Airbus A350 XWB

[Triton]

Source:
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/05/07/213675/airbus-studies-a380-style-nose-design-for-a350.html

 

[Triton]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJtOuVPXbAI


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf1kbe9VVj0


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beJcn1CVyIQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTGnTladuvE


Artist's depiction of Airbus A350 XWB with earlier nose configuration.

Mock-up of Airbus A350 XWB cockpit with earlier nose configuration.

Sources:
http://www.wallpaper-place.com/aircrafts/airbus-a350-fullscreen-wallpaper/
http://www.flightsim.com/main/howto/getreal3.htm

 

[Triton]

On 6 October 2005, full industrial launch of the program was announced with an estimated development cost of around € 3.5 billion. This version of the A350 was planned to be a 250– to 300-seat twin-engine wide-body aircraft derived from the design of the existing A330. Under this plan, the A350 would have modified wings and new engines, while sharing the same fuselage cross-section as its predecessor. As a result of a controversial design, the fuselage was to consist primarily of Al-Li, rather than the CFRP fuselage on the 787. It was to see entry into service in 2010 in two versions: the A350-800 capable of flying 8,800 nmi (16,300 km) with typical passenger capacity of 253 in 3-class configuration and the 300-seat (3-class) A350-900 with 7,500 nmi (13,900 km) range. It was designed to be a direct competitor to the 787-9, and 777-200ER.

Artist's depiction of Airbus A350.

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9610216/from/RL.5/%20MSNBC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A350

 

[Triton]

Almost immediately, Airbus faced criticism on the A350 project by the heads of two of its largest customers, ILFC and GECAS. On 28 March 2006, in the presence of hundreds of top airline executives, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, of ILFC lambasted Airbus' strategy in bringing to market what they saw as "a Band-aid reaction to the 787," a sentiment that was echoed by GECAS president Henry Hubschman. Udvar-Hazy called on Airbus to bring a clean-sheet design to the table, or risk losing most of the market to Boeing

Tongue-in-cheek Boeing joke concerning the early version of the Airbus A350 as being a long-range version of the A330.

Sources:
http://img.youtube.com/vi/EdeQ5xYrGDo/0.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A350

 

[Triton]

Model of Airbus A350 XWB on display at Hyderabad Aviation Expo 2010.

Source:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=933328&page=3

 

[Triton]

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=933328&page=3

 

[bigvlada]

The first picture in the post with the A320 carrying some sort of vehicles (Range Rovers?) got me intrigued. Who would do that? Isn't it expensive to transport cars like that?

 

[Matej]

Its usual setup for Airbus display models to have some car inside. They just want to present, that it can be done if there is such a requirement.

 

[Matej]

Under construction.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/picture/2011/dec/21/eyewitness-airbus-montoir-de-bretagne-france

 

[Arjen]

Flightglobal: Airbus rolls out first A350

 

[Machdiamond]

HD Vidéo http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzu0hq_roll-out-a350_news

 

[Deino]

The same image in large:
http://www.airportsinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/A350-XWB.jpg

Deino

 

[Antonio]

No longer a secretproject.

 

[Triton]

Published on May 14, 2013

The first A350 XWB emerged from the Toulouse, France paint shop with its Airbus livery on 13 May 2013, marking a new milestone toward this jetliner's maiden flight in the summer.

http://youtu.be/DHr8l2sfWig

Longer video of first A350 XWB emerging from the Toulouse, France paint shop:

http://youtu.be/WNhK6Ev_FfI

 

[Triton]

Comparison of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB.

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=408062682634320&set=a.162663287174262.35474.162660603841197&type=1&theater

 

[Archibald]

Who said subsonic airliners are boring ? both that A350 and the 787 are sleek birds. Beautiful machines.

 

[Stargazer]

Comparison of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A350 XWB.

Methinks these two do not quite play in the same league... (at least for now).

 

[Jemiba]

Not ? Why did the then president of Airbus Klaus Humpert announced in 2006, that a
reassessment of the 787 lead to several changes of the design of the A 350 ?

 

[Triton]

Really? I thought that the Airbus A350 XWB was Airbus' response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

 

[Deino]

I think he simply want to "provoke" (in a funny way ) that the 787 is already flying and the a350 not .... on the other side one could argue that the A350 is the better looking bird or that the 787 is still a problematic birs or ....

Deino

 

[GeorgeA]

Really? I thought that the Airbus A350 XWB was Airbus' response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

To a certain extent, yes, but to be precise, it's the follow-on A330/A340, although the A330 is still very popular and will likely remain in production for a number of years to come.

 

[Jemiba]

... it's the follow-on A330/A340,....

It started in 2004 as a modernised version of the A 330 with quite moderate changes, intended to replace the A330/340 series.
Due to the pressure of the "all new" B 787 and demands by the carriers, in 2006 the design was changed to a principally "all new"
type, too. That's, what was written in the mags and fora and websites.
And maybe from about 2015 onwards, the A 350 will use lithium-ion batteries,too, of course. Airbus is developing a solution in close
connection to the FAA ... http://www.aerotelegraph.com/airbus-a350-zweite-generation-lithium-ionen-batterien-statt-nickel-cadmium

 

[blackkite]

Beauty! Good competitor for 787!

 

[Stargazer]

I think he simply want to "provoke" (in a funny way ) that the 787 is already flying and the a350 not .... on the other side one could argue that the A350 is the better looking bird or that the 787 is still a problematic birs or ....

Deino

In fact it was quite the opposite! I meant it as a bit of irony, indeed, but the other way round: Boeing didn't produce any real new model in 20 years... when they did it was delayed, and now it is plagued by technical troubles. Airbus, on the other hand, has built an ever-growing and highly successful family of aircraft all that time and they now have the technological lead with a diversified range (from small-range airliner to huge double-deckerand quite an enviable order list. Their models have great modularity, making for easy stretching or shortening of the same basic airframe (see A318-A321 family for instance), they definitely made a bold step forward with the A380 that is really paying off, and their new A350 has greater passenger capacity than the 787... So to me they are not quite in the same league, until Boeing can clean up their act and prove that the 787 is more than a pretty shape and can actually deliver as promised. If I were an airline manager, I'd go for Airbus in a heartbeat!!!

 

[Jemiba]

Both are very similar in size and weight and using the same engines, so I think, both can be stretched to
more or less the same passenger capacity, if the demand arises. Somehow the series of mishaps, that plagued
Boeing, may be an advantage for Airbus, but only, if they can prove, that they can do better, than Boeing and
launch the A 350 into service without problems! This piles up the pressure for Airbus even more !

 

[Matej]

They are not the same. Boeing during its decision had only two types of planes that had enough development potential and were demanded on market: B737 and B777. So they needed to fit somewere in the middle of this models (to complete the offer) while in the same time they needed to compete with highly successfull A330 (its four engined brother A340 was not that popular and its production was slowly ending).

On the other side, A350XWB was born as an answer to B787, but it needs to compete also with B777, so naturally it needs to be bigger than Dreamliner. Airbus also plans to keep A330 in production so its not very clever to have two competitive products from the same manufacturer.

The result - they are definitely not the same category because both Airbus and Boeing were not responding to the same requirements/situation. Except they are both mid-sized two-aisles two engined planes.

BTW tomorrow will be A350XWB first flight!

 

[Deino]

[quote author=Matej BTW tomorrow will be A350XWB first flight!


Yepp .. to be seen live here:

http://www.a350xwbfirstflight.com/

Deino

 

[Mike Pryce]

Re: Airbus A350/A350 XWB FIRST FLIGHT

Live coverage:

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/live-a350-first-flight-387077/

And an interesting report on the building of the wing in the UK:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22899952

 

[Matej]

Its in the air!

 

[Deino]

Congrats !!!


http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/airbus-a350-abflug-fuer-den-leichtflieger-fotostrecke-97984.html
http://www.handelsblatt.com/technologie/forschung-medizin/forschung-innovation/a350-erste-bilder-vom-testflug-des-neuen-airbus/8350466.html#image
http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/technik/airbus-a350-startet-testflug-in-toulouse-a-905695.html

 

[Stargazer]

Great technical (and hopefully commercial) achievement... but yet another boring shape to take to the skies...

 

[T-50]

Beauty! Good competitor for 787!

youre right Blackkite san! they show that other countrys can also build outstanding aircraft! not onlu the USA.

 

[VH]

A350 represents the validation of the 787 point to point concept vs the hub and spoke concept. A380 is designed for hub and spoke where 787 is point to point. A Point to Point network is a typical route network where an airline focuses mainly on its Origin and Destination ( O&D ) traffic. This means that the airline is more interested in transportation of passengers originating from one city ( A ) to another ( B ) and vice versa, but not in connecting passengers between C and B via A. Low Cost Carriers are considered to be pioneers of this paradigm with a classic example being Southwest Airlines of US.
At this point it seems that a strong case can be made for point-to-point if the aircraft involved have the passenger capacity and range which the 787 and now A350 possess.. Just for me I would rather fly point to point rather than fly a giant cattle car like A380 to a hub and disembark at the hub to board another aircraft to arrive at my final destination.

 

[Triton]

For those of us who missed the live webcast.

Streamed live on Jun 14, 2013

The A350 XWB has successfully completed its maiden voyage on Friday 14 June 2013. Airbus brought you this all-access backstage pass on a part of aviation history, offering this programme LIVE and welcoming special Airbus guests and flight test experts with real-time commentary. So join us to re-experience the event as if you were there!

http://youtu.be/DC9qmo7roWc

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 14, 2013

A new chapter has opened in Airbus' 43 year history as the first A350 XWB, the world's most efficient large twin-engined commercial aircraft, powered aloft this morning for its maiden flight at Blagnac in Toulouse, France at 10.00 hours local time. An international crew of six is on board, comprising two Flight Test Pilots, one Test Flight Engineer and three Flight Test Engineers. At the controls of the A350 XWB's first flight are Peter Chandler, Airbus' Chief Test Pilot, and Guy Magrin, Project Pilot for the A350 XWB.

http://youtu.be/7U6IJ-LS3Xs

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 14, 2013

From the precisely-timed takeoff to a smooth landing just over four hours later, the A350 XWB's maiden flight on 14 June 2013 confirmed this jetliner's promise for shaping the efficiency of its future airline operators. See highlights of the maiden flight in this "best of" video.

http://youtu.be/eWtPA8v-xeQ

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 7, 2013

With first flight possibly just days away, Airbus A350XWB project test pilot, Frank Chapman, gave Aviation Week an update on the flight test program in Toulouse on 6 June, 2013

http://youtu.be/xJrLAktTWBo

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 13, 2013

Airbus' thorough programme of static ground testing -- including mechanical load and pressurisation evaluations -- proves the A350 XWB's structural limits before the aircraft can make its first flight.

http://youtu.be/B74_w3Ar9nI

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 12, 2013

An inside look at the environmentally-friendly painting process used by Airbus on the first flyable A350 XWB -- designated MSN001 -- in May with its full company livery.

http://youtu.be/ESym_Gftu5k

 

[Triton]

Published on Jun 6, 2013

In the next step after "Aircraft -1," Airbus links its simulators to a ground-based test installation to create "Aircraft 0," a representative layout of the A350 XWB systems, hydraulic pumps, electrical network and flight controls.

http://youtu.be/FN5scTyRLnM