FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2249.PDF
A400M: di it & evolution "In terms o schedule and reliability, this is one of the most ambitious military procurements" ADOLFO REVUELTA to rejoining also mounted from the French and German governments, which sought to firm up the funding stream. It was these same worries over rising costs that trig gered the abandonment of the turbofan- powered option (see propulsion section), although the decision was not finalised until the following year. UK pressure BAe also renewed its pressure on the UK government to return to FLA on the grounds that without full participation the UK manufacturer's position as wing maker for Airbus could be threatened. In the event, early 1995 saw a "fly-off" between rival wing designs produced by BAe and DASA, with UK participation largely con tingent on a win for the British company. DASA was in favour of an advanced com posite wing, while BAe argued for a con ventional design, saying the move was not necessary in terms of either capability or cost. Ultimately a joint design was chosen - a "composite hybrid wing". In an unusual move, it was also decided around this time that industry and not governments would decide the workshare arrangements for the FLA and by mid-1995 these were set out, with Airbus Industrie taking a 30% share in the new Airbus Military Company. The 70% balance was to be divided between the five sharehold ers, with Alenia taking 20%, CASA 18%, BAe 15% and Aerospatiale and DASA around 9.5% each. Charles Champion, who would later lead the A380 effort, was named as temporary head. Lockheed Martin, as it had by now become, meanwhile paid an unexpected visit at the end of 1995 when a team arrived to discuss possible collaboration on a turbofan-powered FLA as a C-141 replacement. The team later went home to the US empty handed, Airbus having sus pected Lockheed Martin of playing the stalking horse game, and of merely attempting to add further delays to the AIRBUS A400M PRODUCTION WORKSHARE BY COMPANY AND COUNTRY France Centre wing box Nose fuselage Nose landing gear bay Engine mounts Sponsons Rudder Wing to fuselage fairing -Cockpit furnishing EADS France [ZRamp Germany Wing panels Centre fuselage Airbus Germany Fuselage furnishing Pre-final asembly Vertical tail box and assembly Flaps (Airbus UK and Flabel) 30% Rear fuselage - assembly _50% Rear fuselage - components EADS Germany CCargo door Z3 Airbus UK Outer wing box Flaps Spain EADS Casa Final assembly line Horizontal tailplane Engine nacelle Flap track fairings Vertical tailplane leading and trailing edges Elevators Belgium Flabel Z] Turkey TAI Wing leading edge Flaps (Airbus Germany and UK) Flap track and mechanism Main landing gear doors Forward fuselage Tailcone and top shell on rear fuselage Paratroop doors and hatch door Ailerons and spoilers 36 9-15 NOVEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
