FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1344.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT The world's largest airliner has moved a step closer to flying, as structural assembly of A380 MSN001 finishes COVER STORY MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON A380 production ramps up across all Airbus factories Aircraft moved to final assembly line at Toulouse as other European sites get busy Series production of the Airbus A380 is gathering pace throughout the Airbus plants across Europe, as structural assembly of the first air craft to fly - MSN001 - is com pleted in Toulouse. Following the joining of its major subassemblies, MSN001 was moved on 7 July to the second assembly station at the Jean-Luc Lagardere final assembly line for the next stage of construction. This aircraft is the first of four flight-test A380s that will undertake the 15-month, 2,000h certification-test programme due to start early next year. Meanwhile, the five major sub assemblies of the next flight-test A380 arrived in Toulouse on 1 July and are about to be joined together on the assembly line. In Airbus France's Saint Nazaire plant, struc tural build is in progress of sub assemblies for A380s seven and eight, while production of compo nents for aircraft 15 is under way at the nearby Nantes facility. Work is under way on five sets of A380 wings at the Airbus UK wing manufacturing site in Broughton - three are in structural assembly and two are undergoing equipping (including the set for the third flight-test aircraft). At the Hamburg Finkenwerder plant the forward and rear fuselage sections for the fourth A380 are nearing completion and work is under way on parts for a further three aircraft. These include the second ground-based test A380 air frame, which will be dedicated to fatigue tests in Dresden, Germany. At the Stade facility near Ham burg, the fin for the third A380 is in the final stages of equipping, and work has begun on the fifth and sixth. Construction of tailplanes for six A380s is in progress at Airbus's plant in Puerto Real, Spain. The first A380 was rolled on its own wheels to the next assembly stage TRAINING EMMA KELLY /PERTH Oantas first to order simulator for new giant Qantas is the first airline to order an Airbus A380 full-flight simulator and training devices, signing a C$25 million ($19 million) order with CAE. The Australian carrier selected CAE as its preferred supplier for the equipment in May. The deal includes a full- flight simulator and a CAE Simfinity training device, with the simulator due for delivery in the second quarter of 2006. The carrier has 12 555-seat A380s on order for intro duction into service in November 2006. The Qantas deal follows an earlier purchase from CAE by Airbus of two A380 full-flight simulators, Simfinity main tenance/flight training devices, software licences for desktop and laptop trainers and briefing/debriefing stations. DEVELOPMENT Further 777 range boost revealed Further range improvements have been unveiled by Boeing to sharpen the competitive edge of the Boeing 777-200LR/300ER pair in the long-range battle with the Airbus A340-500/600, writes Guy Norris. The latest boost increases the specification range of the 777- 300ER by more than 320km (175nm) to around 14,600km, and is expected to increase the range of the yet-to-be-built - 200LRto 17,500km. Boeing says in typical airline configura tion the -300ER will be capable of 14,800km with a standard maximum take-off weight of 352,000kg (775,000lb). "There are several routes that benefit from this increased range on the -300ER, both in terms of payload and range," says longer- range 777 programme manager Lars Andersen. "These include San Francisco to Hong Kong, or New York to Hong Kong," he says.The extended-range ver sion of the -200LR, complete with optional space for up to three auxiliary fuel tanks, will be available for service entry in January 2006, while the first - 300ERs will be offered with the enhanced capability from around October 2005. Main elements of the changes include performance improve ments on the General Electric GE90-115B engine, which is expected to generate a 0.8% reduction in specific fuel con sumption over the baseline design. The advances result from improved three-dimensional aerodynamic design of the low pressure (LP) turbine blades and vanes. The new cast blade set will require recertification and is expected to be flight tested early next year, says GE, which has already begun ground tests of the revised LP turbine module. Other changes, all of which can be retrofitted to the initial production batch aircraft now entering service, include an extended series of vortex gener ators on the outboard wing. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20-26 JULY 2004 17
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
