philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Sept 10, 2013 11:12:04 GMT 1
Can someone let me know the status of the 5 test frames? MSN1 - In flight testing MSN2 - ?? MSN3 - Paint? Station #? MSN4 - ?? MSN5 - ?? The following information is available on the relevant threads in this forum : MSN 2 - On July 28th, this frame was reported to have been transferred to station 30 a few days earlier. - On August 30th, the cabin crew area was reportedly successfully installed. - Other cabin monuments are being attached in September. - This frame has a grey tail fin, which might be intended to hide a special livery (speculation). MSN 3 - On August 8th, this frame was reported to be inside C63 for engine attachment - At the same time, a picture drew attention to a missing winglet, reportedly damaged in some accident. - On September 9th, engines had been attached and outdoor tests had been completed. - On September 11th, MSN 3 was reported to have moved to a paint bay. - Also on September 11th, MSN 3 was unofficially predicted to rollout next week. - The frame will be handed over to the flight test crew immediately after rollout. - Fabrice Bregier said in a very recent interview that the aircraft would "probably" fly in October. MSN 4 - On August 28th, this frame was reported to be in station 50 (date of transfer to that station : unknown). - On September 5th, both wings arrived to the FAL. - On September 9th, the frame was reported to have undergone fuselage join. - Next steps include assembly of the wings and HTP/VTP. MSN 5 - On August 23rd, section 19 of fuselage was spotted in HFW (not yet mated with section 16). - A few days ago, the wings were reported to be in Broughton. - Final assembly is expected to begin in the coming weeks (October 2013 ? - speculation). MSN 6 (QR 1) - According to Fabrice Bregier, this first production frame is entering FAL before yearend. |
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harty236
Outfitting in Hamburg
Posts: 974
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Post by harty236 on Sept 10, 2013 11:47:10 GMT 1
A post on A.net says that apparently it's a wing skin for MSN7?
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Baroque
in service - 2 years
Posts: 3,991
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Post by Baroque on Sept 10, 2013 16:13:41 GMT 1
Thank you philidor, for the nice summary.  |
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Sept 11, 2013 12:53:14 GMT 1
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Sept 11, 2013 13:00:08 GMT 1
There's no new information. This ramp-up was announced during the Paris air show in June.  The ramp-up towards 3 frames per month has nothing to do with the first delivery. MSN6 will start final assembly later this year, with or without ramp-up. The production rate increase is important to meet the next-in-line deliveries. |
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Sept 11, 2013 14:38:17 GMT 1
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Sept 11, 2013 15:56:45 GMT 1
Thank you , XWB. I updated my upthread summary. |
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Sept 11, 2013 16:27:07 GMT 1
Fabien, XWB, perhaps we should move the last few posts to the "A350 production" thread ? I think they belong there. What do you think ?
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XWB
in service - 11 years
Posts: 16,115
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Post by XWB on Sept 11, 2013 16:29:05 GMT 1
Agreed.
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philidor
in service - 6 years
Posts: 8,950
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Post by philidor on Oct 23, 2013 22:53:50 GMT 1
Airbus yesterday provided an update on the A350 program in a special press event.
I did not attend the briefing, which was covered by several aviation sites [among which "Air et Cosmos" (in French), Aviation Week and Airchive.com] whose respective accounts display some obvious differences. A respected poster and notorious Airbus insider, known on A.net as 'Knoxibus' made it clear that the reports include some unspecified errors.
I’ll try to summarise the press reports in the relevant threads.
A350/B777 comparisons
Please refer to the "A350 general discussion" thread
Flight test program status
Please refer to the "A350 flight tests" thread
A350 prototypes production and early deliveries to customers
- Airbus is progressing with final assembly of MSN002. This frame already is becoming the first cabin-fitted aircraft, with window panels, cabin crew rest compartment, an aft galley, and 'hat racks', but work is still ongoing.
- MSN2 should be ready for painting before year-end. First flight is expected in February 2014 ; this is an important milestone, as six months of testing are necessary to get the cabin certified.
- MSN4 should fly approximately at the same time as MSN2 (February 2014).
- MSN5 (to be used for route-proving flights scheduled in spring 2014) is to enter final assembly in October 2013 and should fly in May 2014. This is the first certification-standard aircraft.
- MSN6 (the first QR frame) is set to enter the FAL in November 2013 and to fly in August 2014.
- Airbus' type certification target date is early September 2014 (seven months after MSN2’s scheduled first flight).
- MSN6 delivery is expected « soon after » certification ('in October' says Air & Cosmos, while Airchive mentions a possible slip into November or December, which is not corroborated by other press reports).
- Four airlines have already chosen their own cabin layout.
FAL capacity expansion
- Currently Airbus is (or rather should be before year-end, though there are conflicting reports on this issue) at a production rate of 1 per month, upping the rate to 3 per month by the end of 2014, just after entry into service.
- Airbus outlined plans to increase production facilities as the company aims for 10 aircraft a month within four years of entering service, in the 2017-18 timeframe.
Among Airbus' plans :
'Station 59' is moving to the other side of the FAL.
A third 'station 50' is to be added (where 'station 59' is presently located).
While two of four existing 'station 40s' are currently used for wing assembly (the other two being used for testing), all four of them will be used for wing assembly once the second part of the final assembly line is completed (this statement is unclear to me).
Integration and outfitting work is taking place in the four 'station 30 bays', which are still under construction and will be used from the end of 2014 (I wonder if there already is at least one operative bay). Airbus has decided to add a fifth 'station 30' by the end of 2015 to increase capacity.
The new set-up is supposed to be sufficient for the planned production rate of 10 aircraft per month, and it also has capacity reserves to go beyond that threshold if needed.
Airbus will have the flexibility to mix production between the -900 and the -1000, up to around a 50/50 split.
350-800
- The -800 variant was not given a clear production date.
- Airbus stated that, as long as the airlines show an interest in the -800, the aircraft will be done.
350-1000 :
- The design was frozen at the beginning of 2013.
- Assembly of the -1000 is to start by the end of 2015, followed by first flight in the second half of 2016 and entry into service by around mid-2017. One expected difficulty is that the aircraft will have to enter a manufacturing flow which will already be at a very high speed.
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