Ever since I saw the new A350 XWB rendering this morning, I've been trying to put my finger on what it is about that nose. I'm not going to judge an airplane aesthetically, because that's stupid and it can fly and I cannot, therefore it wins the argument every time. Am I crazy or is the XWB a hybrid of the A320 and 737 families.
Call it the lovechild of the Montagues and Capulets of the aviation industry?
737 wearing an A320 mask?
A320 wearing Groucho Marx 737 glasses?
Judge for yourself. This is photoshopping at its most crude, but I think it captures what I'm getting at.
Update: This is the CAD rendering of the nose that was released in May. It looks as though there are slight differences between the rendering and the CAD drawing:
Call it the lovechild of the Montagues and Capulets of the aviation industry?
737 wearing an A320 mask?
A320 wearing Groucho Marx 737 glasses?
Judge for yourself. This is photoshopping at its most crude, but I think it captures what I'm getting at.
Update: This is the CAD rendering of the nose that was released in May. It looks as though there are slight differences between the rendering and the CAD drawing:
Can you please say more about its cabin width in comparison to 777? It is a more interesting subject than the ever changing nose.
I think the only thing that can be said about it is that the A350 cabin is wider than the 787, but more narrow than the 777.
777: 19 ft 3 in (5.86 m)
A350: 18 ft 5 in (5.61 m)
787: 18 ft (5.49 m)
I guess it depends where you're coming from (or looking to) when you call something the Xtra Wide Body.
Jon
Yea it does look like a hybrid of the both. Also that is funny how they call it a "Xtra Wide Body" but it is narrower than the 777 which it is made to compete with and the 787.
Yes, XWB is just a commercial add-on...
And what about "Dreamliner"? Isn't it a pure fantasm add-on?
Surely the XWB tag was to differentiate the new A350 design from the original, which was the same as the A330, and nothing to do with comparisons with Boeing.
It looks really like a larger BAE146 nose
Rather that nose is a cross between an ATR72 and a BAE 146.
As for the name 'Dreamliner' -it is definitely asking for trouble. Nice plane shame about the name.
I thought the picture on the right was photoshopped until I went to flightglobal and checked it out myself!
The rendering makes it look like a narrowbody, i.e 757. I suppose the nose is chiefly to blame, but A coulda picked a better camera angle.
If you don't like the name "Dreamliner," maybe you should have suggested a better name back when Boeing had the contest to name the 7E7? I'm not the biggest fan of the name, but it's not like I had a better name.
Jon, can you do a side-by-side comparison of the 787 and A350XWB noses?
Surely in side elevation the apex of the radome will be somewhat lower, relative to the longitudinal axis, than this Photoshop job suggests..? Be interesting to see what a scaled-down A380 nose would look like) forgetting the relatively low windscreen line, of course). Is Airbus going for a new family profile that also could carry over to Son of A320?
And on names: funny that Boeing should go from Chronic Snoozer to Dreamliner, doncha think?
That Photoshopped nose sort of looks like a Fokker 50's, no?
Jon
When is the date of the design freeze? When will we know what an A350 actually looks like?
Airbus has always said design freeze should be coming by the end of the year, so we're definitely closing in on it. As for side by side nose comparisons, there really aren't any three-view drawings available to show the differences. Trust me, if I had them, I'd do it!
The image we've seen the week closely resembles the images we've see coming out of the cad drawings from Airbus all year, but really no one knows what the final verdict will be outside of the company.
Jon
After you put the CAD drawing up of the A350 nose, it's easier for me to see the similarities between that and your photoshopped picture. At first I didn't see it, but now I agree!
FWIW, this is just another artist's "impression" (and who knows if the artist knows anything about aeroplanes?) - remember the dramatic "shark's fin" look of the earliest "impressions" and dramatic videos of the 787, which in reality has just another standard Boeing back end (even if it's now made of CRFP) ..
I don't know what the A350's fuselage diameter is to be, but 18' 3" is surely the old "standard" Airbus wide-body diameter, innit? - and it's got to be wider than that - whence "XWB" ...
PS to my previous ...
Sorry, I should have Googled Airbus first !
Airbus gives the A350 XWB fuselage diameter as 220" / 5.58 m.
This would enable Airbus to hold on to its one-time nickname for the A300/10/30 - A340 fuselage as the "slim wide-body" - all the advantages of "full wide-body comfort" without so much drag. But that nose in the ad is still just an adman's sketch.
From the details on the Product viewer thingie on the Airbus website it looks as if the interior width of the A350 is about the same as the outside width of the A330 (if you assume that the total wall thickness is the same for both types).
Luke you have a point about the Boeing name the plane contest ;-)