A350s in a formation flight.

[video=youtube;gI4jWYZLeHQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gI4jWYZLeHQ[/video]
 
Ockie said:
Hahaha I wish. You know, if Airbus sent me a letter now inviting me to come for training and to to come with in their factory for a year I would do it. Even if it simply entails tightening bolts. You apparently get tourist tours that you can go do at Airbus. OMG....I would love to do that one day. That would be like my dream holiday. Spend a week at Airbus :D

Glad you enjoy my posts in this regard. Dont think there are many on mybb that is interested in it, but oh well. :)
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Thumbs up from me. I love planes.
 
Qatar Air Reveals Rollout Plan for A350 Jet, With Singapore Next

Qatar Airways said it will operate both the first and second examples of the world’s newest A350 airliner to Frankfurt, with the third serving Singapore.

Subsequent destinations will include New York, secondary European cities and the Indian subcontinent, with Rio de Janeiro and Saudi Arabia possibilities, Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said in Doha.

As the launch customer for the first new jetliner to enter service since Boeing Co. (BA)’s 787 debuted in 2011, Qatar Air has sold out the Airbus Group NV (AIR) model’s inaugural trip to Germany on Jan. 15. Al Baker had said previously only that the initial A350 would serve Frankfurt. He has also flagged Japan, Russia, Perth in Australia and more U.S. cities as likely destinations.

The CEO said Qatar is happy with the current order for 80 A350s but may add more if there’s sufficient demand from customers of its leasing business. He reiterated that he’s keen to expedite deliveries both to replace older A330 jets and meet growth needs, with positions freed up after No. 1 Gulf operator Emirates of Dubai discarded an order for the model.

On some European routes the A350 will take over from 787s that joined the Qatar Air fleet from late 2012, he said.

Al Baker confirmed that the company plans to firm up options for three further A380 superjumbos if the model proves itself after the first of 10 jets was handed over in September.

Retrofit

While Qatar Air remains interested in a re-engined Neo version of the doubledecker, Al Baker said he’s also keen on retrofitting existing planes should Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc (RR/) or the General Electric co.-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance offer an upgrade that can fit on the same pylons. It’s also possible that Qatar might consider buying more A380s depending on efficiency gains, the CEO said in an interview.

Al Maha Airways, through which Qatar Air plans to add domestic operations in Saudi Arabia, is a candidate for flights with A350s and A380s tapping the Muslim pilgrimmage market, though no license has yet been obtained for the unit, he said.

Al Baker also said Qatar Air is keen to expand operations to East Africa, Poland, Tunisia and Morocco, though has no interest in Italy’s Meridiana. La Stampa newspaper reported in September that the Gulf company might make an offer for a stake.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-...ut-plan-for-a350-jet-with-singapore-next.html
 
GE finances first A350 powered by rival Rolls-Royce

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PARIS (Reuters) - When the Airbus (AIR.PA) A350 jet made its commercial debut with Qatar Airways this week, the event marked a milestone for engine supplier Rolls-Royce (RR.L), but slipping unnoticed under the radar with financing was its arch-rival General Electric (GE.N).

Although powered by the latest generation of Rolls-Royce (RR.L) engines, the first of a new series of jets on which the company has bet its civil business is owned by GE's aircraft leasing arm GECAS, Reuters has learned.

The rare decision to invest in rival technology highlights the complexities of keeping ahead in a highly concentrated aviation industry, with GECAS seen as keen to diversify its portfolio even though its parent GE is perceived in the industry as more and more aligned with Airbus rival Boeing (BA.N).

The deal also completes a series of twists in the history of Airbus's newest jet: a journey that insiders say has helped to reshape transatlantic aerospace competition.

In this case, the world's largest lessor agreed to buy the aircraft from the airline immediately on delivery and rent it back, a routine type of financing called sale-and-leaseback.

It is not the first aircraft equipped with rival engines to end up on GECAS's books but such deals are usually kept low key and seldom if ever happen on a high-profile debut of a new jet.

The first A350 was delivered to Qatar Airways in a lavish ceremony last month in which Rolls-Royce had a starring role, but GE's involvement in the financing was not mentioned.

The head of the airline confirmed the deal to Reuters.

"We have had much interest in taking Qatar Airways' airplanes and leasing them back to us. The deal with GECAS was the best for the airline and so we concluded with them," Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said after the first revenue flight.

Rolls and GE compete fiercely for engine sales and the A350's Trent XWB represents half the UK firm's civil order book.

Industry sources say there could be several reasons for GE getting involved in the A350. Qatar has a large fleet of GE-powered Boeing 777s and the relationship is crucial, both in engines and financing.

Yet the move highlights a delicate balancing act as GECAS seeks to diversify assets to reduce risk, even as its parent GE forges ever closer ties with Boeing.

Such juggling is becoming more difficult as the aerospace industry becomes increasingly polarized, but analysts say the pressure to keep leasing portfolios balanced will keep growing.

"If you want a successful wide-body leasing strategy you have no option but to take aircraft with GE and Rolls-Royce engines," said Rob Morris, head of consultancy at Ascend.

JUST FRENEMIES

Airlines prefer to have a choice of engine supplier and engine makers have historically supported competing aircraft manufacturers in a convoluted world of industrial "frenemies".

But designing big twinjets is increasingly a game played between Boeing and GE on one hand and Airbus and Rolls-Royce on the other as engine firms cut exclusive deals to pay huge costs.

At the heart of this realignment is the story of the A350.

In 2004, faced with what was to become the Boeing 787, Airbus's first response was to offer new GE engines on its A330.

But customers including Al Baker rejected a "quick fix" and urged Airbus to invest in a newer family that would also offer an alternative to the larger Boeing 777. [ID:nL6N0U50HH]

GE and Airbus disagreed, however, over whether both markets could be served by one family of planes and engines.

Airbus's subsequent decision to build an all-new family led to a parting of ways between Airbus and GE on the A350 project and opened the door to Rolls-Royce as sole engine supplier.

"That somewhat polluted the relationship between Airbus and GE," said a person who closely monitored the negotiations.

A U-turn by Airbus last year only served to deepen the new alignment: Airbus now planned to upgrade the A330 anyway, but this time with Rolls instead of the original partner, GE.

This year could see Airbus upgrading its A380 superjumbo with engines from Rolls-Royce, bringing further polarization.

"It's a bad thing: it goes against globalization that helps drive the business," Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia said.

GE denied any cooling of ties with Airbus, saying it remains a major engine supplier for best-selling A320s through Franco-U.S. venture CFM (SAF.PA).

"CFM is far and away Airbus's largest engine supplier across its current and future aircraft models. It's a huge relationship," a spokesman said.

Rolls-Royce and GECAS declined to comment.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/16/us-airbus-a350-gecas-exclusive-idUSKBN0KP2BX20150116
 
Sorry it has taken so long, but here are some more photos of the A350 fuselage, my apologies for the quality. had taken them at closing time

IMG_20141227_163953.jpg

IMG_20141227_164007.jpg

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IMG_20141227_164052.jpg

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Good to see the frame clips featuring prominently in the photos since these are amongst the locally developed an manufactured components for the A350.
 
For the Airbus A350, the Honeymoon is Coming to an End

A350-header-650x230.jpg


Qatar Airways, which remains the first and only operator of the Airbus A350XWB, is preparing to introduce new complexities to the aircraft’s operation early next year.

Qatar said it will fly the A350 from Doha to the United States in March 2016. Additionally, Lufthansa said it will begin flying the A350 from its Munich hub in late 2016.



The first Airbus A350, left, for Qatar Airways sits on the tarmac during the hand over ceremony in Toulouse, southwestern France, Monday, Dec.22, 2014. . (AP Photo/Fred Lancelot)

Qatar’s 6,689-mile Doha-New York flight will test the aircraft, as will a second U.S. flight of 6,514 miles between Doha and Boston. New York will begin March 1, 2016 and Boston will begin March 16, 2016.


Currently, Qatar flies an A350-900 on Doha-Frankfurt, and it will begin Doha-Singapore with its other A350-900 next month, on June 1.

The U.S. routes will present new challenges, according to the trade publication Leeham News and Comment, which said “the honeymoon for A350 is over and it’s time for work.

“The first test period for this important program for Airbus has now passed and things look good,” Leeham writer Bjorn Fehrm said in a recent article. “Qatar as the first operator now starts putting the aircraft on the jobs it was designed for. “

Qatar began Doha-Frankfurt in January. “With the distance of 2,500 nautical miles and flying times of six to eight hours, this is not stretching the legs of an aircraft like A350,” Fehrm said. “This is rather a task for one of Qatar’s A330-300s.” The A350-900 has a range of 7,750 miles.


The Frankfurt route has the symbolic benefit of challenging Lufthansa, and the technical benefit of being close to Airbus maintenance and spares locations in Germany and France. The planned Singapore route is only slightly longer at 3,852 miles, “not the 12 to 14 hour flights for which the A350 was designed,” Fehrm said.

Qatar has 80 A350s on order. It flies the A350-900 with 283 seats including 36 in business class.

Deliveries are coming slowly, although Airbus spokeswoman Mary Anne Greczyn said they are proceeding according to plan, which is to deliver 15 A350s in 2015. Leeham News publisher Scott Hamilton said Vietnam Air, Finnair, TAM and Ethiopian are expected to take deliveries this year, along with Qatar.

Among U.S. carriers, American will begin to take deliveries of 22 A350-900 in 2017. The planes were ordered by US Airways in 2007. American’s configuration will seat 315 passengers. United has orders for 35 A350-1000s with deliveries starting in 2018.

In November, Delta ordered 25 A350-900s, with deliveries starting in 2017. Delta said the A350s will operate primarily on long-range routes between the U.S. and Asia, replacing Boeing 747-400s, starting in the second quarter of 2017.

The Delta order represented a victory for Airbus over Boeing. It reflected the high demand for the 787, which made it impossible for Delta to secure a quick delivery.

At the time, Hamilton said, “Boeing hoped to sell Delta the 787-9 and also offered five new 777-200LRs as bridge lift until delivery slots for the 789 were available.

“Losing is a major disappointment for Boeing, not only because of the sheer number of wide-body airplanes involved but also because this is one of the big three U.S. carriers, and there was the slim chance Delta might take Boeing up on the 777LR order, which would help fill the struggling production gap for the 777 classic,” he said.

Meanwhile Lufthansa extolled the A350’s environmental virtues in its press release discussing its order for 25 A350-900s, which will be used on routes from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs, with the first use in Munich.

Lufthansa said the A350 “is more fuel efficient than any other aircraft type. “On average, the new aircraft will consume a mere 2.9 liters of kerosene per passenger per 100 kilometers, roughly 25% less than current-generation aircraft,” the carrier said.

Additionally, it said, “the aircraft generates a 30% smaller noise footprint” and “passengers on board the A350-900 will also benefit from wider panorama windows and more spacious overhead stowage bins.” Boeing ascribes very similar qualities to the 787.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed...irbus-a350-the-honeymoon-is-coming-to-an-end/
 
Ockie said:
View attachment 220756

First Finnair A350 taking shape
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2 questions;

How do you hide a 10 ton turbofan in a shack? as looks like they been stolen,
wonder what you'd even do with that?

And why the unfinished paintjob?
Why only do the tailfin and leave the fusalage unpainted? Dont they do it all at once?

Or is this due to it being a launch customer and all?

One other thing I'm wondering is when are we gonna start seeing chinese clones of this and the 767,757,787?

Its bound to happen at some point....
 
eg2505 said:
2 questions;

How do you hide a 10 ton turbofan in a shack? as looks like they been stolen,
wonder what you'd even do with that?

And why the unfinished paintjob?
Why only do the tailfin and leave the fusalage unpainted? Dont they do it all at once?

Or is this due to it being a launch customer and all?

One other thing I'm wondering is when are we gonna start seeing chinese clones of this and the 767,757,787?

Its bound to happen at some point....
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The engines will be installed alter. Trust me .... the eninges wont get stolen. Not without anyone noticing at least. As you have mentioned your self, one turbofan alone, hell, just the fan alone weighs tons.

I have read that the reason why the tail gets painted first is because of balance. Paint adds weight to the rudder and the tail section at large, and this needs to be taken into consideration for the overall balance of the airliner. Several repaints (of which record must be kept) are allowed before a rebalance will be required, but this way, by doing the rudder and fin first, they can make sure the airliner is balanced in the most optimal way on delivery to the customer.

There are currently no "clones" for the 767, 757 , 787. The Comac c919 will compete with the 737 and A320. Russia and China have signed a agreement however to start work on a new wide body long haul airliner and this is likely to be based on the single aisle MS-21 that is due to start test flights either late this year or sometime next year.
 
How much must the paint weigh for them to paint it in stages that way?
I mean surely its not that heavy, its just paint after all? I mean the avionics bay is probably empty at this stage, id have thought that would weigh more than the paintjob.
 
Malaysia Airlines signs lease deal for Airbus A350's

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will lease four new Airbus planes from Air Lease Corporation under a long-term agreement it has signed, the airline said on Thursday.

The A350-900s are expected to be delivered between the fourth quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of 2018. The agreement includes an option to lease two more A350-900s and two A330-900neo aircrafts.

"The A350 is the most technologically advanced aircraft and we are confident that it will deliver exceptional passenger comfort and improve the overall efficiency of our fleet," said Christoph Mueller, MAS's chief executive.

MAS was involved in two air tragedies last year with the disappearance of MH370 in March while en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, and the July downing of MH17 over Ukraine's airspace.

The airline's books were in the red for years before it was delisted from the Kuala Lumpur bourse in December 2014 to undergo a rationalisation plan by its parent company, Khazanah Nasional, a state investor.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/10/malaysia-mas-air-lse-idUSL4N11G41N20150910
 
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